Barry Bonds Says Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani Has it Much Easier Than He Did

The things that Shohei Ohtani did in his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers was historic.

Opening the 50/50 club, winning a National League MVP award, and of course hoisting the franchise’s eighth World Series championship was truly a Hollywood script in the first of one decade in Tinseltown.

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With such a dominant season and the spotlight growing on Ohtani, it has of course opened up the debate to the baseball world about his place in history.

It has also opened up the conversation to some of the game’s legends.

Barry Bonds spoke on Ohtani during an appearance on the All The Smoke podcast. While first giving props to the three-time MVP’s brilliance, he also pointed out the differences in the way the game is played now compared to when Bonds was suiting up regularly.

“The pitching and hitting has been outstanding for what he’s done,” Bonds said. “Baserunning. He’s a complete player. There’s no doubt about the type of player he is and what he’s accomplished in his career.”

Ohtani’s brilliance is undeniable, but then the seven-time MVP critiqued how different the MLB landscape looks today.

“The game has just changed,” Bonds said. “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. He’s not gonna steal two bases without someone decapitating his kneecap to slow him down. It’s a different game back then.”

Bonds doubled down on how the new generation differs, offering another comparison to the seemingly easier treatment of MLB stars in this day and age.

“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.”

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Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

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