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From unlikely start, Bonds becomes HR giant

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 19, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO -- Though Barry Bonds was regarded as a can't-miss prospect when he reached the majors in 1986, few could have predicted 500 home runs.

On Tuesday night, he reached that milestone one game after getting his 499th. And he did it with a splash.

Bonds' two-run, eighth-inning drive off Terry Adams went into McCovey's Cove, leading the Giants over the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2. Bonds became the 17th player to reach 500.

"I was getting stressed," he said. "Everyone around me was making me nervous."

The three-time MVP and nine-time All-Star watched the ball for a moment, then jumped for joy before rounding the bases. He pounced on home plate with both feet as Pacific Bell Park sparkled with flashbulbs.

"I knew my wife wouldn't be nervous anymore and could relax," Bonds said. "Now my dad won't be in my ear saying, 'Relax, relax, relax.' "

As a youth, Bonds was more of a gap hitter than a slugger. He averaged a modest 21 homers in his first four seasons with the Pirates and 25.1 in seven seasons in Pittsburgh.

"He wasn't a prototypical homer-type guy, but he could do everything," recalled Giants bench coach Ron Wotus, who out-hit Bonds .315 to .311 when they were Triple-A teammates in Hawaii.

"Barry was a slender guy, more into speed than power. The Pirates weren't into weight training then, so Barry wasn't nearly as big and strong. But you could see all the talent."

Bonds, 36, wasn't as big when he joined the Giants as he is now. Listed at 190 pounds in 1993, his first season in San Francisco, he's up to 210.

But the power has been consistent in a Giants uniform, an average of 39.8 homers in eight seasons.

"You can't predict that a guy will hit 500, but with that bat speed and power you always have a chance," said first-base coach Robby Thompson, also a rookie in 1986.

"At the time, Barry was slim and more of a gap hitter. But he had a great body, and he's put some muscle on it. There aren't too many guys with his kind of talent."

One of his talents has always been defense. Yet Tuesday, he was haunted by a flub of a routine fly the game before.

Bonds hit his 499th homer Sunday in Milwaukee, but the eight-time Gold Glove Award winner dropped Jeffrey Hammonds' eighth-inning fly, allowing three runs as the Brewers downed the Giants 7-4.

The gaffe was replayed extensively as he dealt with the pressure of reaching 500.

"I had such a big, strange incident happen to me in Milwaukee," he said. "And then a wonderful thing happened."

After the historic blast, Bonds was joined by his father, former major-leaguer Bobby Bonds; his wife, Liz; and Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Willie McCovey, who also hit 500 home runs.

"I wanted to run off the field and hug my wife, my dad, my mom, and to thank the Giants' organization. Then I started looking for Willie (Mays). It was great they came out here," Bonds said.

In leftfield, the wall was peeled back to reveal the words "Bonds 500" in tall orange letters.

Mays, Bonds' godfather, hit 660 homers, third on the career list behind Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714). McCovey is 11th with 521.

Said Mays: "Barry couldn't have a better script than tonight."

Joe Figone, piloting an inflatable power boat, scooped up the ball after it splashed into the cove, an inlet of San Francisco Bay, with a hand-held net.

Bonds said he was negotiating with Figone over the ball, which some estimate to be worth more than $500,000. Figone, a 39-year-old former groundskeeper for the Giants at Candlestick Park, did not return phone calls Wednesday.

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