Why Bonds Deserves a Hall Call

Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance William’s new book Game of Shadows has seemingly put to rest any debate of whether baseball superstar Barry Bonds ever knowingly took steroids. If only half of the details in the book are absolute fact, it is still some very damning stuff. Even the late, great attorney Johnnie Cochran would have a futile time building a defense for Bonds; no failed test, he’s naturally the best! The truth is now out, no matter how many denials we hear from Barry, and the aftermath remains. Does Barry Bonds belong in the baseball Hall of Fame? I’m here to tell you why he does.First of all I’m going to give a wag of my finger (ala Steven Colbert) to Major League Baseball for letting an entire “Steroid Era” evolve under their watch. The doping problem has been around for at least twenty some years and only now, because of public and congressional pressure, is there rules in place to stop rampant steroid use. That means for the last two decades or so baseball players have been given a free pass to the home run pharmacy. Countless players could have “been on the shit” during that period and retired before testing ever materialized. Ex-players like Chad Curtis and Ken Caminiti have said 40 to 50 percent of the guys in the league were juiced when they played. How can one player be punished when the entire league was out of control?

This isn’t just a stand for Bonds, but for all the players who have come under scrutiny for steroid use such as Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Is it cheating when no rules exist to stop it from happening? The ethical answer is of course yes, but when you are talking about million dollar contracts and a player’s livelihood, ethics takes a seat in the back of the bus. And by back of the bus I mean way in the back by the crazy guy who keeps arguing with himself and smells of urine.

I’m all for personal accountability and realize that each player who took steroids made a personal choice to dope or not to dope, but Major League Baseball allowed this all to happen by even allowing this choice. It would be a much more difficult decision if there were immediate consequences to a player’s steroid use. Shrunken testicles and back acne aren’t enough of a deterrent when millions of dollars are involved along with a legacy of infinite greatness. Bonds should not be the ultimate fall guy for the mistakes of the past two decades by an entire professional sports league.

The overwhelming reason Barry Bonds should be inducted into Cooperstown is by far the most important. He is, by anyone’s standards, one of the greatest performers to ever set foot on a baseball diamond. If the new book’s timeline is accurate, Bonds did not start taking steroids until the 1999 season. Before that he had thirteen seasons under his belt including three MVP’s, eight gold gloves and eight seasons of thirty or more home runs. Those are sure fire Hall of Fame numbers even before infamous trainer Greg Anderson treated him with that so-called flax seed oil Bonds loves so much.

Then Major League Baseball and every fan world wide was witness to the kind of monster steroids could create when brewed with a world class athlete. Bonds was dedicated to being the best in the game and although he was almost there, using the shit gave him the dynamic edge he needed. Maybe a top twenty player of all time for the first thirteen years of his career, with `roids he was vaulted into discussions with Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron as one of the best hitters who ever lived. MLB, masquerading as Dr. Frankenstein, had seen first hand what their lax attitude on drug testing had created. An unstoppable monster capable of smashing the record books with his mighty powers.

Yes I believe Barry Bond’s steroid use helped him ring up those 73 dingers in 2001. I also accept the fact that without that artificial help he might not be challenging Aaron’s home run record today. However I also believe he is the preeminent player over the last twenty years and most of that is because of his own talent and ability, which was apparent before 1999. The rules to curb steroid use had not been in place for most of Bond’s career and he may have taken full advantage of that oversight, as have many others over the last few decades, but we all know on talent alone Bonds should be in the Hall of Fame.

Now don’t confuse my support of Barry Bonds the player as support of Barry Bonds the person. By all written accounts he is an arrogant, selfish, controlling, obnoxious and greedy individual who had no ethical dilemma in choosing to undermine the game he loves. If those were the standards of Cooperstown we would have to melt down over half the busts in the place. The Hall of Fame should not be an institution that is based on moral conduct, but one based on what took place on the field. By those standards alone Barry Bonds cannot be denied his call to the Hall. Bonds broke no rules, remember the MLB was sleepwalking for decades, while he played the game and therefore should be a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee.

PS – Take a guess on where I stand on the whole Pete Rose fiasco?