Barry Bonds says Major League Baseball hasn’t just kept him out of the sport since he retired in 2007. The slugger says he has received a fate that’s even worse.
“A death sentence. That’s what they’ve given me,” Bonds, 55, told The Athletic in an interview published Sunday.
Bonds, who holds the all-time records for homers in a season (73) and a career (762), is a seven-time league MVP, eight-time Gold Glove recipient and 14-time All-Star.
His significant accomplishments, however, are tainted by the suspected use of performance-enhancing drugs during his career.
Bonds has fallen short of Hall of Fame induction in each of his first eight years on the ballot. He received 60.7 percent of the vote from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in January, with 75.0 percent needed to be enshrined in Cooperstown.
“If they don’t want me, just say you don’t want me and be done with it,” he said of the Hall of Fame. “Just be done with it.”
Bonds batted .298 and accumulated 1,996 RBIs over 2,986 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1986-1992) and Giants (1993-2007), who retired his No. 25 on Aug. 11, 2018.
