Call to the Hall: Griffey vs. Bonds
All those expecting to stand tall in Cooperstown next summer, take one step forward. Not so fast, Mr. Bonds.
By Jeff Tracy for Five O’ Clock, a Harry’s Magazine
When Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds entered the league in 1989 and 1986, respectively, they were fan favorites right out of the gate. These ultra-athletic outfielders with sweet swings and bright futures took the league by storm, winning a combined four MVPs from 1990–1997 and ushering in an exciting new era in baseball. Each had certain advantages over the other, but both were phenomenal 5-tool stars, universally regarded as the two best players of the ‘90s.
So, what happened next?
In sports, stats often fail to tell the whole story. Thirteen years ago, Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics proved that pretty convincingly with their “Moneyball” approach to scouting, which has since changed the way that General Managers across all major sports evaluate the immense pools of talent at their fingertips. But, I think we can all agree that stats at least mean something, so let’s take a look at how Griffey and Bonds compare to each other in the most obvious of all statistics: the home run.
Ken Griffey Jr. retired in 2010 with 630 home runs — good for sixth on the all-time list. He reached that total by playing for a long time (22 seasons), having one of the smoothest swings in the history of the game, and taking full advantage of his prime, blasting 249 homers in the five-year span between the ages of 26 and 30. After that, injury and age took over, and though he enjoyed another decade in the big leagues, his production never again reached the lofty heights that youth and health afforded him. His career was over, but his iconic smile — and the respect he earned from players and fans alike — never faded.
Barry Bonds ended his 22-year career in 2007 with 762 home runs, breaking Hank Aaron’s 31-year old record for most all-time. At first blush, you might think this simply means that he was 132 home runs better than Junior, and in a vacuum, you’d be right. Let’s dive a little deeper into how he reached that number, though.
Through his first 15 seasons, Bonds was a spectacular hitter, but he never reached 50 home runs in a season. All of a sudden, at the age of 36 — when the vast majority of players are in a noticeable decline — he set the single season home run record with 73. Seventy-three home runs. In one season. He also won the MVP award that year (shocker!). He then won it again at age 37, hitting 46 homers. And again at 38 with 45 homers. And yes, you guessed it, once more at age 39, with another 45 home run season to boot. For anyone counting at home, that’s an absurd four MVPs and a staggering 209 home runs in the four seasons that comprised his late thirties.
I’m not going to say that this was unequivocally the work of performance enhancing drugs…but that’s only because the fine American justice system did that for me. In 2007, Bonds was indicted and charged with perjury and obstruction of justice for lying to a grand jury in 2003 about his “alleged” steroid use. The jig was up when an investigation uncovered that he did, in fact, test positive for anabolic steroids right in the midst of his historic MVP streak.
Now, some of you may have seen that on April 22, 2015, a federal court of appeals decided to reverse Bonds’ obstruction of justice charge, stating that “his meandering answer before a grand jury in 2003 was not material to the government’s investigation into illegal performance-enhancing drugs distribution.” Don’t let this fool you, though. Sure, this means he’s technically no longer a convicted felon, but this ruling has nothing to do with his use of illegal steroids. He still cheated, got caught…and somehow continues to act like he’s the victim in all of this.
You stay classy, Barry.
Next year will be Griffey’s first year of Hall of Fame eligibility, and he’s a shoo-in to earn the requisite 75% of the vote to gain entry. In fact, many believe he’ll challenge Reds pitcher Tom Seaver for the highest vote total of all time (98.84%). Bonds, on the other hand, has already failed to gain entry three times, earning only 36.8% of the vote last year. He has seven years of eligibility left to bump that number up to 75%, but only time will tell if he’ll ever get there. If you ask me, he’s been in the spotlight for too long and I think it’s time for him to bow out — quietly.
Junior, when they call your name in Cooperstown next summer, just flash that smile and stand up tall — you earned it.
