The Washington Nationals have found their next superstar in 22-year-old outfielder James Wood. On Sunday, he made history that put him alongside Barry Bonds. The Los Angeles Angels wanted no part of Wood, intentionally walking him four times, an astonishing number that hasn’t been done in over 20 years. For Wood, this is just the beginning of what he hopes to be a long and successful MLB career.
James Wood Left Close to Speechless After Comparison to Barry Bonds
Somehow, Wood picked up a hit in a game that saw him draw four walks. He finished 1-2 with those four free passes as the Nationals defeated the Angels 7-4 in 11 innings. Woods is now on a three-game hitting streak, as he picked up two hits in the day prior and one hit in the series opener, a game that also saw him walk three times.
James Wood is the youngest player in MLB history to be intentionally walked 4+ times in a game and the first since it happened to Barry Bonds four times during the 2004 season.
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) June 29, 2025
“That’s pretty cool,” Wood says as he is compared to Bonds. “If you’re being put in the same sentence as [Bonds], then that’s pretty cool.”
Bonds was intentionally walked four times back in 2004, so it’s been 21 years since the last time it happened. Not even Aaron Judge has been walked that many times, a shocking development showing how much respect the Angels have for a man born just two years before Bonds made history.
Wood’s season average now sits at .283. He’s been walked 54 times in his 315 at-bats, surpassing the 39 times he was walked last season across 295 at-bats. Among qualified hitters, Wood is sixth in the league in this category. Unsurprisingly, Judge is one place above him, with Juan Soto drawing the most walks in MLB (68).
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Last season, Wood had a WAR of 1.1. He’s increased that to 3.9 in 2025, proving his value to a 35-49 team. The Nationals may be 14 games back in the NL East, but it was always going to be a challenge for them to compete with the Philadelphia Phillies or New York Mets.
With four series remaining before the All-Star break, Washington will host the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox before going on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers. The Red Sox are the lone team with a record under .500 on the docket as the Nationals look to build on their series win against the Angels.
CJ Abrams has a slight advantage over Wood in terms of batting average, as the 24-year-old is batting .287. Other than that, Wood leads the team in home runs (22), RBIs (64), OBP (.386), and hits (89). Wood’s 54 walks are by far the most on the team, with the next closest being Nathaniel Lowe’s 30.