"There is no way the Hall of Fame would exist without Barry Bonds" - Former star bats for baseball icon's Cooperstown enshrinement
Barry Bonds was one of the most controversial players in baseball, but he was also one of the most dominant ever.
Over the course of his 21-year career, the left-fielder hit .296 with 1,996 RBIs. Perhaps more notably, his 762 home runs and 2,558 walks still hold up as the all-time MLB record in both categories.
However, as immaculate as Barry Bonds' career was, his stats come alongside a massive asterisk. Bonds' legacy was tarnished after he was convicted of using steroids supplied by the Bay Area Laboratory Co-op (BALCO) for years.
In 2007, he was indicted for allegedly lying to a grand jury during a federal investigation of BALCO. On account of the successive scandals, Bonds has failed to reach the 75% vote threshold needed for accession into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
In their final year of being on the ballot, Barry Bonds (66.0%) and Roger Clemens (65.2%) were not elected into the Hall of Fame. https://t.co/vMGzNF2XNh
"In their final year of being on the ballot, Barry Bonds (66.0%) and Roger Clemens (65.2%) were not elected into the Hall of Fame." - FOX Sports: MLB
In a recent interview to a Dominican baseball outlet, former MLB star Aramis Ramirez spoke out in favor of Barry Bonds. Referring to the now-58-year-old's past steroid use and how it has affected his chances of gaining access to the BBHOF. Ramirez, who played in the MLB from 1998 to 2015 said to Abriendo del Jugo:
"There is no way the Hall of Fame would exist without Barry Bonds. In the Hall of Fame there are players who used steroids. I can name 5 players that I'm 100% sure they used steroids and were recently inducted into the Hall of Fame"
Ramirez made his name as a player on the Chicago Cubs in the early 2000s. The Dominican retired in 2015 with 386 career home runs, 1,417 RBIs, and a career batting average of .283.
Bonds has long been cast aside when it comes to records. In 2022, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees hit 62 home runs. Although Bonds, alongside Mark McGwire, exceeded that number during his career, Judge is still widely considered as the all-time single-season home run champ.
Barry Bonds' Hall of Fame inclusion could be seen as an endorsement of cheating
While Ramirez alleges that several juiced players found their way into Cooperstown, openly allowing Bonds would likely be a move with too much baggage.
While there is no doubt that Bonds is an elite baseball player with or without PED use, allowing someone into Cooperstown who knowingly broke the rules and lied about it is perhaps a bridge too far.