Law: Why Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez are on my 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot - The Athletic

I voted in this year’s Baseball Hall of Fame election, my fourth year with this honor. I added two new names to my ballot while returning six, but for the first time, I also removed one player.

There’s a good chance we don’t see anyone elected by the writers again this year, which is a mild embarrassment given the number of qualified players still on the ballot. With one no-doubter coming to the ballot next year in Carlos Beltrán, we shouldn’t have another shutout in 2023, at least.

Here’s my explanation of my ballot, covering the eight players for whom I did vote, and two notable players I omitted.

Barry Bonds: The all-time home run king, fourth all-time in WAR among all players (behind only Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson and Cy Young — all of whom played before baseball was integrated), recipient of seven MVP awards and deserving of two more, seventh all-time in on-base percentage, eighth all-time in slugging percentage, still the only member of the 500 HR/500 SB club … this isn’t about Bonds’ statistical case, though. His Hall of Fame candidacy has become a referendum on the “steroid era,” which is a misleading moniker, at best. We don’t know who did or did not use performance-enhancing drugs in most cases. Bonds himself never tested positive for anything, and the vast majority of players who tested positive were decidedly less than superstars. The only argument whatsoever to omit Bonds from a ballot is based on a broad reading of the character clause, and in his case, I don’t think that argument suffices to keep out of Cooperstown one of the best players in MLB history and someone who was on a Hall of Fame track even before his physical appearance seemed to rapidly change.

source: https://theathletic.com/3039575/2021/12/30/law-why-barry-bonds-alex-rodriguez-are-on-my-2022-baseball-hall-of-fame-ballot/

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