SF Giants legend Barry Bonds breaks silence on Hall of Fame shunning

SF Giants legend Barry Bonds, the MLB "Home Run King," finally addressed his frustration with Hall of Fame voters in a new podcast.

MLB's biggest draw in the late 90's and early 2000's was SF Giants star Barry Bonds. Bonds, who holds MLB's all-time home run record at 762 along with dozens of other accolades, has no more opportunities to be voted into the Hall of Fame until 2026. This week, after years of questions from peers and media members, he finally addressed what that means to him and his legacy on Jerry Hairston Jr. and Stephen Bishop's new podcast, Hollywood Swingin'.

Former SF Giants OF Barry Bonds during Will Clark's number retirement ceremony. (2022) / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

"Yeah does it bother you?" Bonds said. "Sure, I'm human but... People have to understand something, is that, the fact of it is that, I was vindicated. I went to the court, I was in federal court, and I won my case. 100 percent. Where is the vindication of me in my own sport? That's what bothers me.”

Bonds fell short of Hall of Fame induction on voting ballots from BBWAA writers for ten years, earning a high of 66% of votes only in his tenth and final year of eligibility (players need 75% to be inducted). The Hall of Fame very clearly changed the rules to make it harder for him to get in. Had they maintained the 15 years of eligibility previously allowed, Bonds was trending toward induction. In 2022, given the opportunity to be voted in via the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee, he also fell short. He earned just four votes from the 16 voters and needed 12 to qualify.

Bonds is certainly not the only player from the steroid era of baseball who has been kept out of Cooperstown, but he is by far the most vilified, almost entirely tied to his connection to steroids. Many writers and fans of baseball from his heyday also admit that his general demeanor and pushback against the very press responsible for voting contributed to his exclusion.

Over 22 seasons, Bonds was one of the most efficient offensive players in the history of Major League Baseball, and he performed similarly on the defensive end. He is the only player in MLB history to have more than 500 home runs and 500 stolen bases, and if that was not enough, he earned eight gold gloves in left field. Players with less accoladed resumes are being voted into the hall as the war of public opinion on Bonds wages on.

And given the league's admission of domestic abusers, steroid users, cheaters, and racists to the Hall of Fame as it stands, leaving Bonds off seems incredibly personal. Bonds agrees, admitting to Bishop and Hairston Jr. that MLB never had rules to enforce during his era, so allowing the Hall of Fame to penalize him for limitations that didn't exist at that time doesn't make sense.

"Major League Baseball, and let's get this clearly and straight, had a rule and has rules. Okay, whether they were broken or not broken, there were rules... My era there was no rules," Bonds said. "Major League Baseball said if you did 'x' you were suspended for 'x'... that means [the athlete] missed time in baseball, he was punished for that, his numbers still are the same. For based on what he has accomplished that does not prevent him from... getting into the Hall of Fame. If Major League Baseball has punished you for whatever mistakes you made... for those stints, why is the Hall of Fame punishing you?"

Barry Bonds, despite the point he makes, will not be eligible for a vote again until 2026, when the Contemporary Baseball Player Committee will vote on the Class of 2026. Until then, the SF Giants legend will have to wait for the vindication his sport has yet to bestow.