MLB: All-Star Pitchers Admit Barry Bonds Would Crush Them — “He’d Probably Go Yard” But They Want the Smoke

It’s not every day that the best arms in Major League Baseball openly admit they’d likely get lit up—but when the name is Barry Bonds, honesty reigns supreme.

Ahead of the 2025 MLB All-Star Game, several elite pitchers were asked which iconic All-Star from any era they’d most want to face. The overwhelming answer? San Francisco Giants legend Barry Bonds — the most feared hitter in baseball history and MLB’s all-time home run king.

Even current Giants ace Logan Webb gave it to fans straight:

“Probably a homer, he always tells me it would be a homer,” Webb laughed, referencing his own conversations with Bonds.

Bonds isn’t just a fan favorite — he’s a legend with stats that still boggle the mind:

• 💥 762 career home runs
• 💯 2,558 total walks (MLB record)
• 🎯 .444 career OBP
• 🧠 688 intentional walks — more than entire teams combined

And yet, pitchers still want that challenge.

“Probably not well for me,” admitted Drew Rasmussen of the Tampa Bay Rays. “But just having the opportunity to say you competed against him would be special.”“He’d probably go yard,” said Shane Smith of the White Sox. “Thankfully I don’t have to face him.”

Astros closer Josh Hader showed a bit more swagger, saying it’d be a coin flip:

“Either a punchy [strikeout] or a homer… flip a coin.”

Sure, Hader is a lefty — and Bonds technically had lower career splits against southpaws (.289 AVG vs LHP) — but when “lower” still means MVP-level dominance, the odds are brutal for anyone standing 60 feet away.

Still, Logan Webb isn’t going down without a fight.

“I think I could get him once,” Webb said with a grin.

🧢 MainEvent.News | Backstage Take

Barry Bonds isn’t just a dream matchup — he’s the matchup. For a generation of players who grew up watching him shatter records and launch baseballs into orbit, facing Bonds is more about legacy than outcome. And maybe that’s the biggest compliment of all: every pitcher knows they'd likely get rocked, but they still want the smoke.