If Barry Bonds dropped dead tomorrow, would you vote him into the Hall of Fame?

Question

He drops dead 2 short of the record. But, with his career stats, not just hr's, how could you keep him out of the Hall? The MVP awards, the Golden Gloves, and other "non steriod" related accomplishments, how do you keep him out? So, this record means nothing other than to hurt his chances of getting in?

Answer 1

of course..I'd vote for him any day. Even coming in 2nd to Hank Aaron is unbelievable with all the gold gloves and mvps. People are underrating his earlier years and his ability to steal 500 bases and hitting almost 3000 hits. He has sooo many milestones that would make him an absolute hall of famer. He is the most feared guy in baseball...and hes 42!!! Don't give me that crap with steroids and ****..the man is one of a kind.

Answer 2

Why do BB supporters want to pretend his alleged cheating is not an issue for HoF induction? Don't you know the rules of eligibility?

The Hall of Fame committee decides who does and does not get on the ballet. If they decide he should be banned, he is banned. A judge ain't gonna overturn the decision because being enshrined in the Hall is an Honor, not a Right.

Now to address your question:

If Barry Bonds dropped dead tomorrow ----
Can you imagine what would happen?
Barry's death would only intensify the controversy around him.

Speculation would be rampant about who or what killed him. Henry Aaron must have done it ... or Bug Selig. Who else had a motive? Pro Athletes, even in their 40s, do not drop dead for no reason. There would have to be an investigation... and an autopsy. Was it an accident? Was he murdered? Is his family helping or hindering the fact-finding? What if we find banned substances in his neighbor's trash cans with only the fingerprints of BB and his wife on the bottles?

Your hypothetical question opens up an infinite number of possibilities. Death does not make a person automatically eligible for the HoF. There is a 5-year rule. The rule has only been waved twice and both times it was when a player died -- Lou Gehrig and Roberto Clemente. Neither of those men were suspected of cheating at any point in their careers. BB, on the other hand, is _already_ under investigation for his part in the BALCO case, so we shouldn't expect the HoF to be in any hurry to get him in. They'd wait for the investigation into BB's death and the outcome of the BALCO case.

I'm not a doctor so I can't say whether or not an autopsy would find the banned product(s). Let's look at both possibilities.

IF WE FIND banned substance(s) ---
He'll be banned from the Hall and that will be the end of it except for the whiners who only want to look at BB's on-field numbers.

IF WE DON'T FIND banned substance(s) ---
We have to ask ourselves: "Is the autopsy conclusive?" That looks like a very tough question. If we say "YES the autopsy WOULD have found it", then BB is in the clear and should appear on a ballot. If we say "NO", then we have to keep looking. We would need to develop tests that work and THEN test BB's body again so we can say one way or the other.

If results show he didn't cheat, I would vote for him. Being a jerk doesn't disqualify anyone from HoF consideration. LOL. Ty Cobb is the perfect example -- everyone but his teammates loathed him, yet he was one of the first inductees into the Hall.

I can't see any scenario where the HoF should stop caring about MLB's integrity. There's no reason we should rush to coronate Bonds.

Answer 3

1) Bonds has "tested positive." He admitted to a grand jury that he used the cream and the clear--both are steroids.

2) If the question is really asking if Bonds made it based on his "pre-steroids" performance (which at a guess is up to about the 2000 season), then yes. He was a jerk, but he played outstanding ball and was a terrific combination of plate discipline, power, and speed. He was almost certainly the best player in the NL through the 1990s; I think that would make him a HOF member.

3) If you include his post-steroids play, then no. Since the evidence is very substantial, it is clear that he cheated. Don't reward that.

Answer 4

Of course I would still vote him in, how can you not. The stats even without steroids would give him approximately 550 hrs and close to 2000 RBIs. He also has made numerous all star games and before his knees deteriorated, he was an awesome left-fielder.

People also tend to vote controversial players into the hall of fame after they have been away from the game for many years or have passed away. So if Barry Bonds suddenly died, HOF voters would still vote him in regardless of any steroid use.

Answer 5

He's never failed a drug test, so without being caught he's in. If he fails one in the near future then he should be pushed aside just like Pete Rose. The two of them could start a Non-Hall of Fame. That way they can induct Shoeless Joe Jackson and the steriod guys, they can take Ty Cobb too.

Answer 6

Until there is actually proof that Bonds took steroids, its impossible to leave him out. But even home runs aside, he's had a great career. If you knocked off 300 home runs, I'd still vote for him. He was the best player in the game in his day. Period.

Answer 7

Aaron's record or not Bonds is a lock for the HOF, barring any unforeseen and unexpected issues with the MLB drug testing program. His career has been nothing short of unbelievable and congratulations are in order for a great career.

Answer 8

First of all , I am not a Barry Bonds Fan, and I am not a Giants Baseball fan, but I am a Baseball fan. Also , I as part of the general public I can not vote a player into the Hall of Fame, that is not how it works,it is the Baseball Writers who vote to see who goes into the Hall of Fame, But to answer your question, this is what I will say. You have to look at the total record of this man, and regardless of how you personally feel about him, he is a great player He has won more MVP awards than any other player, many golden gloves and he does have the stats that are probably going to get him into the HOF at some point anyway. Untill he is proven guilty one way or another on the Steroid issue, that can not be an issue. There are plenty of other players out there that have probably allso used Steroids. The biggest problem Bonds has is the relationship with the public. The fans are the ones that he owes the most to; they are the ones that pay to go and see him play, and when he acts like he has a chip on his shoulders, or shuns the public wanting autographs, photos etc, especailly the little kids, then he is creating a barrier between his fans and they are the ones he needs to give a Cra- about.
If he dropped dead tommorow it would be too bad, mostly for the young son he leaves behind who will miss growing up with his father at his side to help guide him with the things in life that are far more important than Baseball, There are other players I would like to see get into the Hall of Fame and they probably will. There are other players out there as Pete Rose who also has missed getting into the hall of fame because of his gambling record, but I think he is more deserving than Bonds , but that is another story altogether. Back to Bonds; if Barry Bonds is cleared of the Steroid issue,or enough time goes by and it can be proven that he was not using Steroids during those early years and when some of those first records were made, and Golden Gloves, etc. and the public was allowed to vote on potential HOF inductees, then despite my personal view of Bonds, and enough time has gone by and other Potential HOF inductees who have been on that waiting list longer than Bonds get voted in FIRST, then I would vote for Bonds, only because of his record, not the man. I am not a Bonds fan, but you have to admit the man is a fantastic Ball player. He is not allways a Team Player and not the kind of Ball player I grew up watching, but his record speaks volumes.
Baseball is not what it used to be. The days of Roberto
Clemente, Willy Mays, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Willy Stargell, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella, Babe Ruth,
Joe DiMaggio, NOlan Ryan, Walter Johnson,George Brett, and the list goes on and on and on. What these players had were personality, connection with their fans and they were all great players and many are in the Hall of Fame . What Bonds does have in common with these players is not the fan base that these players have, ( You either love Bonds or Hate him...) but his skill as a baseball player.So yes, if I could vote him in the Hall of Fame I would vote him in, but not Right Away. I think there are other potential Hall of Famers that have been on that list and I would vote them in First. Two of the players who are on that list, finally are going to get inducted later this month, and I am glad that they will be inducted into Cooperstown, Tony Gwynne and Cal Ripkin. Now those are two very deserving great ball players with millions of fans everywhere, the public, the baseball writers, and reporters, and of course the respect and admiration of the baseball teams they have played on and against.If I had to put my money where my mouth is, I would say it is a sure bet that Barry Bonds will make it into the Hall of Fame, but it won't be in the next year or two.Roberto Clemente died tragically in a plane crash, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame the very next year. some players also are inducted very quickly after they quit playing, but I don't think that will be the story with Bonds, he does have some controversy with the steroids, and there are going to be some Baseball writers who DO the Voting, who aren't goint to probably vote him in the first time he becomes elgible.

Answer 9

It's not that hard to do ; I would just use the character , integrity and sportsmanship requirements [ Article 5 -Rules of Election by the BBWAA ] to justify my decision.
Cheating shows a lack of integrity character and sportsmanship.

Answer 10

I would have to. There are players who have gotten in on 3000 hits. Hits. 750+ home runs is more impressive than 300 hits any day. Add in his other stats: hits, RBIs, OBP, walks etc. and how could you not?

There is no proof that he ever used steroids. Even if there was it would have been before it was against league rules.