Ruthless at Last, Bonds Hits 715th

SAN FRANCISCO, May 28 -- After Barry Bonds hit his 715th home run Sunday, orange and silver streamers cascaded from the upper deck. The San Francisco Giants unfurled two large banners in center field, one depicting Bonds, the other depicting Hank Aaron and his all-time record: 755.

But when Bonds circled the bases after becoming the second-greatest home run hitter in major league history, most of his teammates remained in the dugout.

The home run, a 445-foot drive into the center field bleachers off Colorado right-hander Byung Hyun Kim, ended what had become a tedious and, in many ways, uncomfortable spectacle, with Bonds revealing his rapidly diminishing skills during the three weeks he struggled to tie and finally pass Babe Ruth.

Bonds dropped his bat after connecting in the fourth inning, held out his arms and clapped once. Giants fans, who long ago had stopped rising in anticipation of his at-bats, shot to their feet in a cathartic roar, drawing Bonds out of the dugout for two curtain calls before the game resumed after a two-minute delay.

"Age ain't catching up with me," Bonds told the media after the game, which San Francisco lost, 6-3. "I was just trying to outlast you guys."

In fact, the media, which initially numbered in the hundreds as Bonds closed in on Ruth, had dropped off so substantially that the Giants stopped assigning seats in the press box. Although Sunday's game was a sellout, thousands of seats at AT&T Park remained empty throughout the week, even after Bonds had tied Ruth in Oakland. Commenting on the shrinking media entourage this week, Giants Manager Felipe Alou joked that by the time Bonds reached 715, "I'm gonna be here all by myself."

The significance of Bonds's achievement seemed to diminish with each passing day. When Bonds tied Ruth on May 20, it was his only home run in 46 at-bats over the last 21 days. By comparison, from 1999 to 2005, Bonds stroked one home run every 8.5 at-bats.

It was before the 1999 season that Bonds began experimenting with steroids and other drugs to boost his home run totals, according to a recent best-selling book.

Bonds, who will turn 42 on July 24, needs 40 homers to tie Aaron. But, among other things, his tortured pursuit of Ruth has shown the fragility of his quest. In addition to his struggles this season -- he has seven homers and is hitting .254 -- Bonds and his alleged steroid use is the focus of separate probes by the federal government and Major League Baseball, either of which could ultimately drive him from the sport.

Asked if he believed he could pass Aaron, Bonds said: "Anything's possible. If you keep playing long enough, anything's possible. . . . Would I like to? I'd like to win a World Series and be the home run king. I'll take both, but I'll take the World Series first."

Sunday had looked like it might unfold like many of Bonds's previous attempts. In the first inning against Kim, against whom he was hitless in nine previous at-bats, he walked on five pitches. Despite his low batting average and power numbers, Bonds leads the major leagues in on-base percentage, in large part because of his 47 walks.

By the fourth, however, the Rockies were up 6-0 and there was no reason for Kim to pitch around Bonds. Before the inning, Kim, a South Korean who was best known for giving up critical home runs against the Yankees while pitching for Arizona in the 2001 World Series, said he spoke with teammate Sun Woo Kim, another South Korean.

"You're up 6-0, just give him a home run," Byung Hyun Kim said Sun Woo told him.

Kim walked the first batter, Steve Finley. Mixing fastballs with off-speed pitches, he then pitched Bonds into a full count, then unleashed a fastball. Bonds crushed it, a low-trajectory blast that landed in the center field seats, then, as fans jostled for it, caromed down into a concession area beneath the great hitting backdrop behind the wall.

Andrew Morbitzer, the marketing director for a Silicon Valley software company, collected the ball while waiting to buy beer and peanuts.

Bonds smiled as he circled the bases. When he arrived at home plate, he embraced the batboy, his 16-year-old son, Nikolai, as he had in Oakland after he tied Ruth. Then he headed toward the dugout, embracing the on-deck hitter, Mark Sweeney, and then the hitter who followed Sweeney in the batting order, Pedro Feliz.

The rest of the Giants stayed in the dugout to congratulate Bonds. Shortstop Omar Vizquel said the team was elated for Bonds but wanted him to "be able to have his moment" by himself at home plate.

The team showed its affection for Bonds and its respect for the achievement after the game, according to Sweeney, toasting him with champagne and special glasses engraved with "715." "We've had those glasses for about three weeks," Sweeney said. Alou addressed the team and congratulated Bonds, and then Bonds himself thanked the team for its support. Sweeney said the glasses were collected so that the date of the home run could finally be engraved.

The home run came on the last day of a six-game homestand. Had Bonds failed, he would have had to resume the chase in Florida and then New York, venues where, like other places throughout the country, he almost certainly would have been booed every time he came to the plate.

Bonds, who grew up in nearby San Mateo, the son of Giants star Bobby Bonds and the godson of Willie Mays, said he was pleased to hit the home run in San Francisco "because this is my biggest fan base. This is where I was raised and where my history started."

Asked how he expected to be received when he arrived at New York's Shea Stadium next weekend, Bonds said, "I don't really care because it doesn't really matter."