Two titans. Two eras. One question: Who’s the better hitter — Barry Bonds at his peak, or today’s version of Yankees slugger Aaron Judge?
Former MLB stars and Phillies teammates Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard, whose careers overlapped some with Bonds’, delved into that topic on the latest episode of the 6-1-1 podcast, which dropped Tuesday.
While Judge is having an incredible season, neither Rollins nor Howard is ready to put him above Bonds, whose numbers during a run of four consecutive MVP seasons from 2001-04 boggle the mind. Bonds recorded 209 homers and 755 walks (284 of them intentional) in that span, slashing .349/.559/.809 and notching 47.3 WAR (per FanGraphs).
“[They’re] both complete-package hitters, pole to pole. Doesn’t matter what ballpark, what time of day, who’s on the mound; if you put the ball in the wrong place, you know something bad is going to happen,” Rollins said. “But, Barry did not have the holes in his swing, especially at this point in his career.”
“I agree,” Howard said, “I think at this point in their careers, I mean there’s no slight against what Aaron Judge has done, but like you said, Barry was going up there and getting walked four times. He’ll get walked in a game four times. I’m not sure — and again, it’s no slight against Aaron Judge — [but] how many times Aaron Judge has been walked with the bases loaded. … If you took Barry and put Barry in this era now, I think in terms of what Judge is doing, I think Barry does that much better.”
Granted, even being mentioned in the same breath as Bonds at his best is a win for Judge — and a testament to his sheer dominance at the plate in 2025.
Already a two-time American League MVP, Judge has somehow managed to level up this season. Through 46 games, Judge is hitting .401 with 15 homers, 41 RBIs, 43 runs scored, a 1.242 OPS and 4.1 WAR (per FanGraphs). Each of those figures leads the AL — and in the case of his average, OPS and WAR, all of MLB.
Be sure to check out the latest 6-1-1 podcast episode to hear the full Bonds vs. Judge conversation and much more as Rollins and Howard dish on the latest from around the Majors.
