At San Francisco’s AT&T Park, fans celebrated. At Coors Field, they booed with venom.
That, in a nutshell, is Barry Bonds’ legacy.
Bonds hit the 756th home run of his career Tuesday night off Washington Nationals pitcher Mike Bacsik, passing Hank Aaron to become baseball’s all-time home run king. About a minute later, a replay of Bonds’ historic moment was replayed on the Coors Field Jumbo-Tron beyond left field. Scattered pockets of fans cheered, but they were drowned out by Bonds detractors.
Rockies manager Clint Hurdle was more excited about an early scoreboard birthday message he sent to his daughter Maddie, who turned 5 on Tuesday.
“I’m indifferent,” Hurdle said when asked about Bonds’ record. “My home run chase was Hank Aaron and The Babe. I’ll congratulate (Bonds) professionally, but that’s about it. … I was not indifferent toward Maddie.”
Bonds’ climactic home run came under the lingering cloud of suspicion that he used steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs to change from an all-around great player into a massive, muscular slugger.
Golden’s Tyler Pollhill, 19, was just glad the home run chase was over.
“I was getting sick of seeing it and reading about it all the time,” he said.
Pollhill’s friend, Zach Hatch, who wore a Milwaukee Brewers jersey, also was glad to see the Bonds hype end, but he was sorry to see the record fall.
“My favorite player of all time was Hank Aaron,” he said.
With good reason. Hatch’s father, Scott, grew up in Milwaukee and watched Aaron play for the old Milwaukee Braves.
“When my dad was a kid, he chased down the team bus and Hank gave him an autograph,” Hatch said.
Rockies relief pitcher Matt Herges, who played with Bonds in San Francisco from 2003-05, said he was “ecstatic” when he heard Bonds finally set the mark and termed the moment “huge.” But he was caught off guard by the reaction from Rockies fans.
“I didn’t expect the boos, and it surprised me,” he said. “And it kind of disappointed me. I know him, and I consider him a friend, so when you hear a friend get booed, it’s going to disappoint you.”
Todd Helton, who slammed two homers in the Rockies’ 11-4 victory over the Brewers, sounded happy for Bonds.
“Congratulations to him,” Helton said. “It’s an amazing achievement. That’s a lot of home runs.”
All-star left fielder Matt Holliday, who leads the Rockies with 21 home runs this season, echoed Helton’s sentiments.
“It’s an amazing feat and probably the most important record in sports,” Holliday said. “He’s been great for a long time. That’s why records fall – greatness over a long period of time.”
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
