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Giants Insider Sounds Alarm on Barry Bonds’ Hall of Fame Future
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- Giants Insider Sounds Alarm on Barry Bonds’ Hall of Fame Future
San Francisco Giants beat reporter and longtime Bay Area baseball insider Susan Slusser cast serious doubt on longtime Giants outfielder Barry Bonds' Hall of Fame chances Sunday night.
The Hall of Fame announced that Bonds, along with Roger Clemens, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela, received fewer than five votes on the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot. Candidates were required to appear on 12 of 16 ballots to be inducted. As a result of failing to receive at least five votes, none of the four will be eligible again until 2031.
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Slusser noted that legendary Giants pitcher Juan Marichal was among the 16 voters. It is unclear how Marichal voted or whether he was among the five who supported Bonds, who will permanently fall off the ballot if he does not receive at least five votes in 2031.
"This pretty much means he is unlikely ever to get in, especially with the Hall's new eligibility rules," Slusser wrote of Bonds.
San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds in 2007Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Bonds, who turned 61 in July, remains Major League Baseball 's leader in home runs (762) and walks drawn (2,558). He retired having hit .298 with 1,996 RBIs, 601 doubles and a 1.051 OPS in 22 seasons with the Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates .
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Former Giants All-Star second baseman Jeff Kent, who played with Bonds from 1997 through 2002, received 14 votes and will officially enter the Hall of Fame next summer.
What to Know About Barry Bonds and the Hall of Fame
Bonds' final years in baseball were marred by allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs. Although Bonds never tested positive nor was he punished by the league, he was convicted in 2011 of obstruction of justice during a probe into his alleged PED use; that conviction was later overturned, and the government announced in 2015 it would not take the case to the Supreme Court.
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The Giants backed Bonds' Hall of Fame case in January 2022, when he fell off the ballot after drawing 66% in his final year. Candidates need 75% to earn election.
"His incredible talent and immediate impact when he signed with the Giants in 1993 sparked not only a baseball renaissance in San Francisco , but also helped pave the way for building Oracle Park (née Pacific Bell Park) in 2000," the club wrote in a press release at the time.
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Bonds and Clemens' omissions do not bode well for Álex Rodríguez and Manny Ramírez, both of whom served performance-enhancing drug–related suspensions late in their careers. Neither Rodríguez nor Ramírez has surpassed 40% through four and nine years on the ballot, respectively.
Ramírez, a 12-time All-Star with 555 home runs, is in his final year on the ballot. As of Dec. 7, Ramírez had appeared on three of 10 ballots in Ryan Thibodaux's Hall of Fame tracker , while Rodríguez had received six votes.
Related: Yankees Fans Sound Off on Sunday's Don Mattingly News
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Dec 8, 2025, where it first appeared in the MLB section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
