It’s not Cooperstown.
However, Barry Bonds is a new Hall of Famer.
of Pittsburgh Pirates announced Tuesday They’re trying to induct Bonds into the team’s Hall of Fame. He joins a class that includes former manager Jim Leyland and 1970s All-Star catcher Manny Sanguillen. The team will hold a ceremony on August 24th at PNC Park.
“What can I say?” Bonds said, according to a Pirates release. “I’m a little speechless. It was really nice to be able to tell my kids, ‘Your dad is in the Pirates Hall of Fame.’ It’s going to be great to go back to where it all started. ”
Of course, Bonds can’t tell his kids that he’s a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Despite his status as the most feared slugger of his generation and perhaps of all time, Bonds is not welcomed in Cooperstown. His prominent ties to baseball’s steroid era of the 1990s and early 2000s kept him out.
Should Bonds be in the Baseball Hall of Fame?
Bonds’ credentials are unassailable. He is a seven-time MVP, 14-time All-Star, eight-time Gold Glover, and two-time batting champion. He is also baseball’s single season (73) home run leader (73) and lifetime (762) home run leader. That is, if you are willing to acknowledge the home runs he hit during the steroid era.
Many Baseball Hall of Fame voters don’t. Bonds was voted out of the Baseball Writers Association of America in 2022 for the 10th and final time in his 10th and final season of eligibility. The vote rate that year was 66%, far below the 75% standard for joint enshrining. Although he is still eligible by committee vote, there is nothing to suggest that baseball’s gatekeepers are ready to induct Bonds or other faces of the steroid era into the Hall of Fame.
But the Pirates are happy to recognize Bonds’ accomplishments with the organization. He joined the Pirates as a rookie in 1986 and spent his first seven seasons in MLB with Pittsburgh. He was named to the All-Star team twice and won his first two MVP awards with the Pirates before joining the San Francisco Giants in 1993. There he finished his career as a regular player, winning MVP five times in 15 seasons.
Bonds’ season in Pittsburgh has nothing to do with the steroid era. Playing at a significantly smaller size compared to San Francisco, Bonds slashed .275/.380/.503 while averaging 25 home runs, 79 RBIs, and 36 stolen bases for the season. He finished his career in Pittsburgh with 33 home runs, 25 home runs, and 34 home runs in his final three seasons, respectively. He had good totals, but nothing like what he had in San Francisco.
In 15 seasons with the Giants, Bonds matched or exceeded his season-high home runs with Pittsburgh (34) 11 times (46, 37, 42, 40, 37, 34, 49, 73, 46, 45, 45). He hit .312/.477/.666 while averaging 39 home runs and 96 RBIs for the season. Although he repeatedly led the league in walks (11 times) and on-base percentage (8 times) in San Francisco, his stolen bases decreased sharply (17.5 times per season).
This honor from the Pirates relates to Bonds’ early MLB days. And whether he’s in the Baseball Hall of Fame or not apparently doesn’t matter much to Bonds on Aug. 24. He seems genuinely thrilled to be a part of Pittsburgh’s class.
“Leyland and I have to try to control our emotions because I think we’re going to cry more than we’re going to actually talk that day,” Bonds said. “It’s still going to be great.”
