Barry Bonds Hits 755th Run, Tying Record

Controversial San Francisco Giants Slugger Equals Hank Aaron In Career Home Runs

(AP)  Barry Bonds swung, took a half-dozen steps and clapped his hands. With no trace of a smile but a strong shot for all the doubters, he caught Hank Aaron and tied the career home run record Saturday night.

No. 755 sailed 382 feet into the left-center bleachers, moving Bonds level with Hammerin' Hank and within one swing of having baseball's most coveted record all to himself.

"The hard part is over right now," Bonds said.

"This is the hardest thing I've had to do in my entire career," he said. "I had rashes on my head, I felt like I was getting sick at times."

High above the field in a private box, Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig was a reluctant witness to history. Choosing to overlook the steroid allegations that have dogged Bonds, Selig watched with hands stuffed in pockets and nary a cheer on his lips.

"No matter what anybody thinks of the controversy surrounding this event, Mr. Bonds' achievement is noteworthy and remarkable," Selig said in a statement.

Selig said either he or a representative would attend the Giants' next few games "out of respect for the tradition of the game, the magnitude of the record and the fact that all citizens in this country are innocent until proven guilty."

Aaron was not in attendance. The Hall of Famer is not following the chase in person.

"We as baseball players, especially as African-American ballplayers, have so much respect for Hank Aaron and all our fellow African-American athletes as well. They have paved the road for what we're doing now," Bonds said.

Bonds' homer drew a mixed reaction from the San Diego crowd. Several fans held up asterisk signs — believing Bonds' record should be considered conditional — and the San Francisco slugger was booed as he headed to left field at the end of the inning.

"I want to thank the fans. They have been outstanding," Bonds said. "It's been a fun ride. I really appreciate the way San Diego handled it and the way their fans handled it."

Bonds walked his next three times up and left the game in the eighth for a pinch-runner. He raised his helmet with his left hand, then his right, and drew a standing ovation from many fans who chanted his name.

Bonds will not start on Sunday, saving his attempt to break the record until a series of home games starting on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th home run, and both men donated their helmets to the Hall of Fame.

The fan lucky enough to catch the Bonds ball — expected to fetch seven figures at auction — was 33-year-old Adam Hughes, who was whisked to a secure area so the specially marked ball could be authenticated.

After Bonds crossed the plate, he lifted his batboy son, Nikolai, and carried him in an embrace, then kissed 8-year-old daughter Aisha and wife, Liz.

Only two other games were being played on the west coast when Bonds connected. The news was met with scattered boos at those games in Los Angeles and Seattle.

Seattle's hitting instructor Jeff Pentland coached Bonds at college.

"He is probably the best hitter since Babe Ruth, but that's my opinion. The things he's done, the records he's broken. He's stood out amongst the players of today and been way above them, head and shoulders above them for his career," he said.

The godson of Willie Mays and the son of an All-Star outfielder, Bonds seemed destined for greatness from the start. But his speed drew more attention than his strength when he broke into the majors as a leadoff hitter.

Even when Bonds became a threat to Aaron's record, many fans thought age would slow him down. Instead, his power numbers surged — as did speculation about steroid use.

Bonds denied that he knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs and let the allegations bounce off him, the same way fastballs deflected off his bulky body armor.

He has remained beloved in the Bay Area through all the off-field issues, refusals to sign autographs and his surly behavior.

Bonds broke the single-season homer record with 73 in 2001. Ever since, he's been on a path toward Aaron, a journey that hasn't been full of joy. Bonds has been hobbled by bad knees and bickered with Giants management, and his chase was hardly backed by Selig.

The commissioner is a close friend of Aaron's, who began and ended his career in Selig's native Milwaukee.

A lot of fans, in fact, are already rooting for the day when Bonds' record falls. Rodriguez is considered the most likely successor. The Yankees star just turned 32 and is well ahead of Bonds' pace at the same age.

Even with Bonds at 755, there is bound to be a split among fans over who is the real home run champ.

There will be some who always consider Babe Ruth as the greatest, while others will give that honor to Aaron, who was respected for his quiet dignity when he broke Ruth's record in 1974.

[gleather1]

The rashes on his head are caused by "the clear" steroids. He will meet his just end somewhere down the road.

[jdubs63]

Most of you are so very RUDE HERE TODAY........... just remember Barry is just like YOU an me ONLY MORE........

[keithle1]

Maybe they'll be an earthquake & he'll be swallowed up before he can beat the record.

[billpl-2009]

he needs to go home.....for good

THANK GOD for A-ROD!!!!

[keithle1]

Bonds is such a punk. Hope he wakes up tomorrow blind. Go Hank Aaron. A true class act. Screw Bonds.

[agnim]

Go, Mr BB, Mr Base Ball, Mr Barry Bond! LOL

No of the white supremacist bigots complained when the "Babe" Ruth was hitting his RACIST RECORD*.


And it was known for sure that Ruth was pumping himself up with whatever he could get in his mouth at the time.!

[soldat44]

*(astericks)

[cryonbrian]

No matter what he still is the home run king! Like it or not! Move on people it is only a game!

[thisandthat1]

Sam, I saw that graph, also. That was the clincher. If there was any doubt whatsoever, that proved that he's been pumped up on steroids. Hank Aaron will remain the home run record holder until someone comes along to beat it without cheating.

[samthetvcat]

For everybody who's asking what proof people have that Bonds' steroid use as alleged by the Balco insiders has given him an advantage over and above any possible other substances available in earlier years . . .

The San Francisco Chronicle did a graph of old-timer home-run hits by age (adjusted for at-bats) versus Bonds and McGuire and showed that people have historically followed a very predictable pattern of hitting homeruns over their life-span in the major leagues, increasing slightly and then decreasing slightly until they were about 32 when they increased slightly only to decrease quite rapidly until retirement. Bonds and McGuire followed the trend to a T until about 33 when they actually went back up to their personal best (even surpassing it at times) and maintained it until retirement. Combine this with the testimony, the beefy physique . . .

[hypnotoad72]

Wow. Take some drugs and hit home runs! And be accepted!

Says much about today's society.

And if you think I'm racist, look up Hank Aaron. He didn't need to take performance enhancing drugs to build his career. And he had a lot more to struggle through, as in his day blacks were very badly treated indeed.

Barry Bonds is a cheat.

At, if nothing else, put a * symbol by his name in the record book to denote he took steroids. Mind you, as time goes by, that hall of fame book will eventually contain more *s than player names...

[mitywhity]

This is nowhere near the thrill of 715 for Aaron. Barry could have possibly eclipsed 715 without the "youth-serum" if he were allowed to hang around the league. But he would have not reached 755 - no way. Look at his waning numbers before the Sosa/McGwire days and notice his numbers after the spotlight shone on steroids. That's all that I need to see.

[hungry1968]

"Barry Bonds Hits 755th Run, Tying Record, San Francisco Giants Slugger Now Within One Hit Of Beating Hank Aaron's Career Record"


No - Bonds will NEVER break the record. He used artificial means to bulk himself up. Whether the substances were banned at the time or not, he should have known what he was doing was wrong.

[brianbwb-2009]

"When more and more "professional" athletes drop like flies due to their drug/steroid use, it will eventually send a message to everyone, in or out of the game, that steroids are not good for you. DUH!
Posted by USAyesterday"

I think not, most probably the message sent will be "no sacrifice is too great in the pursuit of the megabuck."

[cfin5]

Barry needs to start over drug free if he really wants to compete with Hank Aaron or Babe Ruth's record. Give me enough steriods and I could make a brick do that too!

[usayesterday]

LET EVERY PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE TAKE AS MANY STEROIDS/PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUGS AS THEY WANT!

But most of all, make it known that they take them.

That way, as 'Joe Shmoe' crosses 3rd base, he collapses and dies half way to home plate (with blood running out of his ears).

Then a father in the stands can point to the body of 'Joe Shmoe' and say to his son...


..."See Billy, this is what happens when you use steroids!"

When more and more "professional" athletes drop like flies due to their drug/steroid use, it will eventually send a message to everyone, in or out of the game, that steroids are not good for you. DUH!

[bobnjersey]

[Unlike Bonzo, Aaron was not only a gent and a class act, he was an athlete who didn't stoop to putting sh*t in his system to get ahead.]
[Posted by usatheway98 at 03:01 AM : Aug 05, 2007]

how do you know that aaron did what he did this way?

you KNOW that aaron was a gent ... class act ... and clean as a whistle.

you KNOW that bonds is an a^^hole ... cheats wherever he can ... and did steroids as the means.

somehow ... it's not really clear ... he's still hitting them over the fence ... is he still taking them?

[Renegade.Rivers]

Congrats to Barry on tying the record. No matter how he done it, he's played hard, and went through a lot to do it. Whether his record will be tarnished remains to be seen. I do believe that the reason he has been scrutinized is because of the people he associated with, but how many of us haven't been guilty of associating with some rather unsavory characters in our time here on earth, if by intent or accident. Whether he used body enhancing drugs is really a mute point, because at the time he was accused of doing it, there was no rules in baseball against using it. Shame on the baseball commission for that, not Barry. Look at both Mark McGuire, and Sammy Sosa there is questionable doubt as to whether either one of them did or didn't use some form of enhancing drugs. Yet, McGuire was denied entrance into the Hall of Fame, most because he didn't say the right things at a Congressional investigation.

Baseball is not the American sport it once was, anymore than boxing is, or wrestling for that matter, decades ago all were respected sports that had a much larger group of fans than they do now. It's all bright lights and show now, and lots of money is spent on just keeping baseball afloat.

Will Bonds be voted into the hall on the first vote, that remains to be seen. Does he deserve to be, did Mark McGuire deserve to be, those are questions the history writers will have to decide.

[brianbwb-2009]

Posted by usatheway98.

I don't know how old you are, but you might remember that Aron, on the way to breaking Ruth's record, endured the same taunts and detractions, the difference being they weren't being camouflaged behind unproven allegations of substance abuse.

You also fail to realize that many of us see right through the disguise.

[usatheway98]

oh, bonds boys, just pull the race card, right?

Don't forget it WAS HANK AARON'S RECORD. Unlike Bonzo, Aaron was not only a gent and a class act, he was an athlete who didn't stoop to putting sh*t in his system to get ahead.

Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that Hank Aaron is Black. But then again, color never mattered to me until real racists like Bonzo and Boy Obama - and their buddies Jackson, Farrocan, and Sharpton made it an issue.

Sorry, but many of us who do dislike Bondzo do so because he is an unqualified a^^hole. As for this monkey ever being inducted in the Hall of Fame, maybe 100-200 years after Pete Rose is, if even at all.