NEW YORK, 1 September 2004 — The hype is beginning to gather steam now that the Olympics are over and San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds is just four home runs away from entering the most elite club in baseball.
Bonds is just days away from joining the legendary George Herman “Babe” Ruth and Hank Aaron as the only men in the history of US baseball to hit 700 or more home runs.
Aaron holds the major leagues record at 755 while the legendary Ruth, who played with the New York Yankees, is at 714.
To get into the 700 Club is almost like becoming the third man to walk on the moon.
On Sunday, Bonds crushed two mammoth two-run homers against the Atlanta Braves as Aaron, a former Braves player, watched from the stands at Turner Field to take his season tally to 38 and career record to 696. It was a productive game for the outfielder as he went 4-for-5 with six RBIs to lead San Francisco to a 9-5 win. It was also his fourth multi-homer game of the season, the 68th. of his career, placing him behind Ruth at 72.
The 40-year-old Bonds has not lost any strength in his powerful arms as both balls went an estimated total of 929 feet. It was an unusually busy game for him because the normal game plan is for pitchers to work around him.
So far this season Bonds has been walked 183 times, 94 intentionally, no team can boast that statistic. Such is the fear Bonds sends to the opposition.
Bonds already owns the most home runs hit in a season at 72, a mark that also was considered out of reach when St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire set the previous best at 70 in 1998.
After Sunday’s game, he was asked about his thoughts on the verge of hitting his 700th. home run. He said: “I haven’t thought much about it.” He doesn’t have to. He is reminded about the mark whenever he watches TV, reads newspapers and listens to the radio.
Bonds, who has an uneasy relationship with the media, has put up numbers over the past three years that are mind-boggling, to say the least. For example, it took him 12 and a half seasons to reach 400 home runs, but his next 300 will come in about six seasons.
Most outstanding athletes seem taper off in performance as they get older, particularly when they hover around 40. Remember Michael Jordan’s statistics when he came back to basketball with the Washington Wizards? But with Bonds, he just gets better and stronger.
Of course, rumors, innuendos and suspicion surround his performance, but nothing has yet been substantiated and he just keeps rolling along to the 700 mark, once considered out of reach and that only Ruth and Aaron would remain in that club forever.
