SF Giants legend Barry Bonds inducted into Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame

SF Giants legend Barry Bonds returned to his roots as the Pittsburgh Pirates inducted him into their Hall of Fame. Bonds was inducted along with longtime manager Jim Leyland and All-Star catcher Manny Sanguillen.

SF Giants legend Barry Bonds inducted into Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame

Why did it take so long? I think both the Giants and Pirates held out hope that they would be able to recognize Bonds in the context of him being elected to the Hall of Fame. That has not come to fruition yet and the all-time home run leader has come to terms with the fact that it may not happen.

It remains ludicrous how Hall of Fame voters displayed selective bias when voting for players from the PED era. There are players with PED ties in the Hall of Fame, but Bonds was one of the main villains from that era. Some of that was self-inflicted, but the point still stands.

Bonds' career began with the Pirates in 1986 where he posted a .746 OPS with 16 home runs and 48 RBI in 484 plate appearances. He also swiped 36 bases in 43 opportunities while finishing sixth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. Robby Thompson (Giants), Kevin Mitchell (New York Mets), and Will Clark (Giants) all finished ahead of Bonds. All four players would go on to carve out very nice Giants careers.

Bonds spent his first seven seasons in a Pirates uniform. His arrival corresponded with an excellent era of Pirates baseball where they reached the playoffs three times in his seven years with the club. This was back when there were only two divisions in each league and the winner of each division reached the playoffs.

During that stretch, the left-handed bat collected 176 home runs, 556 RBI, and 251 stolen bases while earning two NL All-Star nods and two MVP Awards. He probably should have won a third MVP Award with the Pirates but finished in second place in 1991 after leading baseball with a .924 OPS with 25 home runs and 116 RBI. He was clearly the best position player that year, but Terry Pendleton of the Atlanta Braves got the nod.

Of course, Bonds departed in free agency after the 1992 season. He joined the Giants for the next 15 seasons. During that stretch, he earned 12 All-Star nods, four MVP Awards, and blasted 586 home runs. He finished his career as the all-time leader in home runs with 762. His career began with Pittsburgh and it is a cool honor that they brought him back along with Jim Leyland and Manny Sanguillen for enshrinement.