Is Barry Bonds or Shohei Ohtani Tougher Out? Former Dodgers Star Decides

The rivalry runs thick between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers. So does the respect.

This weekend the Giants and Dodgers face each other again in Los Angeles. Back in the day, that meant that Dodgers closer Eric Gagne would, at times, get the chance to face Giants slugger Barry Bonds.

During an appearance on The Morning Roast on 95.7 FM, Gagne was asked a pointed question about Bonds and the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, who is one of baseball’s best hitters and, when pitching, its only two-way player.

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The question was simple — who was the tougher out? Keep in mind that Gagne faced Bonds but has never faced Ohtani. It’s not hard to figure out who Gagne chose.

"Barry had no holes in his swing,” Gagne said. “He was right on top of the plate. When I see Shohei's swing, I feel like I'd have a little bit of a better chance against Ohtani than I would against Barry, because Barry's just, he just set differently in the box. He was just scary. He had a different aura about him. I'm sure Ohtani has that from the players when he plays against them, but to me, there's nobody I've seen that has dominated that much in the box as Barry."

Gagne was one of baseball’s top closers from 2002-04 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. During that stretch he saved 152 games, made three All-Star Game appearances, won the 2003 National League Cy Young and finished in the Top 12 in NL MVP voting all three seasons.

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He played 10 years from 1999-2008 and finished with a 33-26 record and 187 saves. But he never approached his heroics with the Dodgers in that three-season span. He did win a World Series ring with the Boston Red Sox in 2007.

Ohtani already appears headed for the Baseball Hall of Fame when his career is over and he’s only 30 years old. Since breaking into the Majors in 2018, he’s won the American League rookie of the year and three MVP awards — two in the AL and one in the National League. He also won a World Series ring with the Dodgers last year and has done all of that after two major elbow surgeries.

As for Bonds, he isn’t in the Hall of Fame due to his connections with the BALCO scandal. But, on paper, there may be no more productive hitter in baseball history than the Giants legend.

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He won the National League MVP seven times. He also won eight NL Gold Gloves, 12 NL Silver Sluggers, three Major League player of the year awards and two batting titles. He also made the NL All-Star team 14 times.

In his 22-year career he slashed .298/.444/.607 with a Major League-leading 762 home runs and 1,996 RBI. He also set the single-season home run record in 2001 with 734.

While Bonds never tested positive for steroids or any other PED, he was indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice as a result of the federal government’s investigation of BALCO.

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Bonds was eventually found guilty on one count of obstruction of justice and received 30 days of house arrest, two years of probation and 250 hours of community service. That conviction was overturned in 2015.

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