Unfriendly fans may put aside hostility temporarily if Bonds ties, breaks record
Barry Bonds has hit almost all of his milestone home runs at home, but the Giants are on the road this week.
JOHN BURGESS / The Press DemocratPublished: Tuesday, July 31, 2007 at 3:39 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, July 30, 2007 at 9:00 p.m.
LOS ANGELES
The Barry Bonds home-run chase is about to get interesting.
When the Giants were at home last week, there were few questions about Bonds' pursuit of Hank Aaron's record. Everyone knew Bonds and the Giants wanted the record to fall at home, sparking a 42,000-fan love fest.
As the Giants begin a three-game series tonight at Dodger Stadium, followed by three games at San Diego's Petco Park, Bonds is sitting one homer shy of Aaron, and questions abound.
Would the Giants manipulate Bonds' playing time to reduce the chances of him breaking the record on the road?
Would Bonds change his swing to avoid hitting the milestone away from home?
If he does do it on this trip, just how will he be treated by fans who have booed him at every turn?
The first question is the easiest to answer. Manager Bruce Bochy, seemingly insulted by the idea, said he will not consider the record at all when deciding how often Bonds plays.
"We're hitting a big road trip here, playing the two teams at the top of our division," Bochy said. "They are big series. We are going to play like we should play. That's going out to win ballgames. We're not going to change our approach."
Lest you think that forces above Bochy's pay-grade might intervene, managing general partner Peter Magowan also said last week that he wants the record to fall as soon as possible, wherever that may be.
"I would prefer to see him do it at home, but if it happens on the road, I'll be happy that it happened," Magowan said.
Commissioner Bud Selig said earlier this month that he would expect the Giants to play their best lineup at all times, rather than manipulating it for the sake of Bonds.
That said, Bonds may sit out one of the games at Dodger Stadium because he played all three last weekend against the Marlins. He is likely to sit on Sunday in San Diego, because it's a day game after a night game.
A murkier theory is that Bonds himself would do the manipulating, that he'd suddenly start spraying singles to left field instead of taking his normal cuts.
History itself suggests this possibility. Bonds has hit almost all of his milestone homers at home. He hit Nos. 500, 600 and 700 at home. He hit Nos. 660 and 661, tying and passing Willie Mays, at home. He hit No. 715, passing Babe Ruth, at home. He did hit No. 714 on the road, but it was in Oakland.
His most significant homer hit out of the friendly confines of the Bay Area was his 70th of the season in 2001, tying Mark McGwire's single-season record. Of course, that was in the Giants' 159th game, so he didn't have the luxury of picking his spot. He did break the record at home the next night.
When asked about that last week, Bonds said: "Are you going to say I'm not going to try (to hit homers) on the road? No."
Bonds did hit a fly ball to the warning track in 2004 in Milwaukee, when he was sitting on 699 homers. He also hit two deep fly balls in Houston last year when he was 713 homers.
"You just can't go up there and say 'I'm not going to hit a home run,' " Ryan Klesko said. "All you have to do is make solid contact. He's not going to swing any less hard. You just take a normal swing. A lot of times home runs happen on a nice easy swing when you are trying to get a base hit."
Dave Roberts said: "In a perfect world, he'd love to break the record in front of his home fans in his ballpark, but Barry is a baseball player and he wants to do everything he can to win . . . I don't see him trying to shorten his swing to manipulate the record.
"To decrease your performance, you can say that compromises the game, and I don't think he'd do that. Barry is going to be Barry."
Which means he is going to be greeted by boos in Los Angeles and San Diego. The Dodger Stadium fans are notorious for booing Bonds, leaving many to wonder what type of scene it would be at Chavez Ravine if Bonds tied or broke the record there. The footage that is forever replayed of homer No. 756 might have a soundtrack of boos.
"When he gets there, it's going to be a hostile environment," said Roberts, who played parts of three seasons with the Dodgers. "That's expected. We'd be disappointed if it wasn't like that. But if the record is tied or broken in that ballpark, I'd like to think that all 55,000 fans would take a step back and be a baseball fan and really appreciate what just took place in front of their own eyes."
There is some evidence that may happen. Last year in Philadelphia, the rabid Phillies fans booed Bonds at every move, but they cheered him when he hit a home run. The same happened this year at Fenway Park and Wrigley Field.
"These are people that are revered as the most knowledgeable fans," Roberts said. "These are fans that get it. And I played in Los Angeles and I like to think they get it as well. It's different with the rivalry, and I get that, but this is beyond the rivalry. This is history . . .
"We are all baseball fans here and regardless of what team a guy plays for when a milestone like that is achieved, it should be appreciated by all. Then they can go back to being hostile."
You can reach Staff Writer
Jeff Fletcher at 521-5489 or jeff.fletcher@pressdemocrat.com.
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.
Comments are currently unavailable on this article