Prior to 1998, Barry Bonds was arguably the most complete player in baseball. He was truly a 5-tool player. Ken Griffey, Jr. was supposed to be great like Bonds, but injuries tanked the back half of his career. This purpose of this post is to argue that Barry should be in the Hall of Fame despite the enormously long list of reasons his enshrinement would not be popular. Unlike my partners in poor blogging, I am not a Giants fan. I'm also not a Pirates fan. I'm really not a Barry Bonds fan. The guy was a complete ass to me once when I was 10 years old at a Dodger game. In fact he is probably my second least favorite player of all time (Tom Candiotti will always hold that spot... a story for another time, perhaps).
So why should Barry Bonds be in the Hall of Fame despite being perhaps the most notorious cheater in the steroid era? Here is the story and the simple reason he belongs in the HOF. The consensus is that he started doing steroids some time following the 1998 season because he got pissy that Mark McGwire broke the single season home run record. I won't get into the speculation on why he was mad, as there are a number of theories, some less savory than others. He did steroids (which he claims was accidental... we aren't that stupid, are we?) and did things no player has ever done before. I understand the man cheated, but it is very interesting how easily many forget that Bonds either had 400 home runs, or nearly 400 home runs before he was ever expected of cheating. He had also stolen 400 bases. And played gold glove caliber defense. And had a great eye at the plate. Okay, I'll stop. You get the picture. He was amazing. And an a-hole. His pre-steroid numbers placed him squarely as the best all around player of his generation, and probably the best all around hitter (when factoring in average, home runs, etc.). Had he retired prior to 2000, he would have been a first ballot hall of famer... Well, except for the fact the the voters for the HOF stand on principles that don't make any sense a lot of the time.
As much as we all like to joke, about his ever-growing hat size, or call him "Barroid" Bonds, it doesn't change the fact that he belongs in the hall of fame because he was the best player of his generation with or without steroids. Even if you ignore the back half of his career, the numbers (which mean everything in baseball) are indisputable. Barry Bonds belongs in the baseball Hall of Fame.
I 100% agree. It's sort of a very difficult way to measuring a player's HoF candidacy and I know the mainstream media wouldn't like the idea of just cutting off a portion of a player's career in order to state he should be in the HoF, but it makes sense to me. The saddest part about Bonds and Clemens to me is those guys were HoF players (Clemens is probably more borderline I think...though I haven't looked his numbers pre-PED's lately). If they just retire before using PED's I think they get in (at least Bonds does for sure).
ReplyDeleteI believe there is ample evidence to support Bonds getting a HoF vote based on his early career. He's shown he was a HoF player prior to using PED's so I think that merits induction. It's unfortunate his later PED exploits are overshadowing the fact he deserves to be in there based on his performance prior to using PED's.
Bonds was the most feared hitter of all time. He literally walked 400 times in seasons and still put up the numbers he did. His eye is unmatched. When he disagreed with a pitch I knew the ump missed the call. He would go an entire game see one strike all game and he'd turn on that pitch and jack it 450 feet andthe outfielders wouldn't even take a step back. Bonds was the man. he batted against players that were using steroids and he bested all of them. If you don't put him in why put any player during that era in.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but he had such good eyes because he was on PED's right? After all, PED's turn you into Superman and you get X-ray, vision, extraordinary vision and superior hand-eye coordination.
ReplyDeleteSure, they help some or else players wouldn't use them, but he should be in the HoF based on his early career. Cut his stats off at 1998 or whenever he started using. I'm fine with that. He's still a HoF to me, but he won't get in.
I grew up in San Francisco as a Giants fan. I love Bonds. I don't really give a crap if he used PEDs. Professional Sports are entertainment. People pay to enjoy it and be entertained, which is basically the definition of entertainment. His ability and talent (PEDs aside) make him a worthy candidate for the HoF. PEDs don't improve talent, they improve muscle and the ability to hit the long ball. The unfortunate thing is that even with his accomplishments, the PED scandal will overrule opinion and most likely keep him out of Cooperstown which is a shame.
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