The slugger's chase of Hank Aaron's 755 homers comes with no guarantee commissioner Bud Selig will be in the seats to watch if his longtime friend's mark is broken, and amid lingering speculation that Bonds took steroids and failed an amphetamines test last season.

Will he stay healthy enough to hit the 22 homers he needs? At 734 now, Bonds would love to do it this season, when even more attention is on the team and city with San Francisco hosting the All-Star game in July just before Bonds turns 43.

''What's going to happen is going to happen,'' Bonds said. ''I'm going to go out there and play baseball like I always have, go out there and work hard with my teammates and do what I've got to do. Hopefully everything works out for us to win a championship, and if the record gets in the way it gets in the way.''

He will be sharing the spotlight with another Barry -- $126 million lefty ace Barry Zito -- and they will dress in neighboring lockers in the Giants clubhouse.

San Francisco has missed the playoffs the past three seasons and hasn't come close to repeating the success it had when the club fell six outs shy of a World Series title in 2002. Bonds has long said winning a ring is more important to him than any of his long list of individual accomplishments, and the Giants brought in Zito to give the team a front-line starter after losing Jason Schmidt as a free agent to the division-rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

Team owner Peter Magowan knows that having Bonds break the record with the Giants contending again would make for the best of both worlds for the franchise and its fans.

''How many does he need?'' asked new Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella. ''If he's on his game, that's around July.''

San Francisco re-signed the seven-time NL MVP for the 2007 season at $15.8 million and hired away manager Bruce Bochy from the two-time defending NL West champion San Diego Padres to replace Felipe Alou.

Bochy knows firsthand how dangerous Bonds can be: The Padres have surrendered more of Bonds' homers, 85, than any other club -- and Bochy was in the dugout to watch many of those fly over the fences.

''With all due respect to Tony Gwynn and what a great hitter he was, to do what Barry does and have over 700 home runs, not to mention that he hits for average and gets on base, he's going to go down as one of, if not the greatest, hitters of all time with the numbers he has,'' Bochy said. ''He can do some things that Tony Gwynn did. He can wear out that five-six hole. He has unbelievable bat control for a power hitter.''

If Bonds reaches 756 this season, the Giants might prefer that he just goes away afterward. Not that Bonds is ready to even think about retirement. He has said he plans to be ''playing until I'm 100'' and does want to be in uniform a year from now --though he is known to repeatedly change his mind.

The sides spent the entire offseason haggling over language in Bonds' new deal, including what would happen if he faces further legal problems. Part of the agreement was the exclusion of his two trainers, Greg Oliver and Harvey Shields, from all restricted areas of ballparks home and away. They will now be on Bonds' dime, not the team's.

Bonds still could be indicted if a federal grand jury determines he perjured himself when testifying in 2003 in the BALCO steroid distribution case that he hadn't knowingly taken performance-enhancing drugs. Bonds, who has long denied using steroids, said his level of concern about the investigation is ''none.''

''Let them investigate. Let them, they've been doing it this long,'' Bonds said after his first spring training workout. ''It doesn't weigh on me at all -- at all. It's just you guys talking. It's just media conversation.''

In January, the New York Daily News reported that Bonds failed an amphetamines test last season and then attributed it to a substance he took from teammate Mark Sweeney's locker. Bonds publicly apologized to Sweeney.

Opposing managers certainly will have to make the tough call whether to pitch to Bonds -- which can mean risking losing the game on one powerful left-handed swing -- once he gets close, and some probably will do everything in their power to keep their pitcher from being the one who surrenders No. 756.

''Obviously leading up to the most ultimate record there will be (more questions),'' Arizona Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said. ''He has a history of putting all that away. He's one of the best at it. There's going to be a lot of scrutiny -- who wants him to break it at their place, who doesn't? That doesn't play into it for me. The record doesn't affect how we're going to go after him.''

Aside from the home runs, Bonds needs 159 hits for 3,000, another milestone he has on his mind before he calls it a career.

And why not go for it? He is finally healthy again and leaner after a rigorous winter of workouts at UCLA.

''I'm very happy. I was fighting a lot of injuries, my elbow,'' Bonds said of 2006. ''I was fighting my knee. We weren't winning. Our closer was hurt. It was a tough year all around for all for us.''

The Giants built the 2007 roster -- still with its share of older players -- around Bonds to make what could be one final push with No. 25, even if many baseball experts predict San Francisco as a long-shot contender in the improved NL West.

Bochy wants his players to enjoy Bonds' pursuit of history without it becoming a distraction.

''To watch him do it for real and start counting down to 755 will be exciting,'' Zito said.

Said shortstop Omar Vizquel: ''Even if we don't have a lot of history, I enjoy it. It will be exciting to be on this team and I think it will be better than last year.''

Bonds walked 115 times in 2006 with 38 free passes and it took him until May 28 to pass Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time list. Does he think pitchers will give him anything to hit?

''I can't predict that, bro,'' Bonds said. ''Now we're in the present. I couldn't even answer that question, because I don't know.''

Bonds has shown every sign that his body is 100 percent: He is running hard on the bases and in left field, even during a recent rainy spring day in the desert when he typically would be much more cautious.

After missing all but 14 games in 2005 following three operations on his right knee, Bonds batted .270 with 26 homers and 77 RBIs in 130 games last year. Neither Bochy nor general manager Brian Sabean has offered a prediction on how much Bonds might play in '07, except to say they expect it will be well more than 100 games.

Bonds batted .297 (11-for-37) with five home runs, three doubles and 10 RBIs in 15 Cactus League games in Arizona. He swung away at every opportunity and had 12 strikeouts to only two walks -- and he argued with one umpire a couple of times on called third strikes in back-to-back at-bats.

He refuses to get too excited about his pursuit yet, saying, ''When the time comes, it'll come.''

His godfather, Hall of Famer Willie Mays, shares a similar sentiment.

''It's too early for all that,'' Mays said. ''Wait until after April to talk about that.''

For now, Bonds isn't taking anything for granted. His extensive injury past has taught him that his days as a major leaguer could end in an instant if he re-injures his knee.