Greg Maddux & Billy Wagner discuss what it was like to face Barry Bonds
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- čas přidán 17. 01. 2024
- Greg Maddux and Billy Wagner tell me what it was like to face prime Barry Bonds.
Also a good story by John Smoltz.
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This is the first time I ever heard “you learn to beat lineups and not hitters” of course it came from Maddux
Maddox being honest is saying "I only have to get 27 outs"....of course he's always thinking complete game......at maybe 100 pitches.
😂
Only if he didn’t have a tee time scheduled for the next morning
Billy Wagner belongs in the Hall of Fame what a crime put that man in there where he belongs
100%
Maybe pitch over 80 Innings in a season just once???
Facing batters once a week is what leads to the low numbers. It's only when you need to get a hitter out a 2nd or third time in the same game that it gets difficult.
And you belong in grammar school. You fit three sentences into one.
Barry Bonds belongs in the hall 🤷🏼♂️
@ifbfmto9338 bonds was a three time league MVP before any HGH allegations. Name any other 3 time MVP not in the HoF.
Maddux was a genius
Is a genius
Maddox, P Martinez the best 2 I've seen
The jacked/body armor late 30s Bonds was the only athlete that's ever seemed superhuman to me. And will probably never see anything like it again
What I remember about watching Bonds in his prime was that he got so few pitches to hit. Maybe one or two a game. But, when he got one he never missed it.
Glad Sheffield got mentioned. Im a bit biased as he was my favorite player but he was dangerous at the plate. Should be in the hall of Fame. Dude was one of the best for a long time.
Veterans committee will right the wrong eventually. Like Barry, Gary didn’t fuck with the media. And like the scorned little girls they are, they kept him out
Sheffield was the most feared hitter of his era besides Bonds
@@TheBest0704 I will never loved watching baseball again as much as I did when he was playing and my favorite player. I don't think it's possible to have the same love as an adult as you do it as a kid. Maybe for a team but not for a player. You have those heroes when you're a kid and I just don't think it's something that you can replicate as an adult. I got to watch him for 10 years which at the time was about half my life. And 99 2000 2001 2003 2004 2005 he was fantastic. 2006 he got hurt 2007 was the beginning of his decline but he still had a decent season. And 2002 was a little bit of an off-year for him home run wise. He started off hot but just wasn't hitting as good as he did previous or post. But 2000 and 2003 were fucking amazing as a kid watching. 43 home runs in 2000 and 3:30 with 39 home runs something like 136 RBI in 2003 on a SICK braves team. To this day I will challenge anybody and say that I can do a better Gary Sheffield batting impression better than absolutely anyone except him. I used to record his at bats on VHS and I would watch in slow motion and look at his hand placement and timing on everything. so many of my friends have met him I have never gotten to but I had so many amazing memories watching him play. Including getting 4 hours sleep before my first day of high school because they were in extra innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks who won the world series the year before and the game wasn't televised but came on because it was like a 17 inning game. Still hope to meet him eventually
@@thickerconstrictor9037 awesome story
@@thickerconstrictor9037 I was a diehard MLB fan living in South Florida. We didn’t even have a pro team until I was 11-12. I was already a big Sheffield fan since Milwaukee. I too used to mimic his batting stance. Then when the Marlins got him, I’d watch every single game specifically because of him
Maddux such an intelligent baseball and pitching mind, if I can keep Barry bonds in the ballpark I win! Wow exactly 💯💯💯
Chipper Jones told a story where Maddux was facing Shawn Greene in spring training. Jones said Maddux turned to him and said watch how far he hits this ball. Greene tanked one off him and he was done running the bases Maddux said now he'll be looking for that pitch off of me all season.
Maddux never thought a immaculate inning was 3 ks on 9 pitches but it was 3 outs on 3 pitches.
His intelligence was on another level. Also. He pitched at a time where the zone went from being more left to right, to being up and down… and he adjusted accordingly. He was remarkable.
@@NikoXC08 definitely without a doubt my fav pitcher all time. Stayed low, used the corners both in and out, to both sides of the plate, didnt fear any hitter either 💯🙏🔥
@@gabrielv.2647 the story of him being told he needed to get in better shape, then being found running buck naked on the treadmill the next morning when the team arrived to the clubhouse, further cements his legacy as one of the GOATs.
Gagne v Bonds with both geared up to infinity was the greatest battle I have ever seen. Bonds pulling a 104 mph pitch foul a million feet. 😮 LoL
Imagine the year Barry hit 73 HR's..
IF the pitchers woulda pitched to him , he may have hit a 100 HR. 😂
😂
Steroids fully annul his numbers. Look at Sosa's numbers before and after roid use. He was not even a good player and Bonds pre-steroids was. But he was just that - good, even very good, but not amazing. Bonds should never be in a conversation about the best of all time. Ever.
@ashocck8065 Barry Bonds had 3 NL MVP's for the Pittsburg Pirates before even going to SanFran.. That alone gets you in the HOF. So don't give me this "oh he did roids BS." They all were doing it.
@@danielives379 So Ruth, Williams, Foxx, Gehrig, Aaron, Mays, Musial were juicing? Alcohol counts, yes? 3x MVP does get you into the HOF, but we all know that there are plenty of HOFers that are there b/c they were truly great and even more of those who were just very good. He would be in the HOF w/o roids, but he'd be nowhere in the conversation about greatest of all time.
@ashocck8065 Well sir. You are in the minority. There are ALOT of people , dead or alive, smarter than both you and me , who think that Barry Bonds was the greatest player EVER. And not just because of roids.
Billy Wagner , HOF in my book. Guy could bring the heat 🔥
Steroids or not... he is the best hitter I have ever seen in the last 40 years of watching baseball.
Thank you. Well said. You sir know the game
"You learn how to beat line ups, and not hitters" - Greg Maddux. True team player. Words of wisdom.
I still get chills reading Tim Salmon's lips after that homer.
I was in the section that ball got hit to and it was impressive.
What does he say?
@@JoeBuck-uc3bl”Longest home run I’ve ever seen” or something to that effect.
The sound was incredible
It wasnt that far though. It wasnt even 500 ft
Billy Wagner is such a Humble being he coached my son who happens to be a lefty pitcher who also is attending Ferrum College which happens to be his Alma Matter hearing talk pitching is an amazing thing
The first home run was hit so far, the scoreboard changed before the ball landed.
😂
Is that Troy Percival? I'm having all kinds of flashbacks to high school, watching the '02 WS
Yup.
The Go Go Juice didn't stop that ball from getting hit.
Best hitter I've ever seen.
Barry Bonds is the most dominant player in MLB history
Crickets from the debaters👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
@@jaybrown3341Too bad we will never know how he would have done without being jacked up on Steroids and you have no idea, only speculation.
One of the greatest hitters baseball has ever had.
The greatest roided-up hitter baseball has ever had. There, fixed it for you.
@ashocck8065 Jesus you people are clowns. HGH doesnt make you a better hitter. He had a HOF career before even taking it. He had 2600 walks with only 600 being intentional in his career. His eye site and bat speed was above everyone. Thats what makes him the best hitter of all time
@@NoSnowFlakes1 Yep, you're right. Naturally, all those roidheads who put up insane numbers after getting on the stuff, did not benefit at all from it. Wait, hang on a sec. Ryan Braun, is that really you?
@@NoSnowFlakes1 yeah well, intelligence is very hard to find these days. Sure the Roids helped the length of homeruns, it did not help that amazing contact and eye the man had way before his absolute rampage of Homeruns. He always had power, oh well. People who actually know baseball understand Bonds was and is one of the greatest hitters the sport has ever seen.
Probably the last person I want to face in their prime even without steroids
@breadandcircuses8127.609 obp in the year 2004 all time leader in walks and intentional walks, was a 30 homer 30 sb guy consistently in pittsburgh, had an above .400 obp even before steroids and had was an elite defender in left, idk thats just a few reasons you may not want to play Bonds but go ahead and keep thinking it was all steroids
What I’m saying had the awards a hof would have before he started using steroids
I would rather face Bonds than most other hitters. You give up a home run to Bonds, nobody's surprised. You give him a double, you're a hero. Give up a HR or even a double to Bartolo Colon and nobody ever lets you live it down.
@@psymar bro thats the dumbest logic ive ever heard, even bonds only hit a homerun in like 10% of plate appearances at best and also seems like you don’t care about the team just willing to give up runs like that.
@@RenitentHat5269Bruh, nobody was talking hof before Bonds started juicing 😂
Thanks for making this. Made me smile
Having gotten over the silly "Muh all-time stats!" problem with the steroid usage, I sincerely believe Barry Bonds was the greatest hitter of all time over a couple year period. It seemed like the guy hit a home run any time someone dared to pitched to him.
There is no doubt that he was among the top 5 hitters in MLB history, arguably the best hitter. The steroid thing is a mark on the game itself because everyone was juicing, minus a very small minority. However, the accumulated stats are definitely tarnished compared to the eras of the past not having them in the game
@@mentalhaze4226 I agree that the accumulated stats are tarnished. The fact that people claim to care about those stats so much is a weird phenomenon specific to baseball. I've never heard someone make a similar criticism in football for example.
@@mentalhaze4226 Stats in MLB have always been incomparable from era to era. Also, parks are not uniform in dimensions, which is part of the charm of the game, but someone hitting in Colorado for their career is going to get a stat boost from the park itself. MLB stats are inherently unfair.
@@mentalhaze4226 I disagree, because the previous eras were using coke and amphetamines instead of steroids. "If you aren't cheating, you aren't trying", that is how pro sports go at every level. Guarantee they would have been using steroids if they knew what they were in the 50s and 60s.
Given what the league has done to the game in recent years the steroid era doesn't even bother me anymore
Well Greg was one of the best pitchers 👍👍👍
That Bonds/Smoltz story at the end is epic!! 🤣
One of the greatest and most accurate pitchers of all time admits that there is no justification for pitching to Barry.
The weak baseball writers minds may force Barry out of the HoF, but the players and fans will always know that Barry was the best of the best…
Off season means I need MORE PITCHINGNINJA lol
Billy Wagner was so filthy. One of my favorite relievers of all time
"You learn to beat lineups and not hitters" and "I only have to get 27 outs" speaks volumes.
Love reading these answers. Guy in the video mentions "Leo" to Greg Maddux. That's Leo Mazzone. Grew up with the Mazzone and Perlozzo family in Cumberland, MD. Uncle was also friends with Kruk. When the Phils used to go to West Virginia with Kruk, they'd stop at ACC (was Allegany County Community College back then) and play basketball. Dutch, Dykstra, Kruker, etc. Then we moved to Pennsylvania, and our neighbors were the Leyland family. If you people had half an idea how much of baseball was on some sort of illegal substance, you'd all cry. All these grown men you have adored would instantly be ruined for you. Find me one COMPLETELY CLEAN player in the history of baseball, and I'll congratulate you for finding me a career minor leaguer.
One of my best friends was a first-round draft choice and he actually pitched in the Braves organization and for the big team he told me the same thing. Most of the time it was amphetamines he said
@@davidjohnson6611 Yep. The entire league has been on some sort of uppers since WWII. These arguments are just hilarious. Bonds was a 1st ballot before he even left Pittsburgh. Man was insane. ARod...insane. These writers that vote are idiots.
I would say Neifi Perez but he got suspended for steroids.
@@davidjohnson6611shout this from the rooftops. Hank Aaron, etc. all were on uppers. In almost every clubhouse the coffee pots were labeled “diesel” and “unleaded”. Diesel had uppers and unleaded was just regular coffee. Everyone of these guys should be in the hall since half of the ones who did it still got in anyway just didn’t get caught. Then you have people who were never caught and only later ended up on some lists like Sosa that aren’t in either and will never get in because of the silly BWAA election process. If Pete Rose and Sosa/McGwire are never in then the Hall is worthless.
@@matthewmatzner4930Uppers?? What dat? Uppers were ENABLERS. Steroids were ENHANCERS, building strong bones, muscles and teeth. Enabling some players to jack baseballs far over outfield walls that had no business doing so.
A precedent was set with Pete Rose. He GAMBLED on the game. Done. Period Yerr out!!
I say a 60 minutes show that broke down Bonds' reaction time compared to the best at the time in baseball. He was .1, .2 faster, recognized pitches and probable locations, swung on that plane, better than anybody EVER!!
And took more PEDs than anybody, EVER!!
Favorite pitchers and batter! Great vid
I'm not a fan of the steroid Barry Bonds HR records, but the FACT is steroids don't help your hand eye coordination in hitting a baseball. Bonds was simply a monster in the box. Seriously... crowding the plate, choking up on the bat, and recognizing pitches so fast that he has 3X as many walks as he does HR's. Think about that! He was better at NOT swinging than swinging which is incredible!
I lived in San Francisco while Barry was playing and went to several games at pac bell and sat in left field. Just seeing how big and impressive he was in real life blew me away. There was a crazy energy in baseball then.
Crazy what you can do with a needle
@@snakeplisken6242 doesnt make sense
@@snakeplisken6242 his traps and shoulders were like super hero level. I swear he seemed to get taller too.
I saw him in Houston when he was very close to the record. I was shocked at how big he was.
"crazy energy" is a strange way to say PEDs.
Barry Bonds is the best baseball player I have ever seen in my humble opinion of 4 0 plus years of watching baseball. Greg Maddux is the professor.
2:04 Those Astros unis were fire!! One of the rare MLB rebrands that actually looked awesome. Then they went with the garbage red ones 🤮 Totally ruined it. Hated them instantly.
Literally every pitch over the plate he hit for a home run. Imagine if he had played for the 90’ Braves or Yankees.
As time passes my opinion of Barry Bonds becomes more and more positive. That era of baseball will lead to many debates in the future, I was around to watch it all and will always question the asterisk next to his stats. Thank you for the video
Cheating is fine in your book. Got it.
He was a HOF guy before roids, and then after he even made the other cheaters look like minor leaguers. That's why it almost doesn't even matter with Bonds. Plus he wasn't so friendly with the media and the media did a good job of convincing people to dislike bonds because reasons; that has worn off over time.
I totally agree @@yourgameisstupid
Dr. Maddox had a Phd in pitching. I used to call him the Professor.
steroids and ohtani aside. bonds is the best baseball player ever and the most underrated athlete in history
I would say Willie mays
Best *roided player ever
@@BOLIS yeah, roids, we know. But steroids do not help in the least with plate discipline, or ability to make contact with the ball, or to anticipate what pitch is coming when. Apart from roids, he was a very smart hitter. He also won a bunch of gold gloves on defense which isn't aided by steroids either
Bonds is the GOAT
@@Jeff-66 If it didn't help he wouldn't have used it.
What I remember about Barry Bonds is that if he didn't swing........ It was a ball.
Wow that is impressive
Put him in the Hall
Good video but I do have a question, did he ever have a period in his career when he wasn’t “in his prime”? I think he’s one of the guys that never had a season where he wasn’t on top of his game or feared.
Epic! Love Barry !
Ryan said Wagner was the hardest thrower he’d ever seen.
I guess as time passes people change. Like the Overton Window moves in politics. Barry Bonds was a HOF player before the juice. He saw McGuire and Sosa get the the reverent praise and knew neither of them was equal to him. He got mad and then he got juiced. I will never be a fan of juicing or that era in baseball. Doesn't matter, fans expect it in a variety of sports today.
during peak bonds ....in one season, he had more Intentional walks then the entire national league teams combined .... i remember one year, he hit like .370, with like 49 hrs ...on 390 ABs...he drew 190 walks ....his obs was like 1500 ...
i believe his strikes outs was in the single digits ...which is absolutely insane
Bonds Ks were always at least double digits but he was usually under 100 Ks and had more walks then Ks almost every year of his career
His eye and plate discipline made him legendary. He would not swing at balls.
A Barry Bonds at bat was must see TV
Bond's approach to hitting was genius. Stand close to the plate (you see the pitch better), choke up on the bat (it allows you to get the barrel into the strike zone and you have better control of the bat). I'm surprised more hitters haven't replicated his hitting style.
To do that you have to have incredible bat speed, and Barry's bat speed was unparalleled.
And do a shit ton of PeDs
he must have short t rex arms .
I used to think Barry Bonds shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame because of steroids. But over time I’ve come to realize that you can’t keep the best hitter in a 150 year old sport out of the hall of fame. Every year that he remains out just further delegitimizes the HoF.
exactly. i've been to the HOF several times and I'm never going back until Arod Bonds and Clemens are in. Meanwhile these jackals put in David Ortiz on the first ballot who was juiced also and not even half the player any of those 3 were.
Every year that he remains out just further legitimizes the HoF.
Every year they leave players in who used amphetamines delegitimizes the hall of fame. Don’t be a hypocrite.
@@ashocck8065 no it completely makes a joke of the HOF. No Bonds or Clemens but sure we'll take Jack Morris and Harold Baines lmao.
@@tommyfu9271 I agree that HOF is at least somewhat of a joke, but taking Bonds, Clemens and Mac would make them a total joke.
MLB should be forced to pay all of the money to the PED players that they made while exploiting them during the PED era... How MLB was able to emerge spotless from the whole thing is the biggest slap in the face of all....
how did one YT-er say it?: If Barry Bonds didn't use a bat, how many homers would he have hit?
Secret Base claims that 2004 Bonds would still win the MVP award without a bat.
The best of the best
The GOAT
Everyone was juiced up back then get over it already people! It brought fans back to the game with the HR race. Bonds has become a scapegoat and been vilified for his part. His talent was undeniable. His respect is due
I seriously wish they'd just say you know what steroids are legal now. Honestly I feel it opens the door for an XFL-like challenge to MLB.
100% correct. It's the "MUH All-time stats!" gang that pretends to care about the 'roids. It's so silly. Bonds was uniquely incredible.
Chipper Jones, Jeter, Ichiro, Ken Griffey Jr...
Your defense is wrong, making your opinion trash. Is what it is, Get Over It!!!! LMAO
@@TheSonofabiscuit wow 3 players. Roids don't create talent
@@emupike6 I mentioned 4 players.. good job lol
Maddux and Bonds were the greatest geniuses of their generation.
Barry played a ton of games at Candlestick which was not a home run hitters park. If he had played in Arlington or the Fulton Co. Stadium, he would have had many more homers.
And probably a smarter drug dealer too.
the best clinics were in the bay
And if he was never introduced to PED’s he would have had a lot less home runs.
@@fratzogmopars and he wouldn't have played as many years especially those late very productive years
I hope his toxic azz never makes it into the HOF. As far as I’m concerned Hank Aaron is still HR champ.
Steroids don't just make your muscles bigger. They increase mental abilities as well such as reaction time. Hard to pitch to a guy on juice not just cause hes going to bomb it 400+ft but also because hes going to react a lot faster to what you're throwing, which means hes going to get better contact among other things needed to be a successful hitter.
Barry is the most dominant, intimidating, crowd the plate and still keep it fair badass that has ever stepped into a mlb batters box, idgaf what kind of steroid comment you want to make but deep down you know just as well as i do he is the best. Ted, hank and babe together are just like all the rest. There is bonds then everybody else
Barry Bonds had the best eye, avoided swinging at pitcher’s pitches. He made the pitcher throw strikes or he walked. Pete Rose, Barry Bonds in my generation.
👍👍👍
609 on base is so obsurd
At least they didn't confuse Barry Zito with the Barry~man.
Greatest ever
he should be in HOF
Every good player in the 90's was on it! Bonds was one of the last players to do it! Seeing players get praised awhile on it and he wasnt on anything, pissed him off... MLB after the 94 strike didnt care what the players did, just wanted FANS to come back...
I think I was roughly just as good as Barry Bonds back in highschool without steroids. (Trust me)
I once owned an orange elephant. I really did.
@danielwoodard680 My great grandfather struck out Babe Ruth
Can confirm. I was the High School
My son was throwing 106 mph back in 1901
In high school, I struck out Barry Bonds with a 46mph fastball
Wagner. 102mph. What a gift...
I'd love to know how the average big leaguer felt about barry Bonds personally, since he wasn't in the union
Bonds is the GOAT period.
0:11 "thats the farthest ball ive ever seen hit"
Steroids or not, best hitter of all time
Best *roided hitter ever.
@@BOLIS Glad you’re a fan 👍🏻
One of the best without the roids, best ever with the roids
I agree, but you have to put Ted Williams right there. Missed several seasons in his prime for military service. If not for that, he might have been the GOAT.
I’m surprised more pitchers didn’t hit him. Walked him instead
National league, the pitcher would get one right back
@@MrJoege18 yeah you’re right
Gibson and Ryan would have brushed him, I would have pitched him inside real close
He has the most walks of all time
Every pitchers worst nightmare
Wagner whiffed Bonds 3 times in 15 ABs and gave up a double and a home run. Pretty stellar considering he was facing the GOAT who was also sauced on the gym medicine and the designer gear
Hall of famer barry bonds.
Who remembers the 4 inches of grace that Greg Maddox used to receive when pitching. Backdoor sliders that break 4 inches off the plate were strikes back then.
Barry bonds had 3 4 mvps
8 Gold gloves
4 5 silver sluggers
100 other awards before he sniffed a steroid. Most feared hitter ever. Guy was unbelievable.
How do you know when he began taking steroids. It’s quite possible he was taking PED’s before he grew 3 hat sizes in 2 months
Bases loaded walking Bonds was savage.. scared much.. lol
Bonds is prime was like late 30s... for some strange reason 😂
barry choked up standing on top of the plate with his body armor totally juiced out was the perfect storm . the best hitter ever . i hated him
Barry had really big forearms.
And big head... but not so big brain.
Bonds was the greatest hitter of all-time
If your life was on the line and u had to pick one player all time to get a hr during an at bat i think you'd better pick BB
They walked Barry Bonds with the bases loaded 😂😂😂😂😂
2000-04 wasn’t even his prime. His old man would write either a 1 or a 2 on the ball and then feed it into the 95mph pitching machine and if it’s a 1 he would have to swing. 2 take a pitch.
For about 2 or 3 years prime Barry Bonds (yes, he was most likely dirty) was the greatest athlete I've ever seen. Better than Jordan, better than Brady, better than anything. The numbers were mind boggling: he'd barely see any good pitches and the few he'd get, he'd hit for HRs or base hits. It was astonishing.
Tiger Woods
Hitting a fastball is harder than throwing a football or shooting a jump shot and baseball stats are more meaningful to me than points scored or TD passes or yards.
Title Change: "Juiced Barry Bonds" ... get it right
I love listening to other player talk about other players no matter what sport it is. They should have a players only hall of fame where the stupid ass media has no say so and only players vote matters.
Are those his real forearms?
As someone who was doing andro and ripped fuel it’s basically impossible to strike out. It’s wild how effective that stuff was. Everything looks like an 85 mph beach ball.
I don’t buy it. If that were true then players like Canseco, McGwire, and Sosa would have led the league in HRs multiple years. Pitchers were also on the juice during those years so it evened out.
@@gilbertcarrizales7592 I lived it my dude. I have first hand experience. Went from a .285 average to .498 and was fifth highest batting average in the state of Florida. All my high school stats were BS and I wish I never did it.
@@albundy7459That’s anecdotal evidence and you might be convinced that juicing does this for ALL players. I also played HS ball too. I went from a mid hitter to nearly top of the team in hits, 2Bs, HRs, and walks merely by changing my batting stance near the plate and choking up on the bat. My hand eye coordination improved with an off season of batting practice using a broom stick and golf balls. Does that make me a cheater?!
@@gilbertcarrizales7592 I was a punching Judy lead off guy who hit balls with my purse to smashing balls 400 feet and maxing out my bench at 215 when I was 140 lbs soaking wet. Others on my team had similar results. It’s not anecdotal. It’s how it works.
@@albundy7459 Now you have heart disease?
You mean the juiced up and armored up Barry.
yep. entire league was juiced and nobody could hit like him.
It's like facing a whole dump truck full of steroids...
Not in HOF, Is in balco HOF
Damn it, I can’t believe I’m doing this… there’s a supernatural difference between ‘prime’ and ‘peak’
Bonds was juiced up. Facts
Then tell us the facts and the exact dates he used. Thanks
@@TL2354 The same dates he gave in to his greed and sold his soul to the devil. Now he's in the hall of shame.
Barry bonds king of SF
You mean “juiced” Barry Bonds