The Case for Barry Bonds in the Hall of Fame: The Untold and Forgotten Stories of Baseball’s Home Run King

by K.P. Wee

"Barry Bonds is a Hall of Famer. At some point, the best players of their era have to be enshrined. Period. It’s part of our game’s history." —Trevor Bauer, 2020 National League Cy Young Award Winner Sportswriter K. P. Wee asks the question that many MLB fans have been thinking—Should Barry Bonds be in the Baseball Hall of Fame? In his 22 years in the Major Leagues, Bonds, who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Francisco Giants, • the All-time Home Run leader with 762 home runs • a seven-time MVP • a 14-time All-Star • an eight-time Gold Glove winner As the final year to vote this home run king in begins, The Case for Barry Bonds in the Baseball Hall of Fame looks at his stunning career from all aspects including his personal life as the son of a baseball legend, as well as never-before told stories of his generosity and mentorship towards other ballplayers. The book also looks at the stories of his distaste for the sports press, as well as the role of racism in professional sports, and how this impacted his career. Join sportswriter K. P. Wee as he shares insights and interviews from baseball insiders, Hall of Fame voters and baseball legends, as he puts to rest the question “Does Barry Bonds belong in the Baseball Hall of Fame?”

Genres: Baseball

216 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 4, 2021

About the author

K.P. Wee is the author of several books, most recently
- "The 1988 Dodgers: Reliving the Championship Season" (baseball history),
- "The End of the Montreal Jinx" (hockey history),
- "Don't Blame the Knuckleballer!" (baseball research, Volumes 1 & 2),
- "Tom Candiotti: A Life of Knuckleballs" (baseball biography),
- "Fess Up, Jessup!" (short fiction), and
- "Oh So Close, Canada!" (Canadian sports history).

A regular in-studio contributor on "Vancouver Canadians Game Day" on TSN1040 Radio Vancouver during the 2018 baseball season, K.P. was previously recognized as a Top Writer on Bleacher Report, a sports website creating and curating content about trending news topics. He currently writes about his daily thoughts and opinions on his own sites at kpwee.com, alifeofknuckleballs.com, and letseatoutonceaweek.wordpress.com (a food blog). He also has, in the past, provided commentary and advice on Quora.com, a Q&A site focused on sharing knowledge and practical solutions to everyday problems.

K.P. enjoys writing sports, psychological fiction with a twist of romance, and (some day) chick lit. He spent a decade working as a program developer and instructor for a private school, before joining the media relations department of the Vancouver Canadians baseball club. Though the experience was fun, K.P. found that he had very little time to do what he truly enjoys - writing - so he left to pursue a job in advertising. As of 2019, he is back to his old ways... working in both sports and education.

K.P. can be contacted at kp.wee.is@gmail.com. Follow him at @kpwee1 on Twitter & IG.

Reviews

[J Earl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an interesting, though poorly written, biography of sorts of Barry Bonds. If read as such it is not bad. The repetition of weak or illogical arguments get in the way of much of the story.

As an argument for including Bonds in the Hall of Fame it falls very short. Before anyone dismisses my opinion of Wee's argument as being because I am supposedly a hater of Bonds, that is not the case. I liked him a lot until his head shrank, or his body morphed to the extent he was disproportioned. Even after that I didn't dislike him, I just no longer cared about him. He was a great player before his steroid use, and I am not going to say alleged because it isn't alleged, it is the truth. His decision to cheat wasn't because, like so many others, he needed it to excel. He needed it because he insisted on being the "best" even if cheating was the only way to compete with other cheaters for numbers titles. He was still a marvel to watch, but I no longer cared or respected him.

Wee, and most of Bonds' apologists lie about it not being against the rules (it was against the rules beginning in 1991, the year after it became illegal). When one has to lie as the core of one's argument, you know the argument is weak. Others were doing it so he "had" to keep up is part of this argument. In other words, cheating and using illegal substances is okay to these people as long as others are doing it. Wow, what a great lesson to teach future generations. The means are always justified by the ends.

Oh yeah, lets not forget the argument that there are others in the HOF who are every bit as bad and even worse. Well, that is true, but as a justification for admitting Bonds it is moot. This is the same mindset that says if someone is good enough at something they should be forgiven their sins, you know, like university swimmers who rape unconscious women. Not to mention that if the mistakes of the past allowed cheats and "bad" people into the Hall then we can never improve because when we decide to improve we are reminded that others are already in, so we can't improve. That is just nuts.

I don't think Bonds deserves to be praised for cheating, and that extends to all of the others who used PEDs. That said, I am not going to lose sleep if he gets in, which I expect him to at some point. He was a great player, has great numbers, and ultimately the HOF isn't about making either life or the game better, it is about money, and Bonds getting in will make them money. I have as much respect for Bonds as I do Ty Cobb, which is to say none.

I would recommend this book to those who like Bonds and want him in, the repetition will not bother you as much as it did me. I also think those wanting to know what is wrong with society, how we have become open about our lack of integrity and want to reward it with HOF enshrinement and Presidential catastrophes, will find in these convoluted and unethical arguments most of what is wrong in the world.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Christopher Owens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Subtitle: The Untold and Forgotten Stories of Baseball’s Home Run King

This book argues that former Pirate and Giant Barry Bonds, baseball’s all-time home run leader, should be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame despite his association with the use of performance enhancing drugs during the later seasons of his career. For the record, I agree that players like Bonds and Mark McGwire should be voted into the Hall. Their career statistics demand that they be included with the greatest players in the game, and PED usage was so widespread and undetected during the 80s and 90s that it’s difficult to tell for sure who was using them and who wasn’t.


I was a fan of Barry Bonds through much of his career, particularly during his years with the Pittsburgh Pirates. I didn’t follow him as closely once he left them to join the San Francisco Giants. He didn’t need steroids to excel, but felt upstaged by McGwire and Sammy Sosa in their race to break Roger Maris’s single-season home run record in 1998.

That said, I found this book to be on the annoying side. The same arguments by the same players seemed to be recycled again and again, and some of the points were also recycled numerous times. In the section about Bonds’ overall poor performance in the post-season, the author used the ‘what if’ scenario to excuse multiple losses by Bonds’ teams – ‘what if’s’ cut work both for and against any particular player or team. The author makes a lot of valid points about how a player’s relationship with the media shouldn’t affect their ability to get their votes for the Hall of Fame, but the point is made so repetitively that it grew tiresome.

I gave The Case for Barry Bonds in the Hall of Fame three stars. I think it was unnecessarily long due to its repetitiveness. I think it would have made a better extended article than book, and would have preferred a more balanced presentation.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Case for Barry Bonds in the Hall of Fame by K. P. Wee was an advanced reader copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I requested this book because I am a big Giants fan. The one game I got to see was in 2002 and everytime Barry Bonds was up at bat, they walked him. I didn't realize at the time why the opposing team did that. I then became a fan in 2010 and have been learning everything I can about the game and the players. I have heard endless praise for Bonds and what he was able to accomplish from Giants broadcasters and not much from others. It was so interesting to read this book and learn more about Bonds and why he hasn't been voted in to the hall of fame. To me, it's a no grainer, he should be in it, but I didn't realize there were so many haters. I am an introvert and have been called cold, rude and standoffish and I wish people would understand that being quiet doesn't mean your rude. I loved this book and have even more respect for Barry Bonds.

[Daniel Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a Barry Bonds fan period. I read this book because like the author who by the way did a great job of backing his argument that Barry Bonds needs to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. I agree with the author. I learned more about Barry then I knew before. Yes I believe that Barry took PED's but like the author said he was a Hall of Famer before that already. I liked how the author showed that their are a lot of Hall of Famers who did as bad or worse things and yet are still in the Hall of Fame.

I just reviewed The Case for Barry Bonds in the Hall of Fame by K.P. Wee. #TheCaseforBarryBondsintheHallofFame #NetGalley

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good argument on why Bonds belongs in the Hall of Fame - whether or not you agree with the author. Full review to come.