San Francisco – Barry Bonds has created this absurdity. When he steps into the batter’s box, the 38,000 fans at AT&T Park, the 100 reporters in the press box and the countless viewers on the Internet anticipate a home run.
It’s the equivalent of expecting Robert De Niro to channel his “Taxi Driver” performance each time he strolls onto the silver screen.
“Most guys have trouble hitting home runs in batting practice,” teammate Mark Sweeney said. “Trust me, it’s not that easy.”
Bonds has proved as much over the past four days, remaining super-glued to 713 home runs, one shy of tying Babe Ruth for No. 2 all-time, after going 0-for-3 on Thursday against the Chicago Cubs. Next up are the rival Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game series here. Bonds set the single-season record of 73 home runs against the Dodgers at home in 2001.
“He would love to do it against them,” catcher Todd Greene said.
Bonds has become so adept at dealing with distractions – “This doesn’t bother me,” he said recently of his pursuit of Ruth – it’s hard to believe he’s pressing.
But Bonds’ at-bats have looked strange, if not strained, since arriving in San Francisco on Monday. He has gone 16 plate appearances since going deep against Philadelphia’s Jon Lieber on Sunday night.
Thursday, the Cubs, save for one intentional walk, went right after Bonds. Everything was down and away. Yet Bonds continued to try to pull the ball and seemed surprised by first-pitch strikes.
“You are trying to hit a round ball with a round bat, and if you are off just a fraction of an inch, you aren’t going to hit it out,” said outfielder Steve Finley, who has 298 career home runs. “I think he’s actually swung the bat well the past four days.”
The difference is that each swing is magnified, preserved for history with shuttering camera flashes. Each time Bonds was introduced, about half the crowd – which surprisingly has not featured a sellout all week – stood and cheered. There were chants of “Barr-y!” Every ball was booed; every ball that didn’t leave the park was greeted like a trick-or-treater getting a nickel instead of a candy bar.
“They pitched really well to him,” Giants manager Felipe Alou said. “The expectations are so great. It’s going to be some kind of letdown after he hits the next two home runs. But I still want to see him hit it.”
Because the Giants are playing better – they have won three of their past four to crawl back into the National League West race – they seem less distracted by Bonds’ stalking of history. Greene said the irritation stems not from Bonds, but the media throng “who are only here to write something negative about him.”
Pitcher Jamey Wright, who won his third game Thursday, wants Bonds to eclipse Babe, not to shave the press corps, but to take over his role as a superstar.
“It’s funny because I got a standing ovation when I left even though I know 99 percent of the people were here to see him hit a home run,” Wright said. “We all want him to get by the Babe, and once he does I expect him to carry us for two months. But you just can’t hit home runs on cue.”
Wright added he must really stink as a home run hitter because “I only have one.”
