Fred's Ramblings

It seems that every year about this time, the discussion of whether or not Barry Bonds should be in the Hall of Fame is brought up. Bonds’ talent and accomplishments are unquestionably Hall Of Fame worthy. He passed both Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron, ultimately hitting the most home runs of all time with a total of 762. The subject of PEDs, however, has kept him out of Cooperstown. MLB Hall Of Fame voters haven’t forgiven the former San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates superstar. Bonds’ absence from the Hall Of Fame has led to various opinions on the matter. Some believe he should remain out of Cooperstown because of the PED issue, while others are willing to look past his troubled history and think he should be a member.

While the subject is up for debate, my opinion is that he should not be a member of the Hall Of Fame. Yes, he is the alleged leader in the home runs category, but who is to say that he would have achieved that spot without the use of PED’s. The PED issue taints all of his statistics and the fact he cheated to get those stats should keep him out of the HOF.

Electing Bonds to the HOF would create a domino effect. Other players linked to PEDs, such as Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmiero and plenty of others, would likely join Bonds in Cooperstown. And therein lies the problem. If one player linked to PEDs is elected, then everyone else involved in PED’s will likely get in. Pete Rose has been kept out of the Hall Of Fame because of his gambling, but he earned his Hall Of Fame statistics without having to cheat. If Rose is not allowed in, then for sure, none of the PED players should be allowed in.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I just provided mine. I would be interested in hearing other’s views.