Baseball News - Bonds hits #700



San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds became the third player in Major League Baseball history to reach the 700-homer mark Friday at SBC Park when he hit a solo shot off of Padres right-hander Jake Peavy in the third inning. After hitting No. 699 at Arizona on Sunday, Bonds went homerless during a three-game series in Milwaukee before returning home and tallying the milestone.

Bonds hit just one homer on the Giants' recent eight-game road trip, reaching 699 in Arizona. Instead of the usual homer in the boat-infested waters of McCovey Cove, Bonds went to the opposite field on an 0-1 slider from Peavy.

As Bonds rounded second base, the Giants launched streamers and a fireworks display from the scoreboard in center field. He pointed toward the sky as he crossed the plate and give several curtain calls to the standing ovation.

The Giants unveiled two banners commerating Bonds historic blast: One featuring Bonds with “700” below him, and another featuring shots of Ruth and Aaron with their respective home run totals.

Bonds hit his 500th, 600th, 660th, 661th and 700th homers at SBC Park. The 5-year-old park also was the site of his 73rd homer in 2001, which is currently the MLB single-season record. Bonds went from 500 homers to 700 homers in only 3 ½ years.

Now all eyes will turn to Bonds' chase of Babe Ruth, who finished his career with 714 home runs. Bonds is only 14 away, but with 14 games left, he has already said he doesn't expect to approach the Babe’s mark until early next season.

At the top stands Hank Aaron, the all-time leader, who is 55 homers away at 755. At the earliest, the 40-year-old Bonds could reach “Hammerin’ Hank” in late 2005, but most likely it would happen in early 2006.




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