Giants’ Bonds admits his hopes of entering Baseball’s Hall of Fame have faded Originally appeared in NBC Bay Area Sports
Barry Bonds is at peace with his MLB legacy.
The veteran Giants slugger and the league’s all-time home run leader is no longer eligible to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame after failing to meet the required voting threshold for 10 consecutive years between 2013 and 2022.
Bonds, however, 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 Saturday at PNC Park.
Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Bonds admitted he is finally at peace with his fate in the Baseball Hall of Fame after his latest honor.
“I don’t have to worry about those things in my life anymore,” Bonds said. “I want to be with my grandkids and my kids. I’m not holding my breath anymore. I hope I can breathe tomorrow and see if I can make it to 61.”Thanks to AP’s Will Graves)
This is a different tone than Bonds, who has Hall of Fame voters criticized numerous times in the past for his exclusion from Cooperstown.
And while the latter honor is not the highest that Bonds deserves, the Home Run King is content to settle for immortalization in the Pirates and Giants franchises.