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Pitcher of Record
The Nationals' Mike Bacsik will forever be linked with Barry Bonds for allowing the record-breaking 756th home run in the fifth inning of Washington's 8-6 win over the San Francisco Giants.
(Danny Moloshok - Reuters)
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In a way, Bacsik had his father to thank, because 31 years ago, the elder Bacsik helped keep the mark at 755. That night in Arlington, Tex., Bacsik was called on in the fourth inning to face the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers' cleanup hitter that night: designated hitter Hank Aaron.
Aaron broke Babe Ruth's then-record of 714 homers in 1974, and by the time he faced Bacsik and the Texas Rangers that night -- Aug. 23, 1976 -- he was 42, six weeks from playing in his final game.
By the elder Bacsik's best memory, the Rangers were holding a giveaway -- seat cushions.
"I think everybody that came got two free cushions and 10 beers," Bacsik said. "It was the loudest crowd I ever heard."
Aaron had last homered on July 20, No. 755. There was no way of knowing he would never hit another.
So when Bacsik started the fifth, Aaron was the second man up, and he flew out to right field. Bacsik was a hard-throwing right-hander who fell off the mound on his follow-through, "kind of the exact opposite of Mike," the elder Bacsik said of his son, the soft-tossing lefty.
In the seventh, Aaron came up again. "He hit a one-hopper," Bacsik said, "right off my [rear]. It was one of those where you yell out before it hits you."
Bacsik remembers throwing Aaron out at first, and he remembered the first at-bat as a bloop single to right. But the play-by-play from the game shows that Aaron ended up with an infield single in his second at-bat.
Either way, Aaron had faced Bacsik, went 1 for 2, and did not homer. That provided a subtle backdrop for Tuesday's events.
"If my dad was so gracious to give up a home run to Hank Aaron," the younger Bacsik said Tuesday, "we could both be at 756 right now."
Ultimately, neither Bacsik felt like giving up the record breaker would be a problem.
"To me, it doesn't matter," Bacsik's father said. "I would just like him to have another quality start. A whole bunch of other guys have given up homers to him."
