Barry Bonds hit more home runs than any player in MLB history, yet he has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, even though he has been retired for 17 years.
It seems paradoxical on the surface. The holder of one of the most prestigious records in all sports, not being feted for being one of the best to have ever played baseball?
The situation is complicated, as anyone who has followed the saga knows. Bonds has long been accused of using steroids, a claim he denies and says is proven by the fact that he never failed a test for performance-enhancing drugs. Yet the cloud continues to hang over Bonds, who hit the last of his 762 home runs in 2007.
Bonds did not receive the requisite 75 percent of the vote necessary to gain election during his 10 years on the Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot.
Bonds will get another chance on Sunday when the Hall's 16-member Contemporary Era Committee meets at the Winter Meetings in Orlando. Bonds will be one of eight players considered alongside Roger Clemens, Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield, and Fernando Valenzuela.
The committee will consider Bonds for a second after getting little support in 2022.
Each voter can select up to three candidates, and 75 percent or more of ballots are needed for election. Anyone chosen will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 26 in Cooperstown, N.Y., along with players voted in by the BBWAA, whose balloting will be announced on Jan. 20.
Bonds was inducted into the Pittsburgh Pirates' Hall of Fame in 2024. He spent the first seven seasons of his MLB career with the Pirates before finishing by playing 15 years with his hometown San Francisco Giants.
Minus the steroids allegations, Bonds has a robust case for the National Hall of Fame. He is the all-time leader in walks with 2,558, including 688 intentional. Bonds' 162.8 career bWAR is also a record.
Bonds' list of accomplishments goes beyond the home run and base on balls records. He won a record seven National League MVP awards, was a 14-time All-Star, a 12-time Silver Slugger, an eight-time Gold Glove winner, and a two-time batting champion.
That would be a lot to fit on one plaque – if Bonds makes it to Cooperstown.