Welcome to the second installment of the Not Your Usual MLB Hall of Fame Profile series, Barry Bonds. Bonds is on the ballot for the 10th and final time in 2022. If you would like to go back and read the first profile on Bobby Abreu, click the link located here.
Teams Played For:
Pittsburgh Pirates (1986-1992), San Francisco Giants (1993-2007)
Transactions:
Bonds was drafted in the second round of the 1982 draft by the San Francisco Giants out of high school but chose not to sign. He was drafted with the sixth overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1985 draft. Bonds signed as a free agent with the San Francisco Giants after nearly 7 years with the Pirates on December 8, 1992.
The Boring Shit (aka the Stats and Awards Section):
- .298/.444/.607, 762 career home runs, 2935 career hits, 2558 career walks, 1996 career RBI
- 14-time All-Star (1990, 1992-1998, 2000-2004, 2007), 8-time Gold Glove (1990-1994, 1996-1998), 12-time Silver Slugger (1990-1994, 1996-1997, 2000-2004), 7-time Most Valuable Player (1990, 1992-1993, 2001-2004)
- League leader in runs scored once (1992), home runs twice (1993, 2001), runs batted in once (1993), walks 12 times (1992, 1994-1997, 2000-2004, 2006-2007), batting average twice (2004, 2006), on-base percentage 10 times (1991-1993, 1995, 2001-2004, 2006-2007), slugging percentage seven times (1990, 1992-1993, 2001-2004).
- Career leader in home runs (762), walks (2558), and intentional walks (688). 4th in WAR (162.7), 7th in OBP (.444), 8th in slugging (.607), 3rd in runs scored (2227), 6th in RBI (1996)
Previous Hall of Fame Voting Results:
- 2013: 36.2%, What a farce.
- 2014: 34.7%, What an even bigger farce.
- 2015: 36.8%, What were the voters thinking?
- 2016: 44.3%, Some of them finally started to come around
- 2017: 53.8%, The old coots that were voting started to retire
- 2018: 56.4%, Not enough of them have retired yet.
- 2019: 59.1%, Inching closer, but still not enough smart voters.
- 2020: 60.7%, What happened to the momentum?
- 2021: 61.8%, The writers are too self-righteous to be voters.
Why Barry Bonds Should Be in the Hall of Fame:
Did you see what the dude did to a baseball? Bonds by far holds the “record” for the most home runs hit into McCovey Cove with 35. Amazingly, managers were so scared to pitch to Bonds that he was intentionally walked with the bases empty an astounding 41 times. Even more incredibly, he was even walked with the bases loaded once in 1998.
Why Barry Bonds Shouldn’t Be in the Hall of Fame:
He should have been elected nine years ago. I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks about the steroid era. Anyone who played prior to the Mitchell Report being released in 2003 who was believed or proven to have used steroids should get a pass because Bud Selig and the offices of Major League Baseball turned a blind eye to what was going on under their noses. These self-righteous, sanctimonious writers who believe they are the arbiters of the Hall of Fame need to get their heads out of their asses and do the right thing. At the end of the day, the writers need to vote in the Greatest Living Player, Barry Bonds.
If you want to debate this or any other potential Hall of Fame vote, or if you want to talk sports in general, catch me on Twitter. Keep in mind that these profiles are meant to be sort of tongue in cheek, and I will eventually reveal who I would vote for (if I had a vote). Check out the other content here at Belly Up Sports.
