Bonds deserves a spot in Cooperstown
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by user Pat Dean
At 42 years old, Barry Lamar Bonds is considered an antique in the realm of sports. Even though Bonds has alienated several of my fellow sports companions, they and I should appreciate what he provided the game of baseball with for two decades, whether he used the juice or not.
For starters, before reports came out linking him to steroids, he was already a Hall of Fame-caliber player. During his time with the Pittsburgh Pirates and his early years with the Giants, he had already won three MVP awards, which was tied for the most all-time. And if we look at the duration of his career he has won seven most valuable player awards. Yes count them. Seven of them. That's more than Michael Jordan, who many consider sports' ultimate athlete. And if anti- Bonds supporters still want to entice Bonds with the steroid cheater slogan, remember he was named Player of the Decade for the '90s by The Sporting News.
In addition, he is one of eight players, including his late father Bobby Bonds, to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases, displaying his meliorate game. Besides this, he has dominated defensively something he has not received much credit for by winning eight Golden Glove awards.
With all of these novel statistics, he should be a first ballot for Cooperstown, yet some voters on the Hall of Fame committee say that they will not franchise him in because of the steroid allegations. Hell, steroids do not give a person supernatural hand-eye coordination and ultimately do not make you Superman.
Voters, listen to me, the Hall has never been a museum for saints. It has racists, philanderers, players who used cork bats, spitters, and anything that they could get their hands on to have a significant advantage. So I say vote for Bonds. And while I might be a little off topic, get Pete Rose in too. I do not advocate steroids in anyway, shape or form, and do not want today's youth to feel the need to do so, but not putting Barry Lamar Bonds in Cooperstown and not giving him the credit he deserves is a slap in the face to the man, the game, and all of sports.
At the end of the day, the facts do not lie and that fact is that Bonds never tested positive for steroids. At 42 he could possibly hit 40 homeruns this season. Lets look pass the lackluster attitude and all the steroid rumors that have no evidence to support it and put the soon to be all time home run king in the hall.
