Darryl Strawberry talks Hall of Fame candidacy of steroid-era baseball stars
MLB great Darryl Strawberry talks about the candidacy of steroid-era baseball stars on OutKick's "The Ricky Cobb Show."
If it were up to Darryl Strawberry, Barry Bonds would be in Cooperstown.
The 62-year-old eight-time All-Star was asked during a recent appearance on OutKick’s "The Ricky Cobb Show" if Bonds, among other players with ties to performance enhancing drugs, should be in the Hall of Fame.
"I think if you look down the list of every player that’s in the Hall of Fame, somebody’s done something. Let’s just be real, nobody’s perfect. Everybody makes mistakes, everybody falls short," Strawberry said.
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Barry Bonds is introduced to the fans at the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame ceremony at PNC Park. (Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports)
"When you look at guys, any guy that played, it’s hard enough to do that year after year and compete and put your body through what you got to put your body through. To see those guys not be honored for what they accomplished on the ball field, I think it’s insane."
"You can’t put some in and leave some out, you got some in there that people do know did the same thing, and then you're leaving other guys out, and you point at these guys and say these guys don’t get in. Well, why did you let the other guys in? You let other guys in who did things. Why not let those guys be in, too, because they accomplished a lot of great things on the field?"
Bonds, despite being a seven-time National League MVP winner, 14-time All-Star, 12-time Silver Slugger, eight-time Gold Glove winner, two-time batting champion and having the most home runs (762), walks (2558) and intentional walks (688) in MLB history, is not a Hall of Famer.
Bonds tested positive for steroids three times in his career, and during his 10 years on the writers’ ballot, he never had enough votes to make the Hall of Fame.
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New York Mets former player Darryl Strawberry speaks during a press conference at Citi Field before his number is retired by the team. (Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)
He could one day be voted in by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee, but for him, he won’t be able to be voted on until 2026.
The Pittsburgh Pirates inducted Bonds into their Hall of Fame last month. The San Francisco Giants retired his No. 25 in 2018.
Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz was inducted into the Hall of Fame in the Class of 2022, yet according to a New York Times report, he tested positive for a banned substance in 2003 during an anonymous survey. The substance was never made public and Ortiz has never admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs during his playing career.
Ortiz got 77.9% of the vote, just clearing the requisite 75% benchmark for induction. Bonds in 2022 received 66% of the vote.
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Barry Bonds addresses the fans after being inducted into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame at PNC Park. (Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports)
Strawberry also believes that one of his childhood idols, Pete Rose, should be in the Hall of Fame.
"I was a big fan of Charlie Hustle, Pete Rose. I saw him play a lot at the Dodgers and I just thought he was a phenomenal baseball player, the way he hustled, the way he played the game, and of course, his uniform was always dirty. If you’re going to play baseball and your uniform is not dirty, that means you’re not doing anything."
"Pete Rose taught me that by the way he played the game, and hopefully one day they will honor him and put him in the Hall of Fame because he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame for all that he did for the game of baseball and the way he played the right way."
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Pete Rose (IMAGN)
Rose was given a lifetime ban from MLB for gambling on the sport during his career. Rose is MLB’s all-time hit leader with 4,256 career hits.
Strawberry spent 17 seasons in Major League Baseball. He was rookie of the year with the New York Mets in 1983 and part of the 1986 team that won the World Series.
Strawberry also won World Series titles with the New York Yankees in 1996 and 1998 and ended his career with 335 home runs and 1,000 RBI.
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