April 13, 2004
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
SAN FRANCISCO - Barry Bonds outdid his godfather - and he has just two more hitters to chase.
Bonds hit his 661st homer Tuesday night, passing Willie Mays to take sole possession of third place on baseball's career list.
In the seventh inning, Bonds hit a 1-2 pitch from Milwaukee right-hander Ben Ford over the right-field arcade and into McCovey Cove, reaching the water for the second straight day. The San Francisco slugger hit his 660th on Monday to nearly the same spot.
Only Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron still loom above Bonds. If Bonds maintains his unbelievable pace of the past four seasons, he could pass Ruth's 714 homers early next season.
Bonds has said he can't imagine passing Aaron, who hit 755 homers. But there seems to be nothing Bonds can't do.
"I've never seen a better player in my life," said former Giants third baseman Matt Williams, who threw out the first pitch at Tuesday night's game. "I don't think anybody changes the course of a game like he does."
Bonds, who will turn 40 in July, hit 213 homers in the previous four seasons, including a major league-record 73 in 2001.
He hit his 659th on opening day in Houston - but as he usually does, Bonds waited until returning home to San Francisco to hit his most historic homers.
Bonds didn't really celebrate his 661st, calmly dropping his bat and circling the bases as the sellout crowd stood and roared. After touching home plate, he pointed into the stands at his family.
Bonds took a short curtain call, and he got yet another standing ovation when he took the field for the eighth inning.
It was Bonds' 29th homer into McCovey Cove - where the ball apparently was retrieved by the same kayaker who got Bonds' 660th and later gave it back to the slugger.
The park didn't have quite the same buzz as it did Monday night, when Bonds smashed a fifth-inning homer into McCovey Cove. The media contingent was roughly halved, and sports legends Wayne Gretzky and Bill Russell weren't in attendance, as they were Monday night to celebrate Bonds' sixth straight MVP award.
Bonds' latest statistical marvel has been accomplished under the shadow of steroids and the criminal investigation surrounding his personal trainer. Even Williams, Bonds' teammate in San Francisco for three seasons, believes the steroids controversy has given baseball "a black eye."
"I know him as a man. Not many people do," Williams said. "If it's proven, then I think it's going to put a black mark on baseball. Will I think any less of him? No. You can be as strong as you want to be. You still have to have that proper technique. That can't be taken away."
Bonds' transformation from a five-tools leadoff hitter to his generation's best power hitter has pleased manager Felipe Alou, who saw a similar change in the other greats atop the homers list.
"He's doing what most guys did," Alou said. "He used to steal bases. He's stopped running bases. That's what Hank did. There comes a time when age (catches up), and you've got to do one thing: hit the ball out of the ballpark."