As you'll recall on Thursday I voiced my displeasure about Roberto Alomar not being a first ballot hall of famer despite his exemplary credentials on the field. I also said I would address the Barry Bonds question today so here it is. Is Barry Bonds a first ballot hall of famer? YOU BET YOUR ASS HE IS! I'm not just saying that because I'm a Barry Bonds fan (Barry is one of my top 5 favorite athletes of all time) I'm saying it because the numbers support it.
Barry Bonds has the all time record for total home runs (762), home runs in a season (73), walks (2,558), and intentional walks (688). He won the MVP award a record 7 times (should've been 9) and 8 gold gloves. He is one of 4 players to ever hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season and the only player in major league history to ever hit 500 home runs and steal 500 bases for a career. With numbers like that you don't ask whether he is a first ballot hall of famer, you ask whether he's the greatest baseball player of all time or not.
The skeptics will tell you that his accomplishments on the field are a direct result of his involvement with BALCO and performance enhancing drugs and that the numbers are skewed and can't be trusted. The truth is maybe the alleged substances Barry took helped a little, but they weren't illegal at the time according to the major league guidelines. The numbers Barry put up are so gaudy that even if you subtracted 20% of his total numbers (which is WAY too high) and attributed them to PED's he's still a first ballot hall of famer. This is a player steroid or no steroid opposing pitchers wouldn't throw a strike. In 2001 Barry Bonds played a 4 game series against the Houston Astros and saw exactly 5 pitches in the strike zone in over 20 at bats. 5. I don't condone everything Barry Bonds has done in his career and I won't sit here and defend his callous, abrasive, smug, arrogant attitude, but is he a first ballot hall of famer? Without question. Anyone who says different has a personal, moral settle to score or doesn't know baseball. Plain and simple.
I agree, Cleavie. If we look at the raw numbers, it's a no-brainer. But unfortunately for Bonds, the steroids thing has taken on a life of it's own and gets stronger every year. Should it be held against him? No. But it will. The BBWAA voters have colluded on this. They showed their stance with Rafael Palmeiro. He only got 11% of the vote and he did something even Bonds didn't do (500 home runs, 3000 hits). Think about it. Only 11%. That's shocking. And I'm sure the thinking in 2013 is going to be, well, if we vote Bonds in, then we have to vote McGwire, Palmeiro, Clemens and Sosa in. And they are not going to do that. Generations from now don't be surprised if we see a movie titled, "Five Men Out" because it looks like that's where we're headed.
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