Those who vote would bar Hall of Fame door to Bonds
Barry Bonds may have received a light sentence Friday for his role in the BALCO scandal. But avoiding prison time doesn’t mean that baseball’s all-time home run king should expect Hall of Fame voters to go any easier on him when he lands on the ballot next December.
“Nothing has changed. I’m a ‘no,’ and I’ve always been a ‘no,’ ” said longtime Daily News columnist Bill Madden, who is a Hall of Fame Spink Award winner, the highest award given by the Baseball Writers Association of America. “Whether Bonds was going to get jail time or not makes no difference to me. Everybody knows what he was and what he did.”
Twelve of 21 eligible Hall voters who responded to the Daily News on Friday – including veteran News columnist John Harper — indicated they do not plan to vote for Bonds next year for enshrinement in Cooperstown.
“I would not vote for him because of his undisputed ties to BALCO and the use of performance-enhancing drugs,” said Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. “In the case of Bonds, it’s pretty easy. He was convicted of obstructing justice and was fortunate to escape other charges. I wouldn’t vote for somebody who cheated to that degree.”
Tim Brown, a veteran columnist for Yahoo! Sports, added that Bonds’ sentencing Friday had nothing to do with his “no” stance. “I will not vote for Bonds, because I believe he cheated,” Brown said.
Only one-third of the respondents (seven of 21) said they planned to vote for Bonds, with another two saying they were undecided. A player must receive 75% of the vote to be named to the Hall.
One voter from another New York paper said he would vote for Bonds because “there were no rules in baseball prohibiting illegal PED usage until 2004 . . . and Barry Bonds never failed a drug test.”
Jeff Blair of the Toronto Globe and Mail added that he “absolutely” would vote for Bonds because he’s “the best hitter I’ve ever seen.”
Admitted steroids user Mark McGwire has received no more than 23.7 percent of the vote in five years on the ballot, including just 19.8 percent last year. And Rafael Palmeiro got just 11 percent last year on his first crack on the ballot.
Barry Bonds may have received a light sentence Friday for his role in the BALCO scandal. But avoiding prison time doesn’t mean that baseball’s all-time home run king should expect Hall of Fame voters to go any easier on him when he lands on the ballot next December.
“Nothing has changed. I’m a ‘no,’ and I’ve always been a ‘no,’ ” said longtime Daily News columnist Bill Madden, who is a Hall of Fame Spink Award winner, the highest award given by the Baseball Writers Association of America. “Whether Bonds was going to get jail time or not makes no difference to me. Everybody knows what he was and what he did.”
Twelve of 21 eligible Hall voters who responded to the Daily News on Friday – including veteran News columnist John Harper — indicated they do not plan to vote for Bonds next year for enshrinement in Cooperstown.
“I would not vote for him because of his undisputed ties to BALCO and the use of performance-enhancing drugs,” said Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. “In the case of Bonds, it’s pretty easy. He was convicted of obstructing justice and was fortunate to escape other charges. I wouldn’t vote for somebody who cheated to that degree.”
Tim Brown, a veteran columnist for Yahoo! Sports, added that Bonds’ sentencing Friday had nothing to do with his “no” stance. “I will not vote for Bonds, because I believe he cheated,” Brown said.
Only one-third of the respondents (seven of 21) said they planned to vote for Bonds, with another two saying they were undecided. A player must receive 75% of the vote to be named to the Hall.
One voter from another New York paper said he would vote for Bonds because “there were no rules in baseball prohibiting illegal PED usage until 2004 . . . and Barry Bonds never failed a drug test.”
Jeff Blair of the Toronto Globe and Mail added that he “absolutely” would vote for Bonds because he’s “the best hitter I’ve ever seen.”
Admitted steroids user Mark McGwire has received no more than 23.7 percent of the vote in five years on the ballot, including just 19.8 percent last year. And Rafael Palmeiro got just 11 percent last year on his first crack on the ballot.
