Barry Bonds will be on the Hall of Fame ballot for the second time, and it doesn’t look like the former slugger will be any closer to gaining acceptance into Cooperstown. Though he has the type of personality that makes it seem like he doesn’t care about awards and honors, the all-time home run king admitted last year that he actually cares about the Hall despite what he says.
“I do really care,” Bonds said last year, via MLB.com. “I may say I don’t, but I do really care. I’ve been through a lot in my life, so not too many things bother me. Making the Hall of Fame, would it be something that’s gratifying because of what I’ve sacrificed? Sure. Baseball has been a big part of our lives. We’ve sacrificed our bodies. It’s the way we made our living.”
Bonds only received 36.2 percent of votes for the Hall in the 2013 ballot, his first time appearing on the ballot. He probably will receive some more votes this year for a few reasons. One, a lot of voters don’t like to vote for a player on their first ballot. They reserve that honor for only the most elite players even among Hall of Famers (the type of reasoning I’ve never understood). Two, over time, I think the opposition of steroid users will lessen.
Though I couldn’t stand Bonds when he played and found him to be a jerk, it would be an absolute joke for him and other top players of the era not to make it into the Hall. These players — and steroids in general — are a huge part of baseball history. You can’t fail to recognize the top players of that era because it was tainted. The Hall needs to adjust and recognize these players in a Steroid Era wing and get it over with.
