Barry Bonds is at peace with his MLB legacy.
The longtime Giants slugger and the league’s all-time home run leader no longer is eligible to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame after falling short of the required vote threshold for 10 consecutive years from 2013-2022.
However, Bonds 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 on Saturday at PNC Park.
In speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Bonds admitted he finally is at peace with his Baseball Hall of Fame fate after his latest honor.
“I don’t have to worry about those things no more in my life,” Bonds said. “(I want to) hang around my grandchildren and my children. Those hopes (of making the Hall of Fame), I don’t have them anymore. I hope to breathe tomorrow (and see) if I can make it to 61.” (h/t AP’s Will Graves)
This is a different tone from Bonds, who has criticized Hall of Fame voters numerous times in the past for his exclusion from Cooperstown.
And while the latest honor is not the highest that Bonds is deserving of, the Home Run King is content settling for immortalization in both the Pirates and Giants franchises.
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