In case you somehow missed it, San Francisco Giants legend Barry Bonds is back in the game. Bonds was officially named the Miami Marlins new hitting coach Friday.*
Because it involves Bonds, the move will generate plenty of hot takes in the coming days. Bonds never had a strong reputation among media members when he played, and the numerous steroid allegations have put a huge dent in his legacy.*
[Related: The Marlins seem pretty excited about having Barry Bonds around]
In fact, those issues have likely kept Bonds out of the Hall of Fame the past few seasons. On numbers alone, there's no logical way to keep him out of the Hall.
Bonds pretty much agreed with that sentiment Friday, telling Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald that he believes he's a Hall of Fame caliber player.
Bonds on HOF chances: "I'm a Hall of Fame baseball player. That's all that matters to me. I'll leave the voting process up to you guys."
— clarkspencer (@clarkspencer) December 4, 2015
Looking at the numbers, he's absolutely correct. He's the all-time leader in home runs, walks and intentional walks. He notched 514 steals and had nearly 3,000 hits. Over his 22-year career, Bonds' slash line was .298/.444/.607. He also won seven MVP awards.
That's not the issue, of course. The issue is Bonds' steroid use. A number of players with deserving numbers from Bonds' era have not been allowing into the Hall of Fame either due to admitting they used, or due to suspicion. Even guys who never failed any tests and didn't face heavy scrutiny while playing, like Jeff Bagwell, seem to have fallen victim to this rationale.*
As Bonds acknowledged, the writers ultimately make that decision, so there's nothing he can do to change matters. Public perception of Mark McGwire seems to have changed since he started coaching, so perhaps Bonds will benefit if things go well in Miami. Bonds is probably the most polarizing baseball player of the past 20 years, so a huge change of opinion doesn't seem likely.*
Perhaps it depends on what you believe the Hall of Fame should be. Personally, it seems weird to have a Hall of Fame where Barry Bonds, possibly the best player I'll ever see, isn't acknowledged. It's a tough situation, considering Bonds' admission shouldn't have ever been made public, but there has to be some way to express those issues in the exhibit.*
It seems foolish to exclude an entire era of players based on something a lot of guys were doing. And for guys like Bagwell, who seems to have been lumped in with that crowd, it doesn't seem fair to keep him out merely based on suspicion.*
[Elsewhere: The Diamondbacks introduced their new uniforms]

There are already bad people and players who used amphetamines in the Hall of Fame. It's not a completely wholesome place and doesn't need to be. If you believe the Hall should accurately represent history and highlight the game's greatest players, then Bonds belongs. If you think the Hall should be a magical place where nothing bad ever happens ... well ... that's not reality.*
Honestly, there's nothing all that controversial about Bonds' statement. Without the steroid cloud hanging over him, he's easily a first-ballot guy. As he said, it's up to the writers to determine whether all that other stuff matters.*
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