Our Hall voters on Bonds, agree or disagree?

I agree with Ron Rapaport...You can't ignore the numbers, plus a lot of guys in years past were no angels either...Gaylord Perry made the Hall, in spite of widespread belief that he doctored the ball...Rose shoulda been let in, also. Role models? No.
Worthy of the Hall of Fame? Yes.

Gaylord Perry - threw a spitter - illegal in baseball - no law being violated - Pete Rose - gambled on baseball - even his own team - illegal in baseball - questionable violation of the law - Barry Bonds - illegally used (uses) steroids - illegal in baseball - violation of the law. So whats the argument? He broke the law of both baseball and of life. Joe Jackson - supposedly gambled on baseball - acquitted by a trial of his own peers - still banned from baseball. Barry Bonds is a cheat - clear and simple. He broke the law - clear and simple. If Joe Jackson was acquitted yet banned from baseball - the least that ought to happen to Barry Bonds is to have all his "records" erased and he should be banned from sports period.

The Hall of Fame is an overratted place to begin with. We havwe somehow confused the Hall with Heaven and look fot it to settle the moral indencency of a sport drenched in greed, lying, and scandal. We forget there were no rules in place to monitor steriod usage. We asked for this we begged for this. Bonds was a better player than Sosa and McGwire yet we loved them why? Neither is or was the defensive player Bonds is and neither could hit as well. Yet we credit them with saving baseball that summer. No. They destroyed it we wanted homeruns we got them. The Hall of Fame is a place of debate and steriods is an issue of debate. We try to decide for others what is right and wrong about athletes. Money can't buy morals but it can buy you a spot in the Hall.

I agree with a lot of the guys. Mosty, I agree with Ron Rappaport. Steroids did not hit those homer, Bonds did. I also believe that it is easy to state as Joe Goddard did that this book has to be true because it was compiled by two regarded reporters. I remember watching an episode of Law and Order which is loosely based on true events in the New York Times. In this episode there was a young black reporter that always seemed to have sensational headlines. He eventually became a hot commodity because his reports were so compelling. Unlike the true story where the guy was just exposed to be a fraud, in the show he killed someone to protect his secret. To make a long story short, this guy won awards, financial rewards and notoriety amongst his peers. The only problem is, none of it was true or deserved. Whose to say these guys that wrote this story about Bonds are completely truthful. They are going to profit a great deal because of the public's need to believe that Bonds is a cheater. I just heard Carmen and Silvy on the radio slamming Bonds for being on Saturday Night Live. He's having fun even in the face of this supposed damaging evidence. This guy is going to have a monster year and everyone is going to say, "it's because there is no testing for HGH". Bonds is a no doubt Hall of Famer even before 1998 as correctly pointed out by Rick Telander. Like him or not, that fact cannot be ignored.

I agree with an earlier point. Steriods have been quite ILLEGAL all the way through this saga. Baseball's hands were somewhat tied with their CBA that neuters the league to large degree in dscipline and testing issues. Look at the unions inital reaction to the drug testing well after a lot of the steriod news started coming out in earnest. It wasn't until the hearings that they backed down. Unlike stealing a car or being caught shoplifting, steriod use cheated other players out of their rightful stats and caused many games to be won and lost that wouldn't have by players who were clean. This is just as bad as gambling on games you're playing in. Babe Ruth was a drunk and a jerk, but his drinking and womanizing didn't cheat other players and the fans of their teams out of wins that would have otherwise been theirs. Bonds and all of the steriod users should be out.

Rappaport makes a good point by asking who did Bonds cheat. There are two parties that steroids hurt: the fans of the game and Hank Aaron. Not just the ones that watched him hit the balls out of the park, but the all the fans. His "performances" were lies. Sure he numbers make him a HOFer before the steroids, but his punishment for faking us out should be his permanent exclusion from baseball.

Second, Hank Aaron deserves better than to be compared to Bonds and his ilk. His record is a wonder because it's so impossible in so many ways. I'm sure that Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron weren't model citizens all the time, but they at least played the game the way you were suppossed to.

For Aaron and the fan's sake, Bonds needs to be out for good.

If Bonds only had half as much conviction in his own ability prior to using performance-enhancers, this debate about his HOF status would be irrelevant; he would clearly deserve to be in.

He didn't. It isn't. And he shouldn't.

More egregious than overlooking Bonds' accomplishments by banishing him from the Hall would be to ignore the dark cloud of mendacity and contempt he has inflicted upon a game he supposedly loves.

Rose is out despite his greatness because he ultimately violated the integrity of baseball from the dugout steps. Bonds -- and, lest we forget McGwire, Sosa, et al. -- did his dirty work inside the lines.

How anyone can defend him and still call themselves a true fan of this game -- a game steeped in tradition; a game we still use to teach the basics of fairplay and sportsmanship to our children -- is positively astonishing.

Let him be Hall Of Fame eligible, but most certianly give him asteriks in the record books.

Bonds isnt the only one who was cheating. The entire league was on the juice, and Bonds was the best of the juicers. When you are the best player of your era (and even if your era was pumped full of drugs), you are HOF material case closed. I hate Bonds, but he was the best juicer from a class of juicers.

Barry Bonds does not deserve anything. He broke a record because he got strong and over sized in away that deceived us all. Come out and be a man and tell the truth then show us what you can do now.

Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire , and Barry Bonds.
All complete and total liars, and complete scumbags.IMO, not worthy of hall of fame consideration.

Interesting perspectives...More to come on Bonds, certainly.

Michael Locker MD

Is the idea of performance enhancers anything out of the ordinary for Major League Baseball? Hardly. Especially if it wasn't illegal at the time. Do you realize that pitchers sneaked vasoline and threw spitters? That umps called balls and strikes for the catcher and rewarded the catchers with favored calls? That coaches and managers steal signals? That players hit many homers with rubber in their bats? That players like George Brett used pine tar to high on the bat? This idea of gaining an advantage is not only the norm in baseball, it is almost as traditional to baseball as hotdogs, peanuts and beer!

I would leave everything as it is.

Now, there's tax evasion to come.

Michael Locker MD

Just because everyone is "juicin'" doesn't mean that it is ok. The record should definitely have the asterisk. What is really crazy is you have players being suspended and because Bonds is near/at the record and soon to surpass it and is a man of color, he gets a pass. Enough of the double standard. Get the truth out and have him stand up like a man, if he wants to be The Man. In the end, though, the steroid use will all come knocking on his door. Check it out.