Barry Bonds

Giants great Bonds admits his Baseball Hall of Fame hopes are gone

Share
NBC Universal, Inc. Barry Bonds gets emotional while honoring his late godfather Willie Mays at the Giants legend’s celebration of life ceremony Monday at Oracle Park.

Barry Bonds is at peace with his MLB legacy.

The longtime Giants slugger and the league's all-time home run leader no longer is eligible to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame after falling short of the required vote threshold for 10 consecutive years from 2013-2022.

However, Bonds is the newest member of the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame after he, former manager Jim Leyland and catcher Manny Sanguillen were enshrined in a ceremony on Saturday at PNC Park.

In speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Bonds admitted he finally is at peace with his Baseball Hall of Fame fate after his latest honor.

“I don’t have to worry about those things no more in my life,” Bonds said (h/t the Associated Press' Will Graves). "[I want to] hang around my grandchildren and my children. Those hopes [of making the Hall of Fame], I don’t have them anymore. I hope to breathe tomorrow [and see] if I can make it to 61.”

This is a different tone from Bonds, who has criticized Hall of Fame voters numerous times in the past for his exclusion from Cooperstown.

And while the latest honor is not the highest that Bonds is deserving of, the Home Run King is content settling for immortalization in both the Pirates and Giants franchises.

San Francisco Giants

Find the latest San Francisco Giants news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.

Giants Talk: Legendary Giant Brandon Crawford announces retirement

Krukow rips MLB's Golden At-Bat idea as ‘stupid,' ‘absurd'

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

Exit mobile version