Pudge hopes Bonds, Clemens eventually get Hall call

At least one current Baseball Hall of Famer would like to see a future with Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens at his side.

Ivan Rodriguez, the catcher elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on his first try in 2017, endorsed the eventual election of his contemporaries Bonds and Clemens, who fell off the writers’ ballot Tuesday when they failed to land the required 75 percent support in their 10th and final tries. Both will be eligible for consideration by the Today’s Game Era Committee, which will convene in December then again in December 2024.

“The numbers those two guys put up, we’re talking about a guy [Bonds] that is number one in home runs in the history of baseball and you have a guy [Clemens] with the most Cy Youngs in baseball. Obviously they have tremendous careers,” Rodriguez said on a Zoom news conference to promote his appearance at the ClubCorp Classic golf tournament April 22-24 at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas. “Hopefully one day they both can be in the Hall of Fame because their careers are unbelievable.”

Bonds and Clemens both fell short, clearly, because of their association with illegal performance-enhancing drugs, though neither was ever found guilty of anything. Rodriguez overcame a public accusation by his former Rangers teammate Jose Canseco in Canseco’s 2005 book, “Juiced,” to gain induction.

Rodriguez’s fellow Hall of Famer John Smoltz, who also will be participating in the golf event, hedged on the matter of the two legends’ Cooperstown fate.

“What baseball will always know is that Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are two of the greatest players to ever play the game,” said Smoltz, who allowed eight home runs to Bonds. “Unfortunately for them, there has been speculation, fair or not. I have no evidence on anybody on what they did or didn’t do.

“Having competed against Barry Bonds, it’s the greatest single challenge I’ve ever had. He’s the hardest guy to ever get out. I gave up home runs to him, and never once did I think about those nine home runs in an adverse way.

“The process will take it where it needs to go, and the end result will be what it is.”