Barry Bonds’ chances at Cooperstown took another hit on Sunday.
In his first year on the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot, Bonds fell well short of the required 12 of 16 votes to get into the Hall of Fame. Five-time All-Star Fred McGriff was the only player on the ballot selected; he was voted in unanimously.
Bonds received less than four votes from the committee. Don Mattingly received eight and Curt Schilling got seven — the two closest to the 12-vote threshold.
Baseball Writers of Association voters denied Bonds from Cooperstown for 10 years. Bonds peaked at 66% in his final year of his traditional BBWAA candidacy.
Era committees present an alternative path for players to reach Cooperstown after timing out on the ballot. The Contemporary Era voters consisted of six Hall of Famers, seven MLB executives and three media members or historians.
The “character clause” has prevented Bonds from getting a bust in Cooperstown. His alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs has tainted his otherwise clear-cut Hall of Fame résumé.
Bonds is the all-time home run leader with 762. He holds records for home runs in a season, career walks and MVP awards. He ranks fourth all-time in career wins above replacement.
In 2018, when the Giants retired Bonds’ number 25, Willie Mays made an impassioned plea to get his godson into the Hall of Fame.
“On behalf of all the people in San Francisco and all over the country, vote this guy in! It’s very, very important to me,” Mays said.
Players can be nominated to an era committee ballot more than once, so this isn’t necessarily Bonds’ last shot. But failing to garner meaningful support among this era committee represents a major setback in his Cooperstown prospects.
