Yankees' Aaron Judge gets Barry Bonds comparison from former NL MVP

Has the New York Yankees' Aaron Judge entered legendary territory?

Steroid allegations and Hall of Fame controversy aside, Barry Bonds continues to be the gold standard among baseball players to most who witnessed what he did. Few players have come close to matching what Bonds did for the San Francisco Giants in the early 2000s, but Judge is starting to measure up.

Judge is having an absurd season, batting .412 with a 1.275 OPS through 35 games. He now owns a 1.120 OPS dating back to the start of the 2022 season. From 2001 to 2004, Bonds' absolute peak, he put up a 1.368 OPS, hitting 209 home runs while stacking up 755 walks.

Fans were wowed by Bonds, but his peers used to marvel at his greatness too. And recently, another former Most Valuable Player was asked to compare the two.

During a recent Bleacher Report livestream, Philadelphia Phillies legend Jimmy Rollins was asked whether or not Judge had entered Bonds territory based on some of his incredible accomplishments of late.

"I wouldn't say it's crazy, and I know why they're doing it," Rollins said. "Obviously, what Aaron is able to do at the plate is absolutely special."

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"The difference is, Bonds didn't have a hole in his swing. They'll still pitch to Aaron. He'll still swing and miss a lot. Barry didn't do that... And it's no slight at Judge, but Barry was just different... whenever his name was announced, you stopped whatever you were doing to come watch this at-bat."

Two players can put up virtually the same numbers and take different routes to getting there. Even if Judge is swinging and missing a bit more often, the fact is that he's put up Bonds-level stats through 35 games this season--and he wasn't far behind over the course of the full 2024 season.

Perhaps Judge may not be on Bonds' tier just yet, but he's the closest we've seen in the 20 years since the Giants star's peak. And every time we think he can't keep improving, it seems of late that he most definitely can.

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