Does Barry Bonds deserve to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame? Vanuska’s View Con
Karl Vanuska
November 6, 2018
Barry Bonds, a generational talent surrounded by controversy. An icon in the Bay Area, but labeled as a cheater by others for the use of steroids. An asterisk next to his home run record of 756 in baseball Hall of Fame records probably best describes the tricky situation Bonds is in right now.
With all that said, the question still remains: Should Barry Bonds be allowed into the Hall of Fame? The answer is simple: no. The Hall of Fame is for truly great players who put hard work and dedication into becoming the best, and didn’ttake any shortcuts or quick fixesto do so. Using steroids or PEDs completely undercuts that idea, because then, what constitutes greatness?
If we allow Barry Bonds, then what’s stopping other players from looking at him and saying, “Well, if he got away with using steroids, why shouldn’t I take them?”
This sets a dangerous precedent, because allowing cheaters into the Hall of Fame, no matter how great they are, will lead to players freely and openly taking steroids.
Then, we wouldn’t know if any records or moments of greatness were produced by great players or simply through taking steroids. And, it puts into doubt whether anything in baseball is real anymore.
Look at Derek Jeter’s last at bat at Yankee stadium back in 2014. It was a walk off hit that was the greatest send off you can ever have. That moment shows that we have never needed steroids to make these amazing storylines.
Consider the punishment for the use of banned substance in other sports,suchastheOlympics, they take away that player’s accolades and awards. In the Olympics: they take medals away from people who are caught using banned substances, if they won any event.
Immediately stripping these players of their records, because they used banned substances, rewards players who actually competed clean, and did everything within their own skills to get to the apex of the sport.
Our own Dean of Students, Juan Zumbado ’98, said, “If other sport federations wipe their pages of their winners for using banned substances, then that should be true for Barry Bonds as well.”
Barry Bonds holds the record for the most home runs in a career, which has been tainted by his use of steroids. That record should go to Hank Aaron, because from what we know, he competed clean.
Steroid users are performing at levels beyond human capabilities, almost like robots.
It’s unfair to those who have competed clean, because they are essentially going up against robots, since steroids and other PED’s take a person well beyond what they are actually capable of.
Barry Bonds probably would have been in the Hall of Fame based on his individual skill, but he took steroids, and he should deal with the consequences of taking them and being caught. He still cheated, and it doesn’t accurately portray his own greatness. What he showcased was how far one can go with steroids.
With the use of steroids, we don’t truly know what Barry Bonds would have been after the 1999 season, because Father Time might not have been so kind to him without the use of steroids.
We know Bonds cheated, and that makes it a clear cut case: Bonds shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame.