# 738

Last night... just before i went to bed, i decided to watch Bonds hit one last time. I didn't see any of his first 3 at bats. I checked gameday and saw he was due up 2nd in the order to lead off the 8th inning. I was tired, but figured oh well - this could be part of history, so I loaded up the mlb.tv just in time to see Rich Aurilia strike out to start the inning. Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Franklin quickly got the count to 2-2 on Bonds, and it was at that time that I remembered my one experience of going to a Giants game. August 31st 2001, with the Giants losing 5-0 in the bottom of the 8th, my cousin and I decided to take a stroll around the park. That day, I made a mistake by taking my eye off the action once the count got to 0-2 on Bonds. As I stood just above McCovey Cove, my eyes scanned the beauty that is known as Pacific Bell Park. The next thing I heard was a loud crack of the bat and everyone around me started going crazy. I looked up! I couldn't see anything! But then there it was, a white spot in the sky whizzing straight towards me. Immediately I scrambled trying to get into position to perhaps grab a piece of history. I kept my eye on the laser like object as it soared directly over my head, splashing into the Cove behind me. The many kayakers quickly paddled towards the ball, and one lucky man (pictured below, with net in hand) fished out Barry's 57th home run of that year. Last night as Franklin, who became the 437th pitcher to serve up a long ball to Mr Bonds, was set to deliver the 2-2 pitch, I thought to myself, I'm keeping my eye on this one just in case Bonds decides to do it again. Bonds sent the very next offering on a high speed delivery directly into the McCovey Cove for the 33th time in his career - racking up his home run total to a whopping 738. He is now just 17 homers shy of Hammerin' Hank. Although some may say that no one really cares about Barry Bonds and the soon to be broken Home-Run record, I was glad I stayed up for that one. To me, there's just something about history, whether it's got an asterisks beside it or not, that keeps me interested.



photo credit: jdg, aka... my cousin