Bonds hits Nos. 71 and 72 to seize home run record
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Life as a home run king is pretty short these days.
Associated Press
Barry Bonds wasted no time claiming history for himself yesterday, hitting No. 71 and ending Mark McGwire's reign just one night after he tied baseball's most glamorous record.
Barry Bonds hit homer No. 72 in the third inning, on a 1-1 pitch from Chan Ho Park. He has two more games to extend the record.
That was the first inning. In the third, he hit No. 72.
Bonds, however, was in no mood to celebrate because his San Francisco Giants were eliminated from postseason contention with an 11-10 loss to Los Angeles.
"It's just unfortunate we came up short," he said. "It was a great year all the way around."
Bonds' record-breaker came at Pacific Bell Park on a tailing fastball from Chan Ho Park and landed in right-center.
Bonds connected on a 1-0 pitch to break the mark that McGwire set a mere three years ago. It came on his first swing since hitting No. 70 in Houston's Enron Field off rookie Wilfredo Rodriguez. Both homers arced high over the field in the same direction.
Associated Press
After hitting his 442-foot shot, an elated Bonds trotted around the bases and was mobbed by his teammates at the plate and his 11-year-old son, Nikolai — much the same scene that played out in Houston.
Liz Bonds congratulated her husband after he broke the record with home run No. 71 in the first inning.
Bonds slipped into the dugout for a short time and talked by cell phone with his father, former major leaguer Bobby, before returning to the field.
As a "71" flashed on the scoreboard and fireworks soared above the outfield, Bonds hugged his wife, Liz, and daughter Aisha, as well as his mother, Pat.
They were barely back in the stands before the crowd went crazy again. Bonds hit No. 72 off Park on a 1-1 count, the ball just clearing the wall in center field at the 404-foot mark.
Until Big Mac came along, Roger Maris' record of 61 had stood for 37 years. Before Maris came along, Babe Ruth's record stood for 34 years.
