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22-year-old slugger James Wood has played in 163 career games and the Washington Nationals' left fielder has already found himself on the same list as Barry Bonds.
In the Nationals' game on Sunday, the Los Angeles Angels intentionally walked Wood four times — a sign of respect no hitter has seen since Bonds in 2004. The all-time home run king accomplished the feat four time that season alone.
Manny Ramirez, Andre Dawson, Garry Templeton and Roger Maris are the only other players to be intentionally walked four times in a game. Wood is the only one to do it as a member of the Nationals or the organization's predecessor, the Montreal Expos.
“That’s pretty cool,” Wood said after the game, via Brian Murphy of MLB.com. “If you’re being put in the same sentence as [Bonds], then that’s pretty cool.”
The Nationals won the game, 7-4 in 11 innings, and Wood went 1-2 to go with his four free passes. The second-year outfielder is leading Washington in home runs (22), RBI (64), runs scored (52), batting average (.283) and OPS (.938).
James Wood's feat shows Nationals' offensive weakness
Outfielder Jacob Young probably wasn't the only person disappointed that he didn't get to see Wood hit more. He explained why it happened after the game.
“It stinks because I like to watch him hit, but it’s pretty crazy that they’re already taking those measures against him,” he said. “He’s carried our offense for a lot of the year and it’s special when he’s up there.”
Without any lineup protection to speak of, Wood will probably continue to get such treatment — maybe not four intentional walks in a game, but he won't see a ton of great pitches to hit. Even with Wood, the Nationals have a .704 team OPS, which ranks 20th in the Majors.
No one else on the team has more than 13 homers, with veteran Nathaniel Lowe pairing the number with a .696 OPS and .232 average. Other than Wood, CJ Abrams is the only regular boasting an OPS above .720.
Fittingly, Wood has drawn eight of the team's 10 intentional walks this season.
