Chipper Jones once paid tribute to Barry Bonds' greatness as a hitter, disregarding steroids scandal

Atlanta Braves legend Chipper Jones famously lauded MLB great Barry Bonds during a sit-down with Nate Penn from GQ Magazine in 2008. Jones referred to Bonds as one of the greatest players he'd ever laid his eyes on despite the 14-time All-Star's PED controversies.

Jones hailed the MLB home run king, noting that numerous players, including himself, revered Bonds to the extent that many wouldn't fathom. Jones explained that what impressed him the most was Bonds' skill and composure on the batting mound.

“You don’t know how many guys he played against revere him," Jones said. "When he walks up to the plate, he might see one hittable pitch the whole game. And when that one guy who has ego enough challenges him, he kills it."

He continued:

"To have the patience, the eyesight, the hand-eye coordination to be ready for that one guy truly amazes me. He’s the best player I’ve ever seen, steroids or no steroids.”

Jones also famously came to the rescue of Barry Bonds in 2018 when he was quizzed about whether he had any problems with the PED-tainted former star joining him in Cooperstown.

"Obviously, I have no problem and I've said it publicly often," Jones said.

Chipper Jones then explained that he in no way was advising people on how to vote, but if it were solely up to him, Bonds (and Roger Clemens) would've been MLB Hall of Famers.

"That being said, I'm not going to tell anybody how to vote for them. I think both would have been Hall of Famers, regardless, whether they had a cloud of suspicion or not. So I'm just going to leave it at that for now, until the time actually comes."

Barry Bonds didn't receive enough votes to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame

Despite being considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time, Bonds notably never made it into the Hall of Fame due to his involvement in the steroid scandal.

In 10 years of eligibility, Bonds never received the 75% of the votes he needed to be elected into the Hall of Fame.