bonds is simply

[smazza]

amazing

[smazza]

- Hammerin' Hank Aaron was at the game. Boomin' Barry Bonds was on his game.

In the homers hub of the universe, the residence of the all-time champ, the past and future came together Sunday night for a historic glimpse at perhaps the most prized record in sports. One owns it. One's chasing it.

Bonds moved two steps closer to Aaron's celebrated No. 755 by twice clearing the wall at Turner Field for his 695th and 696th homers. Another 60 would dethrone the king, who said before the Giants' 9-5 victory over the Braves that Bonds has an "excellent" chance at the record.

Then Bonds hit one an estimated 467 feet.

And another one 462 feet.

"I would have to put him past Babe Ruth," said Aaron, adding himself, Willie Mays and Ted Williams to the list of legends who take a backseat to Bonds. "He has to be the greatest hitter that I've seen or heard of. People said Ted was great, the last player to hit .400. But who knows, if they pitch to Barry, he might hit .450."

While at the ballpark, Aaron visited the ESPN booth in the third inning and spoke on the air about how well Bonds "recognizes pitches." Bonds stepped up seconds later and knocked Russ Ortiz's first-pitch changeup over the right- field wall, 28 rows deep.

"I've never seen a ball hit that far in this ballpark," Aaron told the audience.

Only one was farther, Sammy Sosa's 471-foot poke on Sept. 1, 2001. Aaron wasn't in attendance.

As sad as it sounds, Aaron might not see another Bonds home run in person. If Bonds reaches 755 or 756, Aaron doesn't plan to be there -- unlike Mays, Bonds' godfather who lives in the Bay Area, who was there for 660.

"I hope people don't take this the wrong way," Aaron said in the pregame interview, "but I'm 70 years old and it's hard to travel. I try to stay away from planes as much as I can. I wish him all the luck in the world. I don't have any animosity. It's his record. He should share it with his people, his family. That's the way it should be."

Bonds, who considerably helped his bid for a seventh MVP with his exploits on a national stage, finished 4-for-5 with six RBIs. In his final at- bat, with a chance for his first career five-hit game, he struck out.

"I was tired," said Bonds, who plans to sit out today's series finale.

Bonds' first homer gave the Giants a 2-0 lead, and his second homer made it 5-2. In the sixth, with the bases loaded, he hit a two-run single for an 8- 3 lead. J.T. Snow had three hits, and four relievers worked after starter Brad Hennessey was pulled in the fifth inning. Dustin Hermanson pitched the final 11/3 innings for his seventh save.

Bonds has 38 homers this year and, at this rate, would break Aaron's record in 2006. Ruth's mark of 714 could be passed early next season.

The biggest obstacle for Bonds is his enormous number walks and the limited strikes he sees -- but those are nonentities compared with what Aaron had to overcome, including death threats and hate mail, before breaking Ruth's record.

"It was hard on me from the standpoint of having to deal with a lot of racial stuff," Aaron said. "It was tough for me to get to the ballpark. It was tough for me to even stay with my teammates. It was tough on my family. My daughter had to stay in school one solid year without going off campus in college. I found peace when I got on the baseball field."

That was 30 years ago.

"You can't even compare," Bonds said. "Different era, different times. It was a lot harder for him than it is for us. To have Hank there, it's important to all of us. Hank is always going to be our mentor, just like Jackie Robinson and the black athletes who went through the Negro Leagues and couldn't participate in the major leagues. They're the stepping stone for what we are now."

Aaron seems amazed Bonds continues to produce big numbers in a lineup without much pop. Aaron had a superior supporting cast, featuring Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews and, at different times, Joe Torre, Rico Carty, Orlando Cepeda, Felipe Alou and Dusty Baker.

"You look at Barry and all of his stats and the things he's accomplished, you have to marvel at some of the things he has done because he hasn't had the luxury of having great players around him," Aaron said.

"I don't know where the Giants would be without him. I think they'd be a second-division ballclub."

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[Velcro]

its funny that Bonds has had an incredible last month and the giants have started to struggle again.  

[smazza]

the giants have no pen  or a 4 or 5 starter

giants weren't expeced to do a thing this year

[KnightsRule]

the giants have no pen  or a 4 or 5 starter

giants weren't expeced to do a thing this year

Huge payroll and no expectations? Seems kind of odd that owner would pay so much and expect little in return.

[Bullshiznitz]

The HR's are really a side note. A .600+ On base percentage is absolutely absurd.  Just caught a Braves game on TBS in which they were raving about JD Drew this year commenting that a .400+ OBP is lights out for a season. I dont think most fans can really comprehend how astounding  Bonds' OBP truly is.  

Bonds is simply...THE BEST EVER

[smazza]

not many undrstand the numbers ares off the charts

bonds has struck out less than 40 times

[smazza]

Bonds Chugs Toward No. 700 as Giants Roll

Slugger Cracks No. 697 in 18-7 Rout of Diamondbacks

By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports

SAN FRANCISCO (Sept. 3) -- Both managers advised their players to forget what happened. The San Francisco Giants know their lineup isn't really this good -- and the Arizona Diamondbacks can't dwell on the possibility they're really this bad.

 

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Barry Bonds hit his 697th homer and drove in three runs, and Edgardo Alfonzo had five hits in the Giants' 18-7 victory over the Diamondbacks on Friday night.

Bonds' first homer in five games easily reached the bleachers in right-center in the second inning. The two-run shot off Edgar Gonzalez was Bonds' 39th of the season -- but it was just one of several big blows in the Giants' best offensive game in more than two years.

Led by Alfonzo and J.T. Snow, who had four hits, the Giants pounded out 18 hits against Arizona's pathetic pitching staff. Light-hitting Cody Ransom even drove in four runs as the Giants batted around four times in the first six innings.

"These kinds of games just happen," said Dustan Mohr, who had a two-run double. "They haven't happened for us very often, but sometimes you go out there and hit everything you swing at. But it's still just one game."

The victory, coupled with the Dodgers' loss at St. Louis, moved the Giants within 5 1/2 games of Los Angeles in the NL West. San Francisco also moved within one game of the front-running Chicago Cubs in the wild-card race -- though the Cubs, whose game at Florida was postponed, have played four fewer games than the Giants.

San Francisco scored 10 runs in the first two innings against Gonzalez (0-8), then added four more in the fifth and four unearned runs in the sixth to win for just the third time in eight games.

The numbers were amazing, particularly for the heart of San Francisco's order: Alfonzo and Snow scored four runs apiece, while Deivi Cruz and Bonds crossed the plate three times. Ransom had three hits, and six players drove in at least two runs apiece.

But Bonds' home run total, which is updated each game on the outfield wall, remained the most daunting statistic in the park.

Bonds went 1-for-2 with a sacrifice fly, maintaining his lead in the NL batting race while also drawing two more intentional walks -- including his 100th of the season, which extended his major league record even when the Giants had a six-run lead in the fifth.

"Maybe we should take away that 697 number (from the outfield wall)," manager Felipe Alou said. "Maybe they'd pitch to him a little more. That's intimidating."