A king without his crown – what a strange sight.
A day after his most remarkable triumph yet, Barry Bonds had no cap. And he already was late for the team photo.
“I don’t have a hat,” the slugger said loudly, moments before rushing from the clubhouse to right field to take the picture. “I need a hat.”
On cue, longtime Giants equipment manager Mike Murphy scurried across the grass to deliver the necessary item to No. 25.
With his 756th home run out of the way and the most hallowed record in sports now his, Bonds could finally turn his attention to more than hitting homers.
Bonds was in the lineup Wednesday night, batting cleanup and playing left field against the Washington Nationals.
From the White House, to international home run king Sadaharu Oh in Japan, to his first major-league manager, Jim Leyland, and onto Alex Rodriguez, the congratulations began to pour in for the San Francisco star, who realized in recent weeks just how difficult it is to clear the fences when that’s all you’re trying to do.
“Now, the hard part’s over, and we get to actually go back to our everyday routines and enjoy ourselves,” Bonds said.
Not that he didn’t enjoy the celebration after breaking Hank Aaron’s 33-year-old record Tuesday night in his home ballpark.
But Bonds quickly took a glimpse toward the future Wednesday: Yes, he does believe A-Rod will one day unseat him as home run king.
Bonds’ received a call from President Bush on Wednesday morning.
“He said ‘Congratulations.’ He said it was great to have my kids there, my family there,” Bonds said of the conversation.
Money ball
Before he celebrates his windfall, the New York Mets fan who emerged from a violent scrum clutching Bonds’ record-setting home run ball should probably call his accountant.
As soon as 21-year-old Matt Murphy snagged the valuable piece of sports history, his souvenir became taxable income in the eyes of the IRS.
By most estimates, the ball that put Bonds atop the list of all-time home run hitters would sell in the half-million dollar range on the open market or at auction.
That would instantly put Murphy, a college student from Queens, in the highest tax bracket for individual income, where he would face a tax rate of about 35 percent, or about $210,000 on a $600,000 ball.
“I won the lottery,” Murphy said. “I’m scraped up but nothing serious.”
Murphy said the ball was “under lock and key.”
Not a big TV draw
Aaron is still the home run king when it comes to television ratings.
ESPN2’s broadcast of Barry Bonds’ record 756th homer received a 1.1 cable rating, which translates to 995,000 households.
When Aaron hit his 715th home run April 8, 1974, to break Babe Ruth’s record, NBC’s broadcast received a 22.3 rating on NBC, the equivalent of 14.9 million homes.
Moment of fame
One second – that was all Nationals left-hander Mike Bacsik needed to become a staple of highlight history.
“You either have to be a special player to be remembered in this game, or you have to be part of a special moment,” said Bacsik, who allowed Bonds’ homer.
Bacsik, 29, is neither a veteran nor a prospect. He has a mediocre record (5-6), a mediocre earned run average (4.47) and a mediocre fastball (86 mph).
“If I didn’t give up this home run, nobody would remember me,” Bacsik said. “I always dreamed about this as a kid. But when I dreamed of it, I thought I would be the one hitting the home run.”
