Aaron Judge, a childhood Giants fan, knows all about Barry Bonds.
The Yankees slugger was raised in the small California town of Linden, about two hours from San Francisco. Like many area ball-lovers his age, Judge stayed up past his bedtime to witness Bonds chase history. He remembers it all: the towering blasts, the sheer dominance, the smothering fear Bonds brought to each plate appearance, the intentional walks.
“He’d get intentionally walked, then walked again, walked again,” Judge told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2022. “Next night, couple more walks, then all of a sudden, in his third at-bat, they’d maybe throw a changeup on the corner, and he’d drive it out to the opposite field.