SAN FRANCISCO — It used to be that hardcore baseball fans counted the home runs Barry Bonds hit during batting practice for the Giants, even at spring training before he had begun to find his real groove that came in the regular season.That’s how much interest surrounded Bonds’ pursuit of Babe Ruth in the second spot on the all-time home runs list and later Hank Aaron’s previous top mark of 755 — broken by the San Francisco star on Aug. 7, 2007. Before that, Bonds hit 73 home runs in 2001 for Major League Baseball’s single-season record, a mark Yankees manager Aaron Boone believes might one day be broken by his own slugger Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani.Bonds is having a blast keeping close tabs on the next generation of big stars like Judge and Ohtani.Judge is thrilled Bonds is now watching him, because it used to be the other way around when the New York outfielder was a boy playing ball in California’s Central Valley.“He was one of my favorite baseball players growing up,” Judge said. “Things he did on the baseball field, he made it look so easy. To have a guy that I watched every single night, me and my dad would turn on the Giants game and watch what he’s doing.“Now, he’s saying that he’s kind of doing the same thing flipping it and watching what I’m doing is pretty, pretty surreal.”And Judge isn’t counting on passing Bonds’ 73, saying: “I’ve been through this now eight, nine seasons it’s not that easy. He made it look a lot easier than it is. That’s why he’s the greatest to ever play.”Whether it’s Mookie Betts making a dazzling diving catch or impressing on the basepaths, or Judge and Ohtani clearing fences at remarkable rates, Bonds is tuning in to watch baseball becoming more relevant in 2024.“There ain’t going to be a Judge all day, there’s only so many …
