Atlanta Braves legend Chipper Jones has had the honor of playing against and alongside some of the best players in the sport he loves during his 20-year tenure with the team.
He saw greatness first hand and recently said which player he thinks is the best player he has ever seen.
Speaking recently at Foul Territory, Jones said: “I will say until the day I die, the best player I’ve ever seen in a baseball uniform is Barry Bonds.”
“I will say until the day I die, the best player I’ve ever seen in a baseball uniform is Barry Bonds.”@RealCJ10 explains why it’s not even close. pic.twitter.com/wVw22CKjWT
— FoulTerritory (@FoulTerritoryTV) December 29, 2024
Jones explained that no one is even close, adding that Shohei Ohtani could be thrown into the mix at this point given that he’s a “unicorn,” but Jones said he’s never seen anyone dominate a game like Bonds.
Host AJ Pierzynski echoed Jones’ comments, noting that he played with Bonds for a year and that it was “the dumbest thing he’s ever seen.”
The only thing keeping Bonds from being the undisputed greatest baseball player of all time is the steroid controversy that has clouded his legacy and kept him out of the Hall of Fame.
Bonds’ accolades are off the charts, and his most notable accomplishments are only the single-season and all-time home run records, and it’s highly unlikely we’ll ever see the player approach the numbers he regularly posted in his prime.
For example, in 2004, when Pierzynski had the honor of being his teammate for a year, Bonds followed up his 73-homer season with a .362 batting average, 45 home runs, an MLB-record 232 walks and just 41 strikeouts.
You couldn’t even do that in the easiest setting in a video game.
