Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens on Hall of Fame's Contemporary Era ballot
Roger Clemens, left, and Barry Bonds. Credit: AP Photos
LAS VEGAS — Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are getting a second chance at Cooperstown.
Just 10 months after the BBWAA closed the door, as both failed to appear on 75% of the organization’s ballots for the 10th and final year of their eligibility, another gateway opened Monday when the Hall of Fame’s Contemporary Baseball Era committee announced that the PED-tainted duo again will be considered for induction.
Last January, Bonds received 66.0% and Clemens 65.2% of the vote. David Ortiz, the only one of the three who actually tested positive for a banned substance (during MLB’s non-penalty, supposedly anonymous survey testing in 2003), was elected with 77.9% of the vote.
This round of voting, however, will be from a much more select group, which still makes it unlikely that Bonds and Clemens will gain entry by this process.
In the 2022 election, the BBWAA submitted a total of 394 ballots from writers with a minimum of 10 consecutive years of active membership (296 votes were required for induction).
The Contemporary Era committee, like each of the Hall of Fame’s individually tailored voting blocs, will consist of 16 Cooperstown-appointed electors composed of executives, Hall of Famers and veteran media members. Of those, 12 votes are needed for induction, with the vote scheduled for Dec. 4 as part of MLB’s winter meetings in San Diego.
In September, while appearing on ESPN’s “KayRod” broadcast, Bonds joked about coming out of retirement to reset his Cooperstown clock. He also said the Hall remains a career goal and that “the dream is still not over for me.”
“It means a lot to all of us — 100% yes,” Bonds said. “We’ve earned it.”
Bonds, a seven-time Most Valuable Player, is the sport’s career leader in home runs with 762 and the single-season record-holder with 73 in 2001.
Clemens owns seven Cy Young Awards, ranks third on the all-time strikeout list (4,672) behind Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson, and is the only 300-game winner (354) not in Cooperstown.
Neither Bonds nor Clemens tested positive for a banned substance or was suspended by MLB, but each came under fire in high-profile cases involving allegations of using PEDs.
Six other candidates will be considered next month, including the controversial Curt Schilling, whose inflammatory political statements damaged his final BBWAA bid (58.6%) last year. Don Mattingly, Albert Belle, Fred McGriff, Dale Murphy and Rafael Palmeiro are the others.
Mattingly, a former Yankees captain, appeared on only 9.1% of the ballots in his 15th and final year of BBWAA eligibility in 2015, then earned seven out of 16 votes from the 2017 Modern Era committee.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
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