Barry Bonds' Hall of Fame hopes hampered

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 16, 2007 (KGO) (KGO) -- Fans of Barry Bonds are now wondering how the federal indictment will affect Bonds' chances for the Hall of Fame.

Barry Bonds has become the poster child for the steroid era in baseball.

His major concern now obviously is staying out of prison, but his legacy is cloudy at the moment.

With federal indictment and the evidence expected to be revealed, Barry's hopes for the Hall of Fame may be going, going gone.

The numbers speak for themselves.

73 homers in one season, 762 of which are lifetime - both all-time records.

Seven MVP awards, 14 All-Star selections.

On pure statistics alone, Barry Bonds is a certain Hall of Famer.

But years of steroid accusations, and now with an indictment issued, Bonds is facing a huge roadblock before he's ever up for induction in Cooperstown.

"If the election were today, I would not vote for Bonds," said Mark Purdy, San Jose Mercury News columnist.

The Baseball Writer's Association of America decides who gets inducted into the hall.

There are more than 500 writers casting ballots and 75 percent is required to enter the hall.

If Mark McGwire's case serves as an accurate indicator, Bonds has no shot.

McGwire helped resuscitate the sport when he smashed the old home run record in 1998, but his testimony before Congress soured Hall of Fame voters.

"I'm not here to discuss the past. I'm here to be positive about this subject," said Mark McGwire, March 17, 2005.

Big Mac received only 23 percent of the votes back in January.

McGwire is part of an entire era of players under suspicion.

"It is going to affect the way that people vote. I have all sorts of friends, who vote for the Hall of Fame, who tell me if you have any connection whatsoever to steroids, I'm not voting for you  period," said Tim Kurkjian, ESPN baseball analyst.

"It gives you a headache. As I said, these next 10 years are just going to give every Hall of Fame voter a headache, trying to sort out, well, does this guy maybe do something, or that guy, or how did it look," said Purdy.

Bonds is not eligible for the Hall of Fame until 5 years after he retires.

He has a 10 year window to get in after that.

Perceptions may change in the next decade and a half.

Former major leaguer Dave Stewart believes things may not be as dire as they appear for Bonds.

"You can indict him, but there's still a long process. I think in the end he's going to come out of this thing okay," said Stewart.

By the way, when news of the indictment came down yesterday, Bonds was hunting with former Giants teammate Ryan Klesko in Colorado.

The hunter has become the hunted.

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