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Baseball legend Barry Bonds said at his induction into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame that he no longer has concerns about making the Baseball Hall of Fame, an honor that has eluded him since he was first eligible in 2013.
“I don’t have to worry about those things no more in my life,” Bonds said, per the Associated Press. “[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.”
Bonds’ 10-year eligibility to make the Hall off the Baseball Writers’ Association of America has been exhausted. He can still make the Hall via a vote from the Contemporary Player Committee, which had a chance to elect Bonds in 2022 but passed on the opportunity.
Bonds is a seven-time National League MVP, 14-time All-Star, 12-time Silver Slugger and eight-time Gold Glove winner whose 762 home runs are first all time in MLB history. However, steroid allegations have ultimately prevented Bonds, who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1986-1992) and San Francisco Giants (1993-2007), from landing in Cooperstown.
Bonds once cared deeply about making the Hall, saying this when he was up for induction the first time.
“I do really care,” Bonds said, per Barry Bloom of MLB.com. “I may say I don’t, but I do really care. I’ve been through a lot in my life so not too many things bother me. Making the Hall of Fame, would it be something that’s gratifying because of what I’ve sacrificed? Sure. Baseball has been a big part of our lives. We’ve sacrificed our bodies. It’s the way we made our living.”
However, it now appears that Bonds may be at peace that he may never make the Hall of Fame. That hope still exists, though, as the Contemporary Player Committee meets again in December 2025 for inclusion into the class of 2026.