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Barry Bonds’ Hall of Fame chances appear finished
by Grey Papke
Barry Bonds’ chances of making the Baseball Hall of Fame appear to be dead once and for all.
The Hall of Fame on Sunday announced the results from the 2025 round of balloting by the Contemporary Baseball Era committee, a 16-member committee that reconsiders players who have dropped off the traditional balloting process. Bonds was up for consideration in 2025, but received fewer than five votes and did not come close to being selected.
The committee meets every three years, but by receiving so few votes, Bonds will not be eligible for consideration in 2028. The next time he could be considered will not be until 2031.
Hall of Fame results: Jeff Kent (14 votes, 87.5%); Carlos Delgado (9 votes, 56.3%); Don Mattingly (6 votes, 37.5%); Dale Murphy (6 votes, 37.5%); Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela each received less than five votes.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) December 8, 2025
Second baseman Jeff Kent, Bonds’ former San Francisco Giants teammate, was the only player selected for induction in 2026. Like Bonds, Kent’s initial candidacy was hurt by his reputation as a poor teammate, but unlike Bonds, Kent was not linked to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Bonds is an easy Hall of Fame choice on paper, as his 762 career home runs are still the most in history. However, he has never come close to being selected due to his alleged PED use. Bonds has claimed he never knowingly took any illegal substances, but was indicted for perjury in relation to the BALCO case in 2007. He was not convicted, and a later conviction for obstruction of justice was eventually overturned on appeal.
Bonds himself has essentially given up on ever being elected to the Hall of Fame. Based on these numbers, he was right to do so.
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