Celebrated sportswriter and author Jeff Pearlman has been sharing stories and insights from his storied career on TikTok. One of his most recent videos is about baseball legend Barry Bonds and whether or not he should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Even though Bonds is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time and holds the MLB records for most career home runs and most home runs in a single season, his purported usage of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs has kept him out of Cooperstown. In his 10 years of eligibility since retiring, Bonds never received the 75% of the vote needed to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Pearlman was asked where he stands on Bonds and said that his answer has changed due to decisions the Hall of Fame has made on other players who are now enshrined.
“I covered him and he was awful. He was just awful,” said Pearlman of Bonds. “And not just that, he cheated. And he cheated and he cheated and he cheated. Loaded himself up on steroids and human growth hormones. And I was always a hard no on Barry Bonds getting into the Hall of Fame. Like a hard, hard no. And then something happened.
“The Hall voted in Mike Piazza. The Hall voted in David Ortiz. The Hall voted in Jeff Bagwell. The Hall voted in Pudge Rodriguez. And, we all know. Like, we all know, if you were around baseball, you know these guys used. But they were the nicer people, they were likable. And the reality is, if you’re gonna let in the nice guys, we have to let in the ***holes.
“And Bonds was the best player who ever lived. He just was. So I’ve changed my mind, I actually think he has to be in.”
We’ll have to see if Bonds ever gets to hear his name called at Cooperstown.
