The name Bonds, Mr. Bonds. I'm here to make my case:
Jeff Chiu/Associated Press
I think it’s safe to say that we knew this day would come. Ever since his retirement, it’s been Barry v. The Hall.
The Baseball hall of fame certainly isn’t the greatest example of ethical behavior. I’ve been to Cooperstown, the baseball mecca, and would love to visit again. It took me a while to think of the right metaphor for Cooperstown lack of ethics.
I believe Lady Gaga says it best:
Ok. I know this was a movie clip from “House of Gucci” but hear me out. Lady Gaga’s character was insane but her stating that she doesn’t consider herself an ethical person, but fair would be the perfect way to describe Bonds.
This leads me to the most recent Baseball Hall of Fame induction class of 2022 with David Ortiz being the lone person inducted this year. This induction class is also the last time Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and other steroid-linked superstars could be voted in by sportswriters. Now, they have to wait for the Veterans Committee to let them in, which is a crapshoot.
Personally, I loved watching Big Papi play, especially in the postseason. Man, could that guy hit the ball. However, he has been plagued by suspicion because of his one failed drug test back in the mid 1990s. Now let’s discuss the Barry Bonds case. This man has 762 career home runs, which is the all-time record, but there has been a cloud of suspicion about steroid use on his part.
I know what you’re thinking: ‘Dude’s a legend, just let him in, bro’ or ‘He’s the all-time leader. Let him in. Full stop.’ or ‘Steriods weren’t technically illegal at the time, so let’s give him the benefit of the doubt.
Here’s a guy I really respect on the baseball beat. Hold your horses, Jeff. Let’s just agree to disagree.
I do not necessarily agree with those assertions because I believe he cheated. Sure, you may call me a baseball purist or whatever, but I’m not saying I’m the most ethical baseball fan either. (I’ll explain that in a few).
We can all agree that Barry had a helluva of a career. However, I’m not willing to say, or am convinced, that he should be in the hall to a point.
Bonds put up Hall of Fame numbers for the first part of his career, more specifically until 1999 when he missed nearly 60 games that year with injuries.
He had a career average of .290, 411 Home Runs, and 1216 RBIs at his age 34 season. However, this is when his career took off. How in the world do you set a career high in homeruns, when your body starts breaking down and reflexes slow down.
I’ve heard some people in the media say ‘Bonds should be in the Hall because he saved baseball’ or ‘they weren’t testing for steroids’ or ‘steroids were technically legal at the time.’ Well, if you get caught speeding, how can you say ‘I didn't know I was speeding’ even though there is a speed limit sign a mile down the road.
I respond to the second point with a key ethical example. For example, if you are working at a big marketing firm and you are stealing pens from the office. While a big marketing firm can handle the pen's losses because the company thinks that people are writing a lot more than usual, is it right that you knowingly steal pens from the firm without them knowing and then once you get caught, you act all surprised.
Another thing I want someone to explain to me is how does a 36 year old man hit 73 home runs in a season when Bonds hit 49 the previous year? Also, can someone explain to me how he hit about 25 more home runs when it’s a scientific fact that your reaction time slows down drastically after you turn a certain age?
Here’s an article stating that as you age, your reflexes slow down.
It also doesn’t help your case when you are a complete jerk to the media, lie to Congress, or when your head gets bigger. I’m not making that up, his head actually got bigger.
I could give you countless examples on why I do not think he’s supposed to be inside the Baseball mecca, but the beauty of sports because we can argue until we turn blue in the face.
Bottom line is that Barry broke the rules, plain and simple. Although steroids were not technically illegal, he should’ve known better because he was injecting a foregin substance in his already 5-Star talented body.
Here’s one more:
(Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images (left), Ron Lewis/San Mateo County Times/Digital First Media Group/San Mateo County Times via Getty Images (right)
I’ll stop trying to persuade you if you explain this photo.
You can’t tell me there is a startling difference between these two pictures. I know, people get muscles as they get older however, you can clearly see how his head is bigger in the second picture and that is because of the roids.
The overarching point here is that I can’t separate Bonds and steroids when we think of him. Baseball players are supposed to be role models to younger generations and what message does it send to kids if people who cheat get inducted into the ‘holiest’ place in baseball.
Call me a sucker for the purity of the game but what else can a guy hope for?
I almost forgot to mention why I’m not the most ethical person when it comes to baseball history either. This is because I’m proud to say I stand by the hit King: Pete Rose and I believe that he should be in the Hall despite him lying about his betting habits.
Do I think he got a bum rap for that? Yes, but at least he was honest about it (after he went to jail). Rose only bet on his team to win and you can’t fault a guy for that. Whereas, I do see the contradicting points I am making but that’s baseball, a sport full of contradictions.
However, this situation doesn’t get easier to solve with the incompetence of the MLB commissoners beginning wiht Bud Selig and continuing with Rob Manfred. I don’t want to go on a tangent but under the last two MLB comminnsorers, we’ve had two strikes and a cheating scandal that resulted in nothing more than a slap on the wrist.