San Francisco – Florida’s Byung-Hyun Kim was stretching when his manager interrupted. Was he informing Kim he was starting today, leaving him in position to be ghostwriter for Barry Bonds’ latest and greatest chapter in history?
“B.K., wipe your face, you have something on it,” Marlins boss Fredi Gonzalez said. “Is that ice cream?”
It was sunscreen, hardly necessary on a cool Saturday night when everyone in this city lived in Bonds’ shadow. With each at-bat, the sellout crowd stood, his name was chanted, cameras flashed and, ultimately, the night faded to black, Hank Aaron’s long-standing record of 755 home runs safe for another few hours after the Giants’ 4-3 victory.
One night after hitting No. 754, Bonds went 0-for-3 with a strikeout, two popups and a walk. He only partially resembles the player who crushed a 90-mph Kim fastball over the center-field fence 14 months ago against the Rockies, his 715th home run that shoved him past Babe Ruth into second place all time.
If Bonds plays today in the last game of this homestand, his controversial pursuit will intersect with the induction of Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn into the Hall of Fame. Commissioner Bud Selig is in Cooperstown, N.Y., for the event that could share billing with Bonds eclipsing baseball’s most hallowed record.
“I think there’s room for both,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “You are talking about two of the classiest guys, and if Barry broke the record it would be one of the greatest days in baseball history.”
Amid the anticipation and legal wrangling – a federal grand jury investigating Bonds for tax evasion and perjury was recently extended for six months – Bonds was no match for Dontrelle Willis, a kid who grew up idolizing him. Sergio Mitre starts today, a pitcher Bonds has never faced.
The who wasn’t as impressive as the how. Willis, animated and pumped up, threw 12 consecutive fastballs to Bonds in his four plate appearances and not once did the San Francisco slugger hint of immortality. In the previous series, the Atlanta Braves threw first-pitch fastballs in Bonds’ at-bats.
Though AT&T Park’s radar gun is notoriously 3 mph hot, Willis topped out at 96 – the pitch that fanned Bonds – and finished at 94 when Bonds skied a flyball to catcher Matt Treanor.
“If it’s going to happen, you might as well enjoy it,” Willis said. “I wasn’t afraid. It was a challenge because you were in the presence of greatness.”
Willis clearly reveled in the competition, chattering with Bonds as he walked up the base line in the third inning. Willis pumped his fist emphatically after Treanor retired Bonds, tapping his chest as third baseman Miguel Cabrera gave him a hug.
