The San Francisco Giants aren't hiding their discontent as franchise icon Barry Bonds falls short of Cooperstown in his final year of eligibility.
"We don't have any control over it. It's the writers and that's their judgement," Giants President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Baer told KCBS Radio's Patti Reising and Jeff Bell on Tuesday.
The polarizing slugger with an eye-popping resume, including the most home runs in baseball history, missed the required 75% threshold with only 66% of the votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, a group that's – thus far – been steadfast in keeping steroid-tainted players from immortality.
"The Giants…we made our case a couple of years ago when we retired Barry's number," Baer said. "At that point, the only retired numbers were Hall of Famers." In a post to social media shortly after the vote became public, the Giants called Bonds "a generational talent" with "incredible talent and immediate impact."
Roger Clemens, another player associated with performance-enhancing drugs, also fell short in his final year of consideration.
"I think that's been the case through the many years with Barry and Roger having not gotten in," Baer said of the possibility the voters are trying to make a statement about steroid use in baseball. "There's a lot of ways to carve it up and make distinctions and you look at the early parts of the career. I think the writers…most of the writers here locally voted for him."
Baer went on to call Bonds "pretty responsible for the renaissance of baseball in San Francisco and the area when the team almost moved in 1992."
Bonds still has a chance to make the Baseball Hall of Fame next December by the Hall's Today's Game era committee. "As people absorb the decision, people feel that Barry Bonds was one of the best players of any era and that certainly is deserving and maybe he'll get in that way. I think there's a descent chance that’s the case," Baer added.
Related
