Pittsburgh Pirates: Barry Bonds Off to a Great Start in HOF Voting

Former Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder and all-time great Barry Bonds is on pace to make the Hall of Fame. He’s off to a phenomenal start to voting thus far.

Hall Of Fame voting is just around the corner. Voting ends on the 25th and ballots are already being sent in, 43.3% to be exact. This is what we know so far based on the ballots that were allowed to be made public by the voter. If you want to read what the current landscape for balloting looks like, you can go here to Baseball Hall Of Fame Vote Tracker. Currently, former Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Barry Bonds is on pace to make the Hall. This is his last chance to make the Hall through votes, and he’s off to a great start.

The all-time great slugger is sitting at 77.1% (you need 75% to make it), which is 6.4% behind Boston Red Sox legendary designated hitter David Ortiz who leads all balloting. Everyone knows who Barry Bonds is and everyone has an opinion of him. But whether you love him or hate him, you have to admit one thing: he was damn good at baseball.

During his time with the Pirates, Bonds won 2 MVPs while leading the league in OPS, OPS+, wRC+, and fWAR for three straight seasons from 1990 through 1992. Bonds did a whole lot during his seasons as a Pittsburgh Pirate, but it was his time in San Francisco that made him a legend, and baseball’s biggest anti-hero.

Bonds broke the single-season all-time home run record in 2001 and the all-time home run record in 2007. There is no greater stretch in baseball history than Bonds’ 2001 through 2004 seasons. He put up otherworldly numbers, batting .349/.559/.809, hit 209 home runs, had a 232 wRC+, and 47.3 fWAR. He walked 30.9% of the time(!) He drew more walks in these four seasons than Jackie Robinson, Vlad Guerrero Sr., Victor Martinez, Chase Utley, or Yogi Berra did in their entire careers. His slugging percentage was better than 79 total qualified players’ on-base plus slugging (OPS) was in 2021. He was 132% better than the league average hitter. Regardless of steroids, that’s pretty damn impressive.

Bonds isn’t the only one who has made massive gains in voting so far. Another king of the steroid era, Roger Clemens currently sits at 75.9%. He, like Bonds, is in the final year of eligibility. Clemens also needs no introduction, is known as one of the greatest pitchers of all time. Clemens has 7 ERA titles to his name, as well as the most Cy Young awards with 7. In terms of adjusted ERA+, he ranks 16th at 143 (43% better than the league average arm). Clemens dominated his era and ranks 3rd in pitcher bWAR of all-time at 138.7.

One of the most underrated players on the ballot who has made great progress is Scott Rolen. Rolen is currently sitting on the cusp at 68.8%. Rolen might not be the most popular Hall of Fame candidate, but he is 100% worthy of the selection. Rolen is career .281/.364/.490 hitter with a .368 wOBA, and 122 wRC+/OPS+. Rolen was mostly known for his defense, racking up +116 defensive runs saved, +140 total zone runs, and a +21.2 defensive WAR. Rolen fits many of the modern metrics used to judge Hall of Fame candidacies such as WAR, WAR7, and JAWS. WAR is wins above replacement, WAR7 takes the player’s 7 highest WAR totals throughout their career and adds them up. JAWS or Jay Jaffe WAR scoring system takes into account the player’s WAR7, as well as adjusted for position. All measurements rank him as an above-average Hall of Fame player for his position.

Bonds is controversial, but on playing career alone, he belongs in the Hall. He was a Hall of Fame player before steroids and was the best player of the steroid era. There have already been steroid and PED users elected into the Hall of Fame, and Bonds was doing what every other player during his era did. He’s baseball’s greatest anti-hero and he’s now on pace to make the Hall of Fame.