Dave Roberts Takes Small Jab at Yankees' Aaron Judge

Dave Roberts Takes Small Jab at Yankees' Aaron Judge originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Throughout Major League Baseball history, there haven't been many more dominant players to ever lace them up than Barry Bonds. 

There's a strong argument to be made that Bonds is the greatest hitter ever to step foot in the box, and it’s tough to argue. 

While the steroid situation is a touchy subject, he ultimately proved to be the most feared hitter in Major League Baseball history.

Dave Roberts recently compared him to Shohei Ohtani and New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge when speaking about him. However, he later added that Judge and Ohtani aren't the same type of hitters, noting that Bonds is in a class by himself.

“I think that they’re in the top of their field as far as hitters,” Roberts said, per The San Francisco Standard. “Barry just had a shorter swing. I think that, if you’re talking about slug, it’s very comparable. But Barry was just, to be quite frank, Barry’s the best hitter I’ve ever seen. To be able to hit .300-something every year, to get on base the way he got on base, to be able to swing the bat three times a week and hit three homers, it will never happen again.

“But in today’s game, you’re talking about (Aaron) Judge and Shohei as kind of the guys. But Barry, for me, is in a class by himself.”

It's tough to disagree with Roberts in some sense, but it's also interesting to see him throw a slight at one of his current players and Judge.

To get a feel for what Bonds did, however, he has the highest WAR ever, most home runs ever, most walks ever, and posted a batting average of .298.

Judge and Ohtani have continued to set records in many ways, but there are levels to this, and Bonds was just that much better.

Related: Dodgers' Dave Roberts Announces Clayton Kershaw All-Star Game News

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 14, 2025, where it first appeared.