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70! Move over, Mac

Barry Bonds connects in the ninth inning for home run No. 70, tying Mark McGwire for the most in a season.

By JOHN ROMANO

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 5, 2001

HOUSTON -- The ball met the bat at 10:21 p.m. and rose quickly and dramatically toward rightfield. It soared past skepticism, beyond incredulous and fell right beside history.

[AP photo] The Giants' Barry Bonds celebrates his 70th home run of the season at home plate during the ninth inning of Thursday’s game against the Houston Astros. Bonds tied the record held by Mark McGwire.

Barry Bonds, who never before had reached 50 home runs in a season, tied Mark McGwire's major-league record Thursday night with his 70th.

Bonds has three games left to move past McGwire.

The home run came on a 1-and-1 pitch with Bonds leading off the ninth inning against Astros rookie Wilfredo Rodriguez.

It was a mammoth blast landing in the upper deck in right-center, traveling an estimated 454 feet.

Bonds knew immediately he had the record and flipped his bat in the air, raising both arms skyward.

After circling the bases, Bonds was met at the plate by teammates and his son, Nikolai, who was the Giants bat boy for the series. After several hugs, Bonds moved toward the dugout and waved to his wife and two daughters in the second row. Fans at Enron Field chanted "Barry" until he emerged from the dugout for two curtain calls. He received another standing ovation when he was replaced in leftfield before the start of the bottom of the ninth.

The home run, which capped a 10-2 win, was the realization of what has been an astonishing, and improbable, journey. McGwire seemed to put the record beyond reasonable reach just three years ago, when he passed the 61 home runs of Roger Maris and then extended the mark by nearly 15 percent.

Yet here comes Bonds, at 37 years old, hitting home runs at a faster pace than anyone has ever seen. Bonds has a home run every 6.6 at-bats this season, bettering McGwire's record of 7.2 in '98.

Whereas McGwire's size and majestic blasts have inspired an aura similar to Babe Ruth, Bonds has been more of a complete player. And his power has developed as he has matured, much like Hank Aaron. Bonds averaged 28 home runs his first eight seasons and 43 home runs his past eight.

Thursday's home run also moved Bonds past Reggie Jackson into seventh on the career all-time list with 564.

"That's incredible," Rays slugger Greg Vaughn said, "50 took everything I had; 70 is not missing a pitch or striking out all year. You don't think about doing that, you just swing and try to stay locked in. I was pulling for him. I want everybody to do good."

The Astros had gone to great lengths to avoid Bonds before the home run. He was hit by a pitch and had eight walks in his first 14 at-bats of the series. He had seen 13 strikes in the previous 55 pitches.

Fans had jeered and made obscene gestures when Bonds was walked intentionally with the Giants leading 8-1 in the sixth.

With San Francisco up 9-2 in the ninth, Rodriguez clearly decided to challenge Bonds. Bonds swung and missed at a 95 mph fastball and then took a 96 mph fastball for a ball before connecting on the third pitch.

"Houston has realized they should pitch to him because they have walked him and they've lost," Rays manager Hal McRae said. "I think that he'll break the record now."

Unlike previous standards, there barely was time to digest McGwire's mark before Bonds began his assault.

Ruth was the first to reach 60 home runs in a season in 1927 and his record stood for 34 years before Maris. That record lasted for 37 years before McGwire streaked past.

Because McGwire's season remains so fresh in memories, the Bonds chase has not held quite the same mystique.

McGwire had the affable Sammy Sosa as a foil, the Maris family providing an emotional element and a generation's worth of anticipation.

Bonds, who has been unpopular with teammates and media throughout his career because of a perceived arrogance, has not enjoyed nearly as much acclaim as McGwire in the summer of '98.

Giants manager Dusty Baker said Bonds has been receiving racist hate mail. Bonds declines to discuss it, citing family and safety concerns.

McGwire has said that Bonds has not endured as much pressure or scrutiny as he did. McGwire was chasing a standard that had stood so long it had taken on mythical qualities. McGwire also was under the microscope from opening day after finishing the previous season with 58 home runs.

The quest for Bonds did not begin in earnest until the season's second half. Although he ended up facing time restraints McGwire never had.

When McGwire came within one of Maris, he had 20 games left. Bonds had seven games to go when he hit No. 69.

Pitchers also are avoiding Bonds like no hitter before him. Always a patient hitter, Bonds has been drawing walks at an obscene pace the past two weeks. He has a 10-game walk streak, with 21 walks overall in that span.

Attention shifts now to the Dodgers who arrive today in San Francisco for a three-game series to close the regular season.

Los Angeles is out of contention, but is not without motivation in the series. The Dodgers-Giants rivalry is a century old, dating to the days when they played in Brooklyn and New York.

As recently as last week, the teams let their animosity show when the Giants were playing in Los Angeles. The Dodgers declined San Francisco's request to stop the game and have a ceremony if Bonds set the record there.

"You know us and the Dodgers. You know what that's about," Baker said. "Barry's hitting about .500 against them and you know they won't appreciate stopping the game for him."

-- Times staff writers Mike Readling and Kevin Kelly contributed to this report.

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