Barry Bonds doesn’t understand why people are so mad at him

Barry Bonds really wants to make the Hall of Fame and doesn’t understand why people are still mad at him, he said Wednesday.

“I don’t even know how to explain it,” Bonds said in an interview with Barry Bloom of MLB.com. “The world has become so negative. One day, I’ll be able to say things the right way. But it’s tough when you have so many people out there who don’t want to turn the page and want to be angry at you forever. I don’t understand why it continues on. What am I doing wrong?

“I can sit here and say, ‘You know what? Baseball is great. I love it.’ I can sit here and say in a very kind way that I’m sorry about the way things ended. I can sit here and say that I respect the Hall of Fame, which I do. But I don’t understand all the controversy we’re having about it. For what reason? What’s there to be gained by all of this? What’s the point?”

“I do really care. I may say I don’t, but I do really care. I’ve been through a lot in my life so not too many things bother me. Making the Hall of Fame, would it be something that’s gratifying because of what I’ve sacrificed? Sure. Baseball has been a big part of our lives. We’ve sacrificed our bodies. It’s the way we made our living.

“And I’m trying to say this in the most diplomatic way because I’m not the most diplomatic person. It doesn’t belong to us. It’s like a neighborhood that doesn’t accept anyone under the age of 20 because they’re worried that they’re going to tear the place down. It’s supposed to be a town for everyone. I want to be part of Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame, but I don’t want to be part of the kind of Hall of Fame that’s based on voters’ beliefs and assumptions.

“If you believe I’m a bad person, if you believe I’m a drug person, then I don’t need to be a part of it. If you don’t want to put me in for those reasons then that’s fine. No worries. I’m OK with it. If you want to put me in for what I did as a player, that would be great. I’d love to be in there with everyone else who deserves it.”

Bonds was at the center of the BALCO performance-enhancing drug scandal. He is on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this year, and the odds are not in favor of baseball’s all-time home run leader being elected. The class of 2013 will be announced Jan. 9.

ALSO:

Michael Jordan banned from golf course for violating dress code

Hope Solo’s husband, Jerramy Stevens, is jailed for probation violation

Brandon Marshall says some NFL players use Viagra to raise their game