Bud Selig Straight Up Refuses to Say if Barry Bonds Deserves to Make the Hall of Fame

Bud Selig's contempt for Barry Bonds seemingly knows no bounds. That much has been made increasingly clear. But this, Bud? This is just childish.

Former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has point-blank refused to say whether or not Barry Lamar Bonds deserves to be a Hall of Famer. He can't even give a simple yes or no.

When veteran baseball writer Tom Verducci posed the question to Selig, he simply responded by saying, "You know, it's up to the writers." That's Selig's cop-out way of saying no without actually putting himself on the record, but in and of itself, no is the wrong answer.

The noncommittal response comes in wake of the publishing of Selig's book-- one in which he rips Bonds. He makes it painstakingly clear that he despised watching the Giants superstar break Hank Aaron's all-time home run record back in 2007.

Though the PED cloud hangs heavy over Bonds' head -- though, to be fair, he never tested positive -- there's simply no denying that he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame when all's said and done. What he did at the plate is simply unfathomable. The man is the only player in MLB history ever to post a .600 or better on-base percentage in a single season. He owns three of the four best seasons ever in terms of OPS.

Love him or hate him, he deserves to be there. And if Selig disagrees with that premise, he should at least have the courage to take a stand on the issue. Hiding behind a waffling answer is a cowardly move for a former commissioner who so obviously despises Bonds.

Then again, we shouldn't have expected anything less from the man who chose to forgo attending the game in which Bonds broke Aaron's record. This is the Selig we've always known.