Diversified Bonds: MLBbro Icon and MLB Home Run King Barry Bonds Enters Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame

Diversified Bonds: MLBbro Icon and MLB Home Run King Barry Bonds Enters Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame

by | May 25, 2024 | THE LEAD OFF

All-time MLBbro great and reigning home run king Barry Bonds has ripped up the record books when it pertains to offensive productivity over his career. For a five year period, pitchers were so afraid to throw to him, intentional walks were pretty much the norm and drew boos from the crowd…when his team was on the road!

 

Back in 2022, MLBbro.com documented an opinion piece on baseball’s attempts to not only blackball Bonds from the Hall of Fame but every home run discussion going forward…

 

MLBbro.com Investigates the Underlying Disrespect of MLBbro Icon Barry Bonds | To Some, He’s A King Without A Kingdom

 

The MLBbro legend will sadly be defined by his allegations of steroid use that some use to tarnish the superstar status he attained with the San Francisco Giants. Baseball fans, analysts and some MLB players forget (or choose to ignore) that Barry Bonds was one of the influential superstars in Pittsburgh Pirates history!

 

 

Despite Bonds’ not gaining election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame with the 75 percent needed over the ten years on the ballot, the Pittsburgh Pirates will be inducted into the team Hall of Fame on August 24th.

 

The Pirates drafted Bonds with the sixth pick of the 1985 and the next seven years was filled with awards for our MLBbro legend and championship contention for Pittsburgh.

 

Barry Bonds:

 

  • A hitting slash of .275/.380/.503 that adds to the OPS+ advanced stat of 147…
  • The only player in franchise history with two MVP awards…
  • Named to two All-Star teams…
  • Won two Silver Slugger awards and three Gold Gloves…
  • Ranked 5th on the Pirates franchise list in homers with 176…
  • Only player in franchise history to have at least 175 home runs AND 200 stolen bases…

 

Pittsburgh Pirates:

  • Three straight NL East titles in Bonds’ final three years…
  • A 1992 NL Championship series matchup with the Atlanta Braves…

 

It’s a start for Barry Bonds’s road to redemption and the Pirates looking at the accomplishments instead of reputations is a good start…

“As an organization, we are proud to add three significant members to the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame,” Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement. “Included in this year’s class is a two-time MVP award-winner in Barry, a two-time Manager-of-the-Year-winner in Jim and a two-time World Series champion with the Pirates in Manny. All three inductees are very deserving of this prestigious recognition. We look forward to celebrating their induction with our fans and sharing their stories with generations to come.”

The appreciation shown from Barry Bonds was evident when he shared his feelings on the induction.

Bonds will be celebrated with former Pirates player, Manny Sanguillen and his old manager Jim Leyland. There will be plenty to show the infamous blowout between Bonds and Leyland but MLBbro.com closes this article showing the entire story…learn.

 

Miguel Cabrera’s 509th Career Homer Ties Gary Sheffield All-Time | Reminds Us Of The Legacy of Bro Bombers Continued Today

Miguel Cabrera’s 509th Career Homer Ties Gary Sheffield All-Time | Reminds Us Of The Legacy of Bro Bombers Continued Today

by | Aug 17, 2023 | THE LEAD OFF

Miguel Cabrera‘s two-run homer on Tuesday was just his second of the season but the 509th of his career, tying him with MLBbro Gary Sheffield for 26th on the all-time home run leaderboard. 

 

The 40-year-old designated hitter is soaking up all the memories on his farewell tour. Cabrera has three seasons before 2023 where he’s hit 10 homers or less, but he’s just two homers away from another ranking bump and three blasts from tying the next MLBbro. 

 

The all-time home run leaderboard is filled with Black ball players.

 

 

Barry Bonds stands atop the leaderboard with 762 dingers, a feat that may never be broken.

 

The Bro Bombers that follow are legendary slugger Henry “Hank” Aaron (755), Willie Mays (660), Ken Griffey Jr. (630), Frank Robinson (586), Reggie Jackson (563), Willie McCovey (521), Frank Thomas (521), and Ernie Banks (512). 

 

The commonality between Cabrera and almost all of these players is that they played at least 20 seasons in the Majors to reach their marks. Banks and Thomas played 19 seasons in the bigs. 

 

Significance of Bro Bombers

 

When Negro League players and Black players breaking the color barrier in the Majors began to get coverage in the newspapers, it was clear the distinction between how the writers would categorize the players. If the player was white, they were often lauded for their intelligence and played the game the right way. But, Black players’ accomplishments were frequently attributed solely to their physical prowess, underscoring a glaring disparity in the portrayal of their achievements.

 

Amid the suffocating limitations that writers and baseball enthusiasts sought to impose upon them, these remarkable individuals rose to triumph, defying the constraints imposed upon them. And standing tall among these legends, it was Aaron who ignited a fervor, illuminating boundless potential.

 

“If I was white, all America would be proud of me,” Aaron said almost a year before he passed Ruth. “But I am Black.”

 

Hank Aaron Breaks Babe Ruth Home Run Record With 715

 

On April 8, 1974, the Atlanta legend became the new home run king, hitting his 715th homer and surpassing Babe Ruth, who’d held the record for 59 years. 

 

“A breaker of records and racial barriers, his remarkable legacy will continue to inspire countless athletes and admirers for generations to come,” said former president Jimmy Carter, who often attended Braves games with his wife, Rosalynn.

 

Irrespective of one’s racial or ethnic background, the magnitude of Aaron’s feat in surpassing Ruth was universally acknowledged, serving as a potent source of inspiration for aspiring young Black athletes.

 

“The former Home Run King wasn’t handed his throne,” said former President George W. Bush, a one-time owner of the Texas Rangers, who presented Aaron in 2002 with the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian honor. “He grew up poor and faced racism as he worked to become one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Hank never let the hatred he faced consume him.”

 

The inspiration would birth the next king of swat in Bonds. 

 

 

On August 7, 2007, Bonds clobbered his 756th homer to overtake Aaron on the leaderboard. 

 

“[He was] a trailblazer through adversity and setting an example for all of us African-American ballplayers who came after you,” Bonds gave praise to Aaron. 

 

Can another MLBbro break the record?

 

The closest active MLBbro to Cabrera’s newest mark is Giancarlo Stanton, with 396 blasts. Stanton has played in the Majors for 14 years and currently averages 23 homers per season, which puts him on pace for 534 homers through his 20th season. His injury history, however, leaves much doubt as to whether he would reach the necessary number of seasons played. 

 

When it comes to power stats, few players can compete with Stanton. 

 

 

The 33-year-old designated hitter leads the Marlins in total home runs (59) since 2017, and he only played one of those seasons in Miami, with the remainder being for the Yankees. 

 

Stanton has 76 career blasts with a 113 or more miles per hour exit velocity, which is the most tracked by Statcast (2015, including playoffs), ahead of teammate, current American League home run King, and MLBbro Aaron Judge. 

 

The Bronx Bomber also has the most 460 or more-foot homers tracked by Statcast (2015, including playoffs) with 18. 

 

The next three MLBbros behind Stanton are 36-year-old Andrew McCutchen (297), 30-year-old Mookie Betts (244), and 31-year-old Judge (242). 

 

Judge has the best chance to surpass Stanton and Cabrera. After his historic 2022 campaign, he currently averages 30 homers per season while only having played eight years in the Majors thus far, which puts him on pace for 602 career homers through 20 seasons of play. That would place him 10th all-time, just seven homers shy of tying Sammy Sosa.

Has Barry Bonds’ Chances For the MLB Hall of Fame Improved With His “Vindication”?

Has Barry Bonds’ Chances For the MLB Hall of Fame Improved With His “Vindication”?

by | Jul 15, 2023 | THE LEAD OFF

Major League Baseball finished off the unofficial halfway point of the season on Tuesday with the All-Star Game. The National League edged out the American League 3-2. It seems around this time of the year similar discussions are brought up to the point that they will live in infamy. 

 

On July 1st, the discussion always goes to how Bobby Bonilla collects on the most famous retirement check in sports history…

 

MLBbro.com Takes A Look At Bobby Bonilla and Ken Griffey Jr.’s Lucrative Deferred Payment Portfolios

 

Then the discussion turns to two of the greatest offensive players in the game of baseball in Pete Rose and Barry Bonds, who have been officially (Pete Rose) or unofficially (Barry Bonds) banned from the Hall of Fame, despite holding two of baseball’s most hallowed records. Records that could possibly never be broken.

With Pete Rose, the question about his chances were immediately squashed by MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred who stated that despite the game’s acceptance of legal sports gambling (wrapped in between a potential move to Las Vegas by the Oakland A’s), the all-time hits king won’t be a Hall of Famer any time soon, if ever, due to his gambling discretions and banishment from the game in 1989. 

 

“I think people think we make more money off gambling than we actually do,” Manfred said Tuesday before the All-Star game. “But I think for us, we’ve always approached the issue of gambling from the proposition that players and other people who are in position to influence the outcome of the game are going to be subject to a different set of rules than everyone else. Pete Rose violated what is rule 1 of baseball and the consequences of that are clear in the rules.”

 

While Pete Rose is not on the ballot, Barry Bonds, based on the votes he receives on his HOF ballot, has just as feeble a chance of making the Hall as his blacklisted counterpart.

 

MLBbro.com did an in-depth feature on the MLBbro Home Run King sitting on a throne outside of a kingdom he thrived in. 

 

MLBbro.com Investigates the Underlying Disrespect of MLBbro Icon Barry Bonds | To Some, He’s A King Without A Kingdom

 

Is Barry Bonds Perception Starting To Change?

Maybe the perception of Barry Bonds is starting to change. Over the All-Star break, Barry Bonds made a strong statement to MLB and the HOF Committee that he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame particularly after being “vindicated” of lying to the Grand Jury in 2003 about using performance enhancing drugs on the “Hollywood Swingin” podcast.

 

 

While the charges are much more discussed than the not guilty verdict, as Tom Goldman of NPR reported when the verdict became official, Bonds’ minor vindication should play some role in him gaining more leniency from the old-time BBWAA writers who refuse to vote the all-time home run king into Cooperstown. 

 

“Baseball slugger Barry Bonds has been guilty of obstruction of justice. The jury failed to reach a verdict on three other counts that the home run king lied to a grand jury in 2003 when he specifically denied that he knowingly used steroids and human growth hormone.”

 

The MLBbro Icon has faced a massive challenge to resurrect his reputation to HOF status. 

  • Bonds’ first chance at eligibility in 2013 ended disastrously with 36.2 percent of the vote which is far short of the 75 percent needed to make Cooperstown.


  • In 2022, Bonds maxed out at 66 percent on his last ballot before the vote transfers to the Contemporary Era Committee.


  • In the first vote from the new 16-person committee, Bonds fell short yet again not getting the 12 votes needed for HOF status.


  • His next chance for entry into the hall will be in the year 2026.

 

MLBbro.com Founder Rob Parker has been adamant in the defense of Barry Bonds being blackballed from the Hall of Fame particularly when fellow MLBbro, Aaron Judge brought the home run back to the national spotlight last season. Our fearless leader would not allow the narrative of Judge’s accomplishments to eliminate Barry Bonds’ greatness and dominance of the record books.

 

 

The Question Remains 

Is a connection to performance-enhancing drugs without an actual failed test enough to permanently (unofficially) ban a seven-time MVP, 14-time All-Star, eight-time Gold Glove Award winner with an MLB record 762 home runs, 2,935 hits and 514 stolen bases from the Hall of Fame? 

 

Even though Bonds did not mention names, he did bring up the fact that players who were suspended by MLB for breaking rules are in the Hall of Fame. Something that frustrates him greatly…

 

“I appealed that charge, and I won. I’m not under federal, I’m not a criminal of any kind, I’m not anything,” Bonds told Bishop and Hairston. “[My] Major League Baseball records are still there, and I try to tell everybody this … I don’t care if they want to judge athletes on performance enhancing drugs or not, it doesn’t matter. Major League Baseball, and let’s get this clearly and straight, had a rule and has rules, OK?”

“Whether they were broken or not broken, there were rules, some rules. My era, there was no rules.

 

The court of public opinion for Barry Bonds’ Hall of Fame induction reconvenes in 2026.