Top Five Players Who Should Be In the
Hall of Fame
#2. Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds falls into the same
category as Roger Clemens. A remarkable player and contributor to Major League
Baseball but because of PED and steroid accusations (again, nothing ever
confirmed), the BBWAA have decided to punish him by not allowing him entry into
the Hall of Fame. I guess the baseball writers (hypocrites that they are)
forget that they made a living by writing about players like Bonds and Clemens
for more than two decades, but now that PEDs have been declared as bad for the
game (blame Bud Selig for it not happening sooner) they take the
high-and-mighty approach now that they can no longer write stories about the
exploits now that the playing days are over.
Most of what I said about
Clemens yesterday could be said about Bonds as well, so I won’t reiterate it.
I’ll just point out that he was indicted in 2007 on four counts of perjury and
one count of obstruction of justice, and while he was originally found guilty
on the obstruction charge, a US Court of Appeals panel overturned the decision
by a 10-1 margin. Case closed, Bonds was not charged.
Now, on to his baseball career,
which was one of the best in many generations. Barry Bonds was born into a
baseball family as his father, Bobby, played 14 years in the Majors, primarily
with the San Francisco Giants. Barry was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in
the first round (sixth pick overall) in the 1985 Amateur Draft. He would make
his MLB debut in 1986 and would play 22 Hall of Fame-calibre seasons, seven
with the Pirates, 15 with the San Francisco Giants.
Unlike most power hitters, Bonds
was also quick enough to steal bases, swiping 36 in his rookie season of 1986.
He also hit 16 home runs and would finish sixth in Rookie of the Year voting.
In his seven years with Pittsburgh, Bonds would win the National League MVP
award two times: first in 1990 (.301 batting average, 33 home runs, 114 RBIs
and 52 stolen bases) and in 1992 (.311, 34, 103 and 39). He would help the
Pirates win three straight NL East division titles but they would fail to make
the World Series all three tries.
He signed as a free agent with
San Francisco for the 1993 season and would put up even better numbers on the
West Coast. An NL-leading 46 home runs and 123 RBIs, combined with a .336
batting average were good enough for a second consecutive MVP Award and third
overall. But Bonds wasn’t done. He was becoming such a dangerous hitter that
pitchers started to avoid him by walking him, either intentionally or being
careful pitching to him. He would lead the NL in walks for four straight years
from 1994 to 1997.
But despite the growing number of
walks, Bonds continued to hit home runs and he continued to steal bases. On
August 23, 1998, he became the first player in MLB history to enter the 400-400
club (400 home runs and 400 stolen bases). Unfortunately, being the complete
all-round baseball player that was obviously the best talent in the game was
being ignored by the media due to the McGwire-Sosa home run chase.
In 2001, Bonds would embark on
the greatest period of his career (as if he hadn’t done it already) by winning
four consecutive MVP Awards, bringing his total to seven. He passed McGwire’s
record of 70 home runs in one season when he smashed 73 of them. However,
unlike McGwire, Bonds wasn’t one-dimensional as he also batted .328 and played
solid defense as well.
The following year, 2002, would
see fewer home runs (46) but an amazing .370 batting average and an incredible
198 walks. In 2003, with already more than 600 home runs in his career, he
stole his 500th career base on June 23, making him the first member
of the 500-500 club.
Despite his age, Bonds would
continue to hit home runs at an astounding level (hence the PED accusations
started). He passed Willie Mays into third place, then Babe Ruth into second
and started his charge towards Hank Aaron and the 755 all-time MLB home run
record.
Finally, on August 7, 2007,
against the Washington Nationals at PNC Park in San Francisco, Bonds connected
for number 756, becoming baseball’s all-time home run king. There was little
fanfare for the vent because of Bonds’ PED link. Baseball Commission, Bud
Selig, was not in attendance to witness the milestone, neither was Hank Aaron.
But none of it mattered to Bonds. He had slugged his way into the record books.
Bonds retired at the end of the
2007 season with these remarkable accomplishments: seven MVP Awards, 14 All-Star
Game appearances, 12 Silver Slugger Awards and eight Gold Gloves. His all-time
MLB career records include home runs (762), walks (2558) and an unfathomable
688 intentional walks.
His career batting average was
.298. He also collected 2935 hits, 2227 runs scored, 1996 RBIs, 514 stolen
bases and a .607 slugging percentage. He was the season league leader in home
runs only twice, but he also led the league in walks 12 times, on base
percentage ten times, slugging percentage seven times and intentional walks 12
times.
Wow. Time to catch my breath. He
should be in the Hall, no questions asked. The numbers don’t lie and his voting
percentage is increasing yearly. Hopefully, the BBWAA will get off their high
horse and give Bonds the respect he earned in his 22 season in the Majors, and
put him in Cooperstown, where he belongs.
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