Friday, Aug. 08, 2008

Much has changed since Bonds made baseball history

SAN FRANCISCO -- One year ago Thursday, history tainted or not was made at AT&T Park. At 8:51 p.m., Barry Bonds hit the 756th home run of his career to supplant Hank Aaron as Major League Baseball's all-time home run king and become the third record holder in 86 years.

Much has changed since Bonds got the pitch on a full count from Washington Nationals left-hander Mike Bacsik with one out and nobody on base in the fifth inning of a 4-4 game. Bonds hit the 86 mph fastball an estimated 435 feet into the right-center field bleachers, creating a mad scramble for the specially marked ball.

What should have been a momentous occasion for all involved has seemingly taken on a bittersweet taste a year later. The Bee takes a look at the principal figures from a star-crossed summer night on the shores of McCovey Cove. Not that it matters, but the Giants lost 8-6.

The batter: Barry Bonds, Aug. 7, 2007 -- Bonds, long the center of baseball's steroid-era controversy, had slowed as he closed in on Hank Aaron's hallowed mark. It took him a month and a day to get from homer No. 751 to 755 and the media horde following his every swing grew anxious. That anxiety rose not only because his chase was so polarizing, but also because he was starting to run out of season and was in the final year of his contract. As beloved as he was in San Francisco, Bonds was just as despised throughout the rest of the known baseball world, as evidenced by a syringe thrown at him in San Diego.

Aug. 7, 2008 -- Unemployed and so unwanted that his agent has asked the Major League Baseball Players Association to investigate possible collusion among baseball's owners, Bonds cannot even get a minimum-salary offer and is persona non grata around the grand old game despite hitting 28 homers and slugging .565 with a .480 on-base percentage at age 43 last season. Even with 762 career homers, the 762 pounds of baggage Bonds brings with him, as well as the federal perjury charges he faces, have seemingly scared teams off.

Collusion? More like common sense, it has been suggested.

"I'm more convinced now than ever that he won't be in a major-league uniform in 2008," agent Jeff Borris said at the All-Star break, "and I think that's a pathetic way for him to go out. He's deserving of better."

Bonds has been invited by the Giants, celebrating their 50th anniversary in San Francisco, to an outfielder reunion Saturday. Stay tuned.

The pitcher: Mike Bacsik, Aug. 7, 2007 -- A journeyman left-hander whose professional career began in 1996, Bacsik did not make his big league debut until 2001 and had but 22 big league appearances entering 2007. Bacsik seemed to finally stick to a big league rotation after being called up by the Washington Nationals on May 19. Entering August's fateful game, Bacsik shared some history with his father. Mike Bacsik Sr. had faced the only other hitter in major league history sitting on 755 homers on Aug. 23, 1976 for the Texas Rangers -- Hank Aaron at Arlington Stadium.

Aug. 7, 2008 -- After offering congratulations to Bonds in the Giants' clubhouse following the history-making homer and receiving an autographed bat in return, Bacsik figured to cash in on his dubious celebrity via the memorabilia circuit. Bacsik, instead, is still a relatively anonymous journeyman pitcher, toiling all season for Washington's Triple-A affiliate. Bacsik was 7-4 with a 4.43 ERA and a save in 33 appearances for the Columbus Clippers through Tuesday. He has his sights set on a second career in the media as the Dallas native has radio and ESPN experience.

"In time, I will understand why this all happened," Bacsik recently told the New York Times. "I don't know why it is me who gave up the home run."

The team: Giants, Aug. 7, 2007 -- Nearing the end of an often contentious, but always symbiotic 15-year relationship with Bonds, the organization had the lightning-rod player to thank for a fawning fan base, a new stadium, five MVP awards and a World Series appearance. But there was also the reams of negative publicity and linkage to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative investigation, as well as being at the epicenter of baseball's steroids dispute. In trying in vain to win its first World Series since moving to San Francisco in 1958, the Giants had built their teams around the best player in the game with cheaper and older talent. With Bonds so close to the record, the Giants had no choice but to re-sign him for one more year, though they bid against themselves and grossly overpaid for his services, delaying the badly needed youth movement for at least another year.

Aug. 7, 2008 -- The Giants, playing so-so in the worst division in baseball, likely will not reach the 3 million mark in season attendance for the first time since moving to AT&T Park in 2000. General manager Brian Sabean is rumored to be on the hot seat. Ditto manager Bruce Bochy. The youth movement is on with the likes of Rich Aurilia, Omar Vizquel, Dave Roberts, Randy Winn and Bengie Molina the next likely targets, making what has been the oldest roster in the majors about to become one of the youngest. Indeed, there is a fresh scent in the Giants' clubhouse not felt since 1993, Bonds' first year as a Giant.