That thing about Petco Park being virtually “Bonds-proof?”
History.
Considering how many of Barry Bonds' first 754 home runs were struck against the Padres – 86 in all, 42 of them landing somewhere in San Diego County – think of them all as little precursors to the most significant homer of Bonds' vaunted and controversial career as baseball's most fearsome slugger.
With last night's second-inning opposite-field line drive off the second-deck facade last night, Bonds took Padres pitcher Clay Hensley deep for his 755th homer and took baseball where it wasn't completely sure it wanted to go. For the moment, maybe for only a few hours, Bonds shares the all-time home run record with Henry Aaron.
“This is the hardest thing I've ever gone through my entire career,” said Bonds. “Different feeling than the other milestones. It's Hank Aaron. I can't explain it. It's just Hank Aaron.”
So much for the notion that the Padres had, at a cost of roughly $474 million, taken Bonds out of his local comfort zone at Qualcomm Stadium and put up a ballpark that was too big for even him. “Baseball-proof,” he called it after his first homerless visit, only half-jokingly. As one of his teammates said, “Barry loves the ballpark, hates hitting in it.”
Just three times in three-plus years had he sent one out of Petco Park, whose way-long dimensions in right field and right-center seemed the cure to the long-time ailment that was Bonds' pulling power.
“This ballpark is tough,” Bonds said. “You take (Adrian) Gonzalez and put him in a different ballpark, he's got 30 to 40 home runs. This is tougher than Qualcomm. Even when you hit it, sometimes it doesn't go.
“I think they need to move the fences in. I really do.”
Bonds said he definitely will sit out the start of this afternoon's series finale, following form and custom. The Giants return home to Bonds' personal playground in San Francisco for seven games against two last-place clubs with generous pitching. In a pinch, Bonds could always be called upon to hit in an emergency today, re-creating the same sort of buzz that filled Petco with each of his four plate appearances last night.
Properly spanked in the second inning with a 382-foot laser, the Padres proceeded to walk Bonds on his last three trips, even taking steps to make the bases on balls look unintentional. Replaced by a pinch runner in the eighth inning, Bonds pulled off his helmet and waved it to the crowd as he approached the visiting dugout.
Almost as much as the wonder over where Bonds would catch and/or pass Aaron, a major question was how a crowd might respond if the historic event happened on the road. Even before the specter of steroid allegations attached themselves to Bonds – and baseball in general – Bonds was not the most endearing or engaging of athletes.
So, the answer to the question? The crowd was gracious, excited, perhaps even privileged. And, in the minority, simply annoyed.
For all the poundings that Bonds has put on San Diego in the past, the immediate response to Bonds' shot was a universal explosion of “Whoa!” A predominance of cheering followed, muffling the inevitable boos, as the Bonds circled the bases to a standing ovation.
The Giants dugout emptied immediately, but teammates left the reception at home plate to Bonds' 17-year-old son, Nikolai, also wearing a San Francisco uniform as batboy.
Barry Bonds hoisted his lanky son and carried him a few steps beyond the plate, then turned to the gauntlet of fellow Giants.
Among them were several transplanted Giants – manager Bruce Bochy and coach Tim Flannery, players Ryan Klesko and Dave Roberts and Mark Sweeney – who'd been in the Padres dugout for many of Bonds' past transgressions in San Diego.
As he returned to the plate in the fourth inning, the anticipation was there for the record-breaker, widely considered the most hallowed mark in American sports. Not there was Hensley's willingness to go down as the guy who gave up both of the milestone homers.
Chris Jenkins: (619) 293-1267; chris.jenkins@uniontrib.com
