"Barry Bonds was like the easiest guy to pitch to" - When Greg Maddux reasserted MLB icon's astounding hitting prowess

Greg Maddux and Barry Bonds were both tremendous athletes in the MLB. While Maddux was an eight-time All-Star and four-time NL Cy Young Award winner, Bonds has a list of accolades to his name to dwarf just about anybody.

While Bonds was a force, being both NL batting champion and NL home run leader twice, Maddux knew a way in which he could mitigate Bonds' powers. Here's what he said on "Conversations With Norm" in 2017:

"Actually, though, he was like the easiest guy in the world to pitch to, because it wouldn't matter if you just walked him.

"He was so much better than all the other hitters in the game that, you gotta pick your fights, you know, you've gotta get 27 outs, you gotta know where they are and they're not gonna be with him."

Greg Maddux vs. Barry Bonds: Head-to-head stats

While this may be an interesting tactic, according to Barstool Sports, Greg Maddux pitched to Barry Bonds more than anyone else in his 23-year career. Maddux walked Bonds 24 times out of 157 plate appearances, which is 15.2% of the time.

Considering Maddux led the MLB nine times for the fewest walks per nine innings, this is an incredible stat. This is compounded by the fact that it is double the amount of walks Maddux threw to any other hitter.

According to Statmuse, Barry Bonds had a .262 career batting average against Greg Maddux, hitting 8 home runs and 18 RBIs.

Considering how dominant Barry Bonds was, Greg Maddux's numbers against him are very impressive.

Speaking on R2C2 in 2023, Bonds gave Maddux his flowers:

"Toughest pitcher I ever faced .. Greg Maddux. He was the best technician. Maddux knew the philosophy of hitting. Power pitchers are power pitchers, eventually, the power will catch up to them. But it's those fineness technicians that can break you down. He was the best technician."

While Bonds' reputation may have been tarnished by steroids, his skill and power were phenomenal, so Maddux's ability to thwart him was truly masterful.

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