Barry Bonds Downplays Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani's Accomplishments

Sam Garcia | Mar 7, 2025

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Shohei Ohtani’s first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers was one for the record books, as the 2024 National League Most Valuable Player accomplished feats Major League Baseball had never seen.

But Ohtani has not fully impressed MLB’s all-time home run leader, Barry Bonds. The 14-time NL All-Star outfielder said on the “All Smoke” podcast that baseball players today do not face the same obstacles Bonds faced during his career.

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"The game has just changed," Bonds said on the podcast. "The game is way different than it was when I played. The same way Michael (Jordan) talks about it or anybody does.”

“Ohtani is not gonna hit two home runs without seeing one go (by his ear) in my generation. I don't care what he does,” Bonds added. “He's not gonna steal two bases without someone decapitating his kneecap to slow him down. It's a different game back then."

Although Bonds claims opponents played more aggressive defense during his career, hit-by-pitch rates have increased in recent years. According to MLB.com, 1.23 percent of batters were hit by a pitch in the 2020 season, which set a new MLB single-season record after 1.18 percent of batters were hit by a pitch in 1900.  

Additionally, MLB stated the next-highest hit-by-pitch rates were in 2021, 2023, 2024, 2022, 2019, and 2018. Bonds retired in 2007, but his argument may just be that opponents were deliberately hitting players more than they do today.

Bonds added that players today get to celebrate their home runs, which is something Bonds was not able to do during his career. 

"They should be better than us hitting-wise because they can hit a home run, throw their bat up in the air, run around, get a taco, come back down and have a limo drive them around," Bonds said.

"All these antics that we weren't allowed to do. If I did anything like that, I'm gonna see a star. I'm gonna see a hospital, but I ain't gonna see baseball that day."

Bonds is right on this one. The Dodgers are no strangers to celebrations around the bases.

Los Angeles celebrated with hip locks and the iconic "Freddie" dance move last season but have had a variety of good hit celebrations throughout the years.

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Nevertheless, it's a little unfair to downplay Ohtani's achievements just because players would get hit more back in the day for celebrating. There's a reason no one in MLB history has ever had 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season.

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