Barry Bonds critiques Shohei Ohtani stardom: Today’s MLB is ‘way different’

Shohei Ohtani has captivated the baseball world as both a hitter and pitcher across his seven-year MLB career, but one of the best players to ever swing a baseball bat, Barry Bonds, feels that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar’s success is blown a bit out of proportion.

While saying Ohtani’s two-way play has been “outstanding” and that he’s a “complete player,” Bonds explained why Ohtani has it easier than players of generations before him.

“There’s no doubt about the type of player he is and what he [has] accomplished in his career,” Bonds said. “The game has just changed. The game is way different than it was when I played. The same way Michael [Jordan] talks about it or anyone else does.

“Ohtani is not going to hit two home runs without seeing one go [by his ear] in my generation. I don’t care what he does. He’s not going to steal two bases without somebody decapitating his kneecap to slow him down because it’s a different game back then.”

Bonds also alluded to the onus put on hitting and the decrease in players and teams taking issue with hitters showing up pitchers (e.g. bat flips after home runs) as benefiting players of Ohtani’s ilk not getting into physical confrontations.

“Today’s game, they take batting practice all day,” Bonds said. “These guys hit more than I’ve ever seen in my entire lifetime … and they should be better than us, hitting-wise, because they can hit a home run, flip their bat up in the air, run around, get a taco, come back down and have a limo drive them around. All these antics that we weren’t allowed to do.

“If I did anything like that, I’m going to see a star. I’m going to see a hospital, but I’m not going to see baseball that day.”

Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani hits solo home run in his first AB of spring training

Ohtani is coming off a 2024 campaign, his first with the Dodgers, that saw him become the first player in MLB history to post a 50-50 season (50 home runs and 50 stolen bases). He finished the regular season with 54 home runs, 130 RBI, 59 stolen bases, a 9.2 WAR and a .310/.390/.646 slash line; Ohtani and the Dodgers won the 2024 World Series.

Ohtani, a three-time MLB MVP and three-time Silver Slugger, hasn’t pitched since 2023 due to a torn UCL in his pitching elbow. Across the 86 career starts that he made prior to his injury, Ohtani has posted a 3.01 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 608 strikeouts in 481 2/3 innings. He spent the first six seasons of his MLB career with the Los Angeles Angels.

Meanwhile, Bonds, who holds both the MLB record of 73 home runs in a single season (2001) and 762 career home runs, still hasn’t made the Baseball Hall of Fame due to steroid use. Bonds, who spent his 22-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1986-92) and San Francisco Giants (1993-2007), was a two-time batting champion, seven-time league MVP, eight-time Gold Glover and 12-time Silver Slugger.

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