Barry Bonds Was Intentionally Walked 120 Times - At the Age of 39
Published on December 4th, 2023 6:09 pm ESTWritten By: Dave Manuel
Barry Bonds' 2004 season was one of the most ridiculous of all time. In 617 plate appearances that season, Barry Bonds was walked 232 times, which is, by far, the Major League Baseball record.
Of these 232 walks, 120 were intentional walks, which is a mind-bogglingly high number.
To make these numbers even more incredible, recall the fact that Barry Bonds was 39 years of age during the 2004 season.
So, at the age of almost 40, Bonds was intentionally walked in almost 20% of his plate appearances.
In almost any situation with players on base, Bonds was intentionally walked.
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2004 was the last season in which we saw Bonds truly dominate, as injuries would derail him from 2005 on.
In 2004, Bonds hit 45 home runs and 101 RBIs.
These are obviously fantastic numbers, but they become even more incredible when you remember that he was walked 232 times.
So, in 373 official at-bats, Barry Bonds still had 45 home runs.
At the age of 39 years old.
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Take these numbers and then put them up against a random year, such as 2023.
In 2023, Juan Soto led Major League Baseball with 132 walks.
In 2023, Shohei Ohtani, probably the most feared batter in Major League Baseball at present, posted a total of 21 intentional walks over the course of the year - a full 99 intentional walks less than Barry Bonds in 2004.
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In 2004, the baseball world practically trembled every time that Barry Bonds stepped up to the plate, even though he was almost 40 years old.
We'll never see that kind of fear ever again in Major League Baseball - the fact that Barry Bonds posted nearly an intentional walk PER GAME in 2004 is one of the most ludicrous statistics in Major League Baseball history.
