When Chris "Mad Dog" Russo took shots at Barry Bonds during a heated debate over Judge vs. Bonds

Chris Russo, popularly known as "Mad Dog," once called out former MLB player Barry Bonds during a contentious Aaron Judge vs. Bonds discussion.

Many baseball fans debated the identity of the rightful MLB home run king, and so did ESPN analysts Stephen A. Smith and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo in 2022. Russo brought up Bonds' 2007 drug scandal to throw his weight behind Judge.

“He cheated, oh come on! He took the steroids forever! His head expanded!”

Watch the exchange below:

Bonds has many accolades, including the most home runs in a single season (73, set in 2001) and the most home runs in a career (762).

Barry Bonds responded to Aaron Judge's 62nd HR

Judge broke Roger Maris' American League single-season record with his 62nd home run last year. Bonds, whose 73 home runs in 2001 still stand as the record for the sport, posted a congratulatory message for Judge.

Aaron Judge vs Barry Bonds - Baseball fans are debating the identity of the rightful MLB home run king - Sports Illustrated

"Barry Bonds posted his congratulations to Aaron Judge on his Instagram story" - Sports Illustrated

In an interview with Sportico, Bonds also backed Judge to break his own record.

“Go for it,” Bonds said, via Sportico. “The way he swings he might as well hit one a day and get past me. I don’t care. Why not?”

Both Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference.com put Bonds second only to Babe Ruth among all the major league position players in terms of Lifetime Wins Above Replacement.

Bonds had a contentious career despite his honors, most notably for his role in the steroid scandal. For allegedly lying to a grand jury during the federal government's investigation of BALCO, a producer of undetectable steroids, he was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice in 2007.

Texas Rangers v San Francisco Giants, Game 1 Aaron Judge Press Conference

He failed to receive the 75% of votes required to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame during his 10 years of candidature.

Judge, meanwhile, won the 2017 American League (AL) Rookie of the Year award with a unanimous vote and finished second in the AL Most Valuable Player voting. He smashed 62 home runs in 2022, eclipsing Roger Maris' 61-year record for the most in a season, winning the American League Most Valuable Player Award in the process.

Judge re-signed with the Yankees in 2022 on a nine-year, $360 million deal and the team named him captain after that.