Bonds Moves Right Behind Ruth

Barry Bonds arrived Sunday night at Babe Ruth’s doorstep, his 713th home run cutting through the boos and rattling off the front of the third deck at Citizens Bank Park.

He crossed home plate, gestured to the skies, pumped his fist and blew a kiss to his mother, Pat, seated behind the visitors’ dugout.

He is one from Ruth, the New York Yankee and baseball icon who held the game’s career home run record from 1921 until Hank Aaron passed him in 1974.

After a five-game trip, the San Francisco Giants return home for a seven-game homestand beginning tonight, so Bonds seems destined to overtake Ruth surrounded by his own adoring fans.

“I look forward to giving somebody the opportunity to better their lifestyle,” he said with a smile, referring to the possible value of home-run balls Nos. 714 and 715.

In the sixth inning of a 9-5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, Bonds turned on a middle-of-the-plate sinker from right-hander Jon Lieber. After a ricochet and one hop, the ball landed in the lap of a 25-year-old airman stationed at, of all places, McGuire Air Force Base near Trenton, N.J. Bonds declined to sign the ball.

Not only did the home run bring him to the verge of Ruth, but it marked the first time this season Bonds, on an arthritic right knee and sore left elbow, had pulled a ball with such authority. It was his fifth homer of the season, in 64 at-bats.

As he has approached Ruth, Bonds has found greater public resistance, routinely derided for his alleged use of steroids and other illegal performance-enhancers. When he reported to left field in the bottom of the first inning he found a large banner draped over the left field rail, reading, “Ruth did it on hot dogs and beer. Aaron did it with class. How did you do it?”

“Dodger Stadium [was] worse than here,” Bonds said. “This was light. This was nothing. L.A. beats them.”

Afterward, Bonds sidestepped post-game questions regarding steroids, and said he had not been contacted by agents of George Mitchell’s investigation into steroid use in baseball.

The first weeks of the season have appeared to wear on Bonds. The ailments, release of two books that accuse him of steroid use, attention to his chase of Ruth and Aaron, and deafening boos, he admitted, have brought a burden.

“It’s a little bit draining,” he said. “But, you have to deal with it.”

His mother attended the final two games of the series. They spoke after Sunday’s game, a conversation Bonds said helped settle him.

“Get myself back into perspective, pretty much twist my head back into place,” he said.

“We had a long talk about a lot of things, to get myself back into the game like I’m supposed to be.”

Bonds praised Ruth as “a great baseball player,” and singled out Ruth, Aaron and his godfather, Willie Mays, as the best of all time, later adding Frank Robinson to that short list.

He also said that of today’s players, Alex Rodriguez was most likely to surpass them all on the home-run list. With his next home run, Bonds will tie Ruth and stand 41 behind Aaron. He is under contract for this season, but not next. He is 41 years old.

Asked about his prospects of catching Aaron, Bonds said, “I don’t know. I have no idea. Right now, I’m going to keep on playing and keep on playing.”