Barry Bonds Says 'Without a Doubt' He Should Be Inducted to the Hall of Fame
For the first time in seven years, home run king Barry Bonds put on a San Francisco Giants jersey. Slimmer, seemingly happier and excited to be at his old home, Bonds assured reporters that although he was in his old uniform, he was part of the team in a different capacity.
"I'm the same person, just a different character when I was playing," Bonds said at the press conference. “Now I've had to slow down and do different things. I think we all do. I think when you've been gone awhile you have time to reflect on things. But I needed 'that guy' to play. I needed him. It was who I was at the time. It was not who I am in my day-to-day life."
Bonds will spend seven days as the Giants' training instructor after serving a month-long sentence of home confinement with two years of probation as a result of the BALCO performance enhancement drug scandal, which cost him his career.
While Bonds wouldn’t comment on his legal issues surrounding the PED controversy, he made a point to say that he should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. In his final season, Bonds hit 28 home runs, broke Hank Aaron's career homer record and finished with a 1.045 OPS [on-base plus slugging percentage]. Over the course of his career, he hit a whopping 762 home runs in addition to setting a Major League record for walks with 177 and the most home runs and stolen bases in history. Bonds beat Hank Aaron's all-time home run record of 755 in August 2007.
While fans await whether he will be inducted, Bonds is focusing on solidifying his career off the field with the Giants.
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(Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)