"Nobody knew who I was" - Barry Bonds makes feelings known about getting overshadowed by $3.6B-worth Michael Jordan during early days

Both Barry Bonds and Michael Jordan epitomized their respective sports in the 1990s. They both took baseball and basketball to newer heights and became household names in North America. However, Bonds took a little more time to find the stardom than MJ.

Bonds started off his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986 through the MLB Draft. By that time, MJ was already the face of the Bulls organization. He was a star during his college basketball time with the University of North Carolina and came into the NBA as a probable future of the league in 1984.

Bonds recalled on the "All the Smoke" podcast's latest episode on Thursday, how he and Jordan, whose worth is $3.6 billion (via Celebrity Net Worth), were acquaintances in his initial years in the sport.

"I can tell you how famous Michael Jordan was before he even became the most famous person ever," Bonds said (3:50 onwards). "Him, Tiger [Woods], and I were in Chicago, and he was just—he’s only two years older than me, you know. We went out just to grab a bite to eat, and I had never seen a line of people that just wanted to talk to this guy.

"I was just coming up too—I was a rookie, so nobody knew who I was. I was just Bobby Bonds’ son. At the time, I thought I was pretty big because I had made it, but Michael had all these people around him. He had a couple of security guys watching, and he was so nice, just signing autographs while we were trying to eat. I remember thinking, 'I’m Barry—hello?'"

Bonds shattered several records, particularly as a member of the San Francisco Giants franchise. However, he would never achieve team success or win the World Series. Jordan, on the other hand, went on to win six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls, including two three-peats from 1991 to 1998.

Barry Bonds mentions Michael Jordan while highlighting difference between today's game with his era

Also on the podcast, Barry Bonds was asked about his thoughts on Shohei Ohtani. In his opinion, players in yesteryears had a rougher game and attitude to deal with. He feels that the Japanese superstar couldn't have replicated the same.

"There's no doubt about the type of player he is and what he [has] accomplished in his career," Bonds said. "The game has just changed. The game is way different than it was when I played. The same way Michael [Jordan] talks about it or anyone else does.

"Ohtani is not going to hit two home runs without seeing one go [by his ear] in my generation. I don't care what he does. He's not going to steal two bases without somebody decapitating his kneecap to slow him down because it's a different game back then."

Despite an unprecedented career, Bonds will likely never make it to the Baseball Hall of Fame because of his controversy related to steroids.