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Logan
08-30-2004, 05:15 AM
Hank Aaron..755

Babe Ruth..714..

Barry Bonds..only 4 away!!

God this is so great ..I love this game..

700 homers!!

History in the making!!






08/29/2004 11:22 PM ET
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Bonds' two blasts carry Giants
Slugger now four away from 700-homer milestone
By Rich Draper / MLB.com

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2004/08/29/8wITz7Pj.jpg



Barry Bonds started his six-RBI night with a two-run homer in the third. (Gregory Smith/AP)


ATLANTA -- It will be remembered here as great baseball theater.
Two of the planet's best-ever sluggers -- Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds -- graced Turner Field with their presence Sunday, and the Giants veteran demonstrated his superpowers with a season-high six RBIs, slamming two homers and two singles in San Francisco's 9-5 victory.

Bonds' blasts put him only four home runs shy of 700, 18 behind Babe Ruth's fabled career total of 714 and 59 short of Hammerin' Hank's all-time mark of 755.

"He has to be the greatest hitter that I've seen, or heard of," said Aaron, the 70-year monarch of mashes, given a rare opportunity to watch the 30-years-younger Bonds in action. "I would have to put him past Babe Ruth."

And yourself, Hank? "Oh yeah."

Give Atlanta Braves skipper Bobby Cox credit for allowing Bonds to display his talent without worrying about intentional walks or being pitched around Sunday before a national TV audience and Aaron, even if the price was high.

But few could have orchestrated it better, the majestic Hall of Famer Aaron here on a warm Georgia night seeing Bonds hit a pair of massive shots into the faraway right-field seats -- a two-run, 467-footer in the third inning off Atlanta starter Russ Ortiz and a two-run 462-foot blast two innings later.

The launches were the second- and third-longest homers in this yard behind Sammy Sosa's 471-foot rocket on Sept. 1, 2001.

The Giants' bombardier also singled twice, his sixth-inning hit scoring two runs. For Bonds, it marked his third four-hit game of the season and 28th of his career.

"Fun," said Bonds of being able to actually hit baseballs in a full game instead of being intentionally walked by the Braves. "They're playing good baseball and winning their division, so there's no need [to walk him]. Ortiz? He wasn't pitching as good as he normally was -- he was missing spots, getting behind hitters. He has those days, and other days he's lights out."

Asked what he thought about Aaron's comment, Bonds replied modestly, "I don't know about that."

Prior to the contest, Bonds told interviewer Joe Morgan of ESPN that he was excited to play in Atlanta, where Aaron is a particular icon, and that the home run king deserves more respect for his accomplishment.

The Giants star has commented before about Aaron's greatness, that in his mind the Hammer will always be a legend, especially for surviving the game -- and life -- amidst racial strife.

"We all know the truth, there's no need to elaborate on that," said Bonds, who said he wasn't aware until later that Aaron was a spectator this night. "A lot of the older guys know what happened in that time. He'll always be the greatest home run hitter of all time, that's for sure.

"There's a lot of great players. You can't compare what he's done to, say, Nolan Ryan's career, or Ted Williams, Babe Ruth or Willie Mays -- everyone has their time in all sports. It's just different times and in a cycle. There will be someone after me."

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2004/08/25/PwloSZwS.jpg


Bonds now has 68 career multihomer games, moving him past Mark McGwire for second place all-time, four such feats shy of catching Ruth's total.

There is a special place in Bonds' heart for the Negro League players, the forefathers of today's African-American star.

"Hank is always going to be our mentor, just like Jackie Robinson and black athletes before us like in the Negro Leagues who couldn't participate in the Major Leagues at that time," said Bonds. "They were the stepping stones for the ones who are here now. They're the ones that opened the door for us."

Although rookie pitcher Brad Hennessey left the game with a 5-3 lead, he didn't throw the required five innings to earn a decision.

The winning pitcher was Jason Christiansen (4-2), who ended a Braves threat in the fifth inning with a double-play grounder. Dustin Hermanson earned his seventh save.

Outfielder Dustan Mohr was astounded by Bonds' two blasts, especially after seeing them travel so far and so fast.

"In our ballpark you never see the end results -- they land in the water," said Mohr. "A place like this, it's a huge stadium. Really big. I'd say it's as tough to hit a home run here as it is in our park. He hits right on the money and they just fly. To still have that kind of bat speed is amazing. I'll never another player like that in my lifetime."

The Giants' victory broke a two-game losing streak and halted the Braves' six-game winning skein. San Francisco also moved into a three-way tie for the National League Wild Card lead with Chicago and San Diego and remained five back of the Dodgers in the division race.

Rich Draper is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

bigzak25
08-30-2004, 10:55 AM
ruth
aaron
bonds*

tlongII
08-30-2004, 11:04 AM
Ichiro may break a record that has stood longer than Aaron's this year. Do you know what it is?

King Latifah
08-30-2004, 11:20 AM
Most hits in a season, George Sisler.

tlongII
08-30-2004, 11:26 AM
We have a WINNER!

exstatic
08-30-2004, 11:33 AM
All hail BALCO.

Betsy
08-30-2004, 04:46 PM
I still can not give Bonds credit. Between steroids and having 160 games a season does not make him a great ball player. :p

SAmikeyp
08-30-2004, 05:23 PM
you can't blame Bonds for the length of the season. I do think if we find proof, not message board conjecture, that he used steroids, his numbers should be erased.

E20
08-30-2004, 05:36 PM
I still don't get it how steroids can help a player hit a ball. Isn't sports technology advanced far enough that now a Baseball player can be 10X stronger than Hank Aaron by just working out?

Das Texan
08-30-2004, 07:36 PM
of course hte real key to bonds success is his eyes.

ducks
08-30-2004, 07:50 PM
barry=jerk
barry=good

T Park Num 9
08-30-2004, 08:17 PM
I still don't get it how steroids can help a player hit a ball.

Gee I dont know,

make em, quicker, stronger, bigger.



That wouldnt help hit a ball, naw.

E20
08-30-2004, 08:25 PM
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_bios/images/aaron_hank_2.jpg
This is Hank Aaron.

If you want to be big and strong enough to hit a ball outside a baseball field. You can accomplish this by lifting weights and drinking Soy/Whey protein shakes and a dash of determination.

Spurminator
08-30-2004, 09:22 PM
Ichiro is one of the greatest hitters in the history of baseball, and he's vastly underrated by non-Japanese, non-Seattle baseball fans. He will have 1000 hits before the All Star Game next season... 4 1/2 years into his big league career. If only he had come into MLB a few years earlier, who knows what kind of career numbers he'd put up?

exstatic
08-30-2004, 10:01 PM
I still don't get it how steroids can help a player hit a ball.

It doesn't help you hit the ball, but it does send the balls you hit further. I can't tell you how many times I'll be flipping channels, see a player hit the ball either reaching WAY out, or getting under it, and think to myself "That's an out". The ball proceeds to go over the fence.

Bonds is dirty, IMHO. It may never be proven, but he is hip deep in this BALCO thing. That freakin' 73 sticks out like a sore thumb in his career stats. He's never hit more than 46 in any other season.

Spurminator
08-30-2004, 10:17 PM
He's having his best season ever this year. He has been on base 60% of the times he has come to the plate, and he is slugging .822. He hits a homerun in 13% of his atbats (by comparison, it was 15% when he hit 73... he has simply been walked more times this year).

I had suspicions of Bonds like everyone, but I doubt he would continue to use illegal substances this season with all of the scrutiny he has been under... yet he has shown no signs of a dropoff.