I’ve been reading the comments on my blog about Barry Bonds and I’ve been reading lots of other stuff and I’ve been listening to the radio. One theme emerges: There is something wrong with the voting for the Hall of Fame. And the thing that is wrong is the voters. Sports writers are lousing everything up. That may indeed be the case. I never asked to be a voter. The job comes with being a baseball writer. I do my… Read More »
Some readers of this blog — and some sports fans in general — have expressed outrage that Barry Bonds flopped on his first Hall of Fame ballot. Bruce Jenkins of the Chron said the Hall of Fame is ludicrous without Bonds. I didn’t vote for Bonds. I don’t feel ludicrous. I don’t think the voters are ludicrous. I didn’t vote for Bonds because I don’t want to condone cheating. I do not vote for cheaters and I believe Bonds was… Read More »
Barry Bonds didn’t get elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame. What did he expect? Roger Clemens didn’t get elected either. In fact, no one did. Bonds got 206 votes and came in 9th. It takes 427 to get in. I didn’t vote for Bonds.
I wrote a column for Sunday on how I will vote this year for three baseball players in particular on the Hall of Fame ballot. Here is the opening to my column: I am looking at three names on baseball’s Hall of Fame ballot, recently mailed to me. The three names are Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa. Those three names fill me with varying degrees of disgust. I will not vote for any of them. I dismiss all… Read More »
Mrs. Cohn Zohn and I just arrived at our rental house in Sea Ranch. I was not thinking of Barry Bonds as I unpacked the car. Mrs. Cohn Zohn made us two cups of tea and she started reading the paper so I fired up my computer and there was an article about Bonds. The man refuses to go away or hide under a rock. Barry Bloom from mlb.com interviewed Bonds. Barry Bloom is a dear friend of mine going… Read More »
Here is the opening to my Monday column about Barry Bonds: SAN FRANCISCO — I don’t like Barry Bonds. I need to admit that up front. You may want to be skeptical of what I write. Bonds came to AT&T Park on Sunday as part of the 2002 team that lost the World Series to the Angels in seven games. Most of the players attended the media half-hour in a big white tent. With about 10 minutes left in the… Read More »
Here is the opening to my Friday column explaining why I refuse to vote for Barry Bonds for the Hall of Fame: I am writing about Barry Bonds and why, at this time, I don’t plan to vote for him for the Baseball Hall of Fame. It is not the first time I’ve written about this and it won’t be the last. The subject is current because Roger Clemens just beat the rap of lying to Congress, and fans and… Read More »
We’ve been having an interesting discussion all day about steroids and the baseball hall of fame and about Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. These are very difficult issues and I sincerely appreciate your insights and input. One argument bothers me — I don’t find it cogent — and I want to address it. Some of you wrote sports are entertainment and the players are entertainers like, say, singers, so we shouldn’t care what PEDs they use, or if they use… Read More »
This Hall of Fame voting is so troubling when it comes to great players who may have cheated by using steroids, etc. I struggle with this. I really do. Let’s put aside the case of Roger Clemens, for a moment. There will be plenty of time to discuss him. Let’s put aside the argument that lots of players used steroids so we should let all of them slide. I reject that, at least for now. It seems soft, perhaps spineless.… Read More »
Barry Bonds was at the Giants game on Monday on some sort of political junket. He’s trying to shine up his image or promote himself for the Hall of Fame or get a job with the Giants. I don’t know. He made himself available to sportswriters. I did not make myself available to him. He didn’t want to talk to me when he was a player and I don’t want to talk to him now. I believe everything he does… Read More »
