David Eckstein Says Barry Bonds Deserves Hall of Fame, Despite PED Scandal

Barry Bonds will be the first MLB player entrenched in baseball's PED scandal to make the Hall of Fame ... and he won't be the last -- so says former World Series MVP David Eckstein.

Eckstein managed to have a great career despite playing in the thick of the steroid era -- he was never implicated or tested positive for anything ... as clean as they come.

So, how does he feel about the possibility of juicers like Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens and others possibly being enshrined in baseball's holiest shrine?

Doesn't seem like he's THAT opposed to it.

"That will start with Bonds ... because Bonds was a Hall of Famer before this stuff. So, I think he'll be the first one," Eckstein says.

"I think at some point in time, when the older writers [who vote for the HOF] get out and the younger writers get in, I think at some point in time, you might see these guys get in."

Still ... David isn't holding a grudge (dude did beat Barry for one of his World Series rings) -- and says, ultimately, Bonds deserves a bronze bust one day.

"Bonds was a Hall of Famer prior [to PEDs]," David says. "We'll see. I mean, who knows? You just wish no one ever did it."