Barry Bonds or Don Mattingly - Who deserves the Hall of Fame More?

Question

I am biased, so I'll put it to a vote. Very good answers btw.

Answer 1

Bonds deserves it more than Mattingly based on his accomplishments on the field. Bonds is one of the greatest players to ever play this game, and has the statistics to back it up. If you think that he should not be allowed in the hall of fame because of his steriod issues then the answer is that neither deserves to be in. Mattingly's 2153 hits and 222 hr is not sufficient for the Hall of Fame in my mind. By opening it up to all these fringe players decreases the value of election in the Hall of fame. It should be for sure things. Whether you think Bonds belongs or not is up to you.

Answer 2

Don Mattingly, no contest. He never cheated, he is a good person who is revered by many Yankee fans and baseball fans. He is a good person who never said anything bad about anyone and no one ever said anything bad about him. He also wasn't a greedy person when it came to contract signings. He was a career .307 hitter, has the all time record in fielding percentage with .996, won 9 gold glove awards which is second all time, and is tied for the most grand slams in a season with seven. He also set a record by hitting a home run in eight straight games. He won the 1984 batting title and the 1985 MVP award. He is also kind to his fans as well. People were crying on the flight after the 1995 A.L.D.S. when Mattingly announced his retirement. He was also one of a few players that has never been booed at Yankee Stadium. Michael Kay, who is a play by play Yankee announcer said, "Don Mattingly may be the most revered athlete in New York history." Yankee owner George Steinbrenner described him as "Special."
Suzyn Waldman of the YES Network said, "Don Mattingly is the kind of person that you would want your father, son, husband, grandfather, cousin or uncle to be like." Don Mattingly is one of the nicest athletes ever. There aren't too many athletes like him. He should make the Hall of Fame on good character alone. He would have been a Hall of Famer had he not injured his back in 1990. Don Mattingly will always be someone that I look up to.

Answer 3

Barry Bonds, he deserves to be in there, because he just started using steroid 2 or 3 years ago. After he got 600 Home Runs. Don Mattingly has been waiting a while though.

Answer 4

Puh-lease. I assume you are discounting Bonds because of steroids suspicions. Even before that part of Bonds career (pre-2000), he still won 3 MVP's. He was already headed to the Hall. Don Mattingly was a good player, but good players don't go to the Hall - great ones do.

Answer 5

The Hit Man: Don Mattingly....no question.

Answer 6

Don Mattingly hands down!! In the first place he played in an era when the yankees were a laughing stock.They never made post season untill his last year.He not only carried that team on his shoulders but he was someone a kid could look up to. Bonds on the other hand is the biggest crybaby in sports.Who would you rather your kid look up to as his or her hero, a guy like Don Mattingly or a junkie like Bonds. By the way I hate the yankees but fair is fair.

Answer 7

Tough to say since Mattingly's career ended so quickly after injuring his back. I don't think he played at a high level long enough to warrent getting into the Hall. I heard a sports writer say it's the Hall of fame not the Hall of very good. As far as Bonds goes, that lying, cheating jerk shouldn't even be allowed to visit the Hall, let alone be a part of it.

Answer 8

Barry Bonds was a future Hall of Famer even before the steroid allegations. He did everything well: stole bases, hit for average and power, and was a Gold Gove outfielder. I say that and I do not even like him.

Don Mattingly was very good for a very short period of time. He quickly regressed to a good player to one that was barely adequate. He did not play well enough long enough to be a real contender as a Hall of Famer, especially as a first baseman. If he had those statistics as a shortstop he would have been a first ballot electee. But he is not competitive at first base.

Answer 9

Donny "Baseball" was 10 times the player Bonds is. Better hitter, better fielder, no steroids, team leader. You can't compare the two. Mattingly belongs in the Hall of Fame without a doubt. Bonds belongs in jail!!!

Answer 10

Don Mattingly. Barry Bonds shouldn't even be allowed near Cooperstown.