Barry Bonds Snubbed From Baseball Hall Of Fame Entry On Last Ballot Of Eligibility
Barry Bonds received a major blow on Tuesday (January 25) after the Baseball Hall of Fame did not vote him in during his final year of eligibility.
According to MLB.com, the San Francisco Giants slugger, who is arguably one of the greatest hitters in the sport’s history, drew 66 percent of the vote in his 10th and final year on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot. He required a 75 percent threshold to be inducted.
Tuesday’s results, however, did not definitively end Bonds’ HOF bid. He and legendary Boston Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens, who was also left out, are still eligible for the Today’s Game Era ballot, which considers candidates who made their greatest contributions to the game from 1988 to 2016.
Former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, was the lone first-ballot candidate elected by the BBWAA this year. He’ll be honored alongside the six men voted in by the Golden Days and Early Baseball Era committees, including Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva, and posthumous honors for Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Minnie Miñoso and Buck O’Neil.
The 2022 HOF induction ceremony is slated for July 24 in Cooperstown, New York.
Bonds has been sidelined from the Hall of Fame all of these years due to links to use of performance-enhancing drugs. He spent 15 of his 22 seasons in the Majors with the Giants and owns the all-time record for career home runs (762), single-season homers (73 in 2001), walks (2,558) and intentional walks (688).
He hit .312/.477/.666 over 1,976 games with the Giants, winning five of his seven National League Most Valuable Player Awards in San Francisco. He was also a 14-time All-Star, eight-time Gold Glove winner, and the only player to hit 500 home runs and steal 500 bases.
