Tag: Barry Bonds

MLB world reacts to the snubs of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens from Baseball Hall of Fame

Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have been snubbed from Cooperstown.

Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have been passed up for the Baseball Hall of Fame once again.

On Tuesday, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America voted for which players will make up the 2022 Hall of Fame class in Cooperstown. Only one player was selected, David Ortiz, who makes it in as a first ballot Hall of Famer with 77.9 percent of the vote.

Both Bonds (66 percent) and Clemens (65.2 percent) fell short of the 75 percent mark needed to make the Hall of Fame and are now officially ineligible to be voted upon by the BBWAA as their 10-year window has closed. Technically, both Bonds and Clemens can make it in via the Today’s Game committee, which is run by the Hall of Fame itself, but will need 12 of 16 votes to make it in.

It was a long shot for both Bonds and Clemens — the former especially — to make it into the Hall of Fame. Bonds’ history with performance enhancing drugs as part of the BALCO scandal was a major layup for many in the Hall of Fame, enough to keep him out throughout his entire 10 years of eligibility even though the support for him grew with each passing year.

Ortiz, for what it’s worth, has also reportedly tested positive for a banned substance during an anonymous survey test conducted by the MLB in 2003.

Here’s how the baseball world reacted to both Bonds and Clemens being snubbed by the BBWAA in their final year of voter eligibility.

The Baseball HOF should be laughed at until Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens get in

It continues to be hard to take the Baseball Hall of Fame seriously.

This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

The Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020 was announced on Tuesday (Derek Jeter and Larry Walker) and once again two of the best players to ever play the game did not get their names called.

Which is pathetic.

Yup, another year of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens not getting into the Hall makes it another year for us not to take that silly museum in Cooperstown all that seriously. Because come on, how are you not going to have Bonds and Clemens in there?

I know what you’re thinking – they cheated and allegedly took PEDs. Well boo-freaking-hoo. These two legends shined during a period of time in baseball when a lot of guys were juiced to the gills. Oh, and Bonds and Clemens also outperformed most of those juiced up players.

They also shined well before the steroid era, too, which only makes their cases even that more worthy.

Some baseball writers who get a HOF vote really need to get over themselves and do the right thing before it’s too late – both Bonds and Clemens have been eligible for the last eight years and have just two years of eligibility remaining. I don’t know how anyone could take that place seriously if these two guys don’t make it over the next two years.

Bonds is the all-time home run leader, has the most home runs in a season, is a 7-time NL MVP (including three that he won in the early 90s when he was a skinny little fella), is the all-time leader in walks, won eight Gold Gloves, and is a 12-time Silver Slugger award winner.

He’s the greatest baseball player of all time. And he’s not in the silly Hall of Fame.

How ridiculous.

Clemens is one of the greatest pitchers to ever play the game, as he racked up 354 wins in 24 seasons. He won over 20 games six different years. He led the league in strikeouts five times. He won seven Cy Youngs and did the double dip in 1986 when we won the AL Cy Young and the AL MVP awards, which is something that pitchers rarely pull off.

How he isn’t in the Hall of Fame is beyond me, too.

So congrats to Derek Jeter and Larry Walker for making it this year, but shame on those who don’t have the courage to do the right thing and actually make this Hall of Fame what it should be – a celebration of the best to ever do it.

Hopefully, things change soon.

Tuesday’s big winner: Las Vegas.

AP Photo/Laura Rauch

It was announced on Tuesday that this year’s NFL Draft will be held in Vegas and the league will – as you often do while in Vegas – go big. The red carpet event before the draft is going be in the fountains of the Bellagio with boats bringing players across. Boats! The main draft stage will be at Caesars Palace. It’s going to be nuts.

 Quick hits: NFL trying something new… Hurts’ perfect helmet… Tebow wedding photos… And more!

– The NFL is trying out a fun new alternative to onside kicks at the Pro Bowl this week. Could they try this in real games eventually?

– Jalen Hurts has the perfect helmet at the Senior Bowl.

– Tim Tebow is now married and here are some photos from the event.

– Check out our latest “Bachelor” power rankings.