Bonds hits number 755 amidst cheers and boos

SAN DIEGO – With a short swing, a half stare and an emphatic clap of his hands, Barry Bonds rounded the bases. After so many days and so many tries, he had finally caught Hammerin’ Hank.\n“The hard part is over right now,” Bonds said.\nHigh above the field in a private box, baseball commissioner Bud Selig was a reluctant witness to history. Choosing to overlook the steroid allegations that have dogged the San Francisco slugger, Selig watched Bonds tie Hank Aaron’s home run record – his mouth agape, hands stuffed in pockets and nary a cheer on his lips.\nNo. 755 was a strong shot for all the doubters, an opposite-field drive of 382 feet to left-center, moving Bonds within one swing of having baseball’s pinnacle of power all to himself. It came on a 2-1, 91 mph fastball Saturday night.\n“This is the hardest thing I’ve had to do in my entire career,” he said. “I had rashes on my head, I felt like I was getting sick at times.”\nIt had been eight days and 28 plate appearances since Bonds hit his 754th home run, and he came out for early batting practice Saturday, hoping to break his slump. He did it quickly, leading off the second inning.\n“No matter what anybody thinks of the controversy surrounding this event, Mr. Bonds’ achievement is noteworthy and remarkable,” Selig said in a statement.\nSelig said either he or a representative would attend the Giants’ next few games “out of respect for the tradition of the game, the magnitude of the record and the fact that all citizens in this country are innocent until proven guilty.”\nBonds said he hadn’t spoken to Selig, but welcomed him anytime.\nAaron was not in attendance. The Hall of Famer had previously said he would not follow the chase in person.\n“It’s a little bit different than any other milestone I’ve ever gone through,” Bonds said. “It’s Hank Aaron. I can’t explain the feeling of it, it’s just Hank Aaron.”\nBonds drew a mixed reaction from the crowd at Petco Park after he homered off Clay Hensley. Several fans held up asterisk signs and the San Francisco slugger was booed as he headed to left field at the end of the inning.\nBonds walked his next three times up and left the game in the eighth for a pinch-runner. He raised his helmet with his left hand, then his right, and drew a standing ovation from many fans who chanted his name.\n“I want to thank the fans. They have been outstanding,” Bonds said. “It’s been a fun ride. I really appreciate the way San Diego handled it and the way their fans handled it.”\nThe Padres won 3-2 in 12 innings.\nBonds said he would not start Sunday, which would give him a chance to break the record at home beginning Monday night.\nBonds hit the tying homer off a former Giants draft pick who was suspended in 2005 for violating baseball’s minor league steroids policy.\n“I don’t think we’re here to discuss those matters,” Bonds said.\nBonds’ milestone shot clunked off an advertising sign on the facade and fell into the navy blue bleachers below – right under the main scoreboard featuring a giant photo of the smiling slugger.\nA fan sitting in that area threw back a ball onto the field, but that was not the historic one. Instead, the souvenir wound up in the hands of 33-year-old plumber Adam Hughes of La Jolla, and he was whisked to a secure area so the specially marked ball could be authenticated.\nHughes said he hadn’t decided what to do with the prize.\n“I don’t know what direction I am going,” he said.\nEven with Bonds at 755, there is bound to be a split among many fans over who is the real home run champ.\nThere will be some who always consider Babe Ruth as the best – those old films of him wearing a crown will last forever. Others will give that honor to Aaron, as much for his slugging as his quiet dignity in breaking Ruth’s record in 1974.\nWhile steroids tinged Bonds’ chase, race was the predominant issue when Aaron took aim at Ruth’s mark of 714.\nAaron dealt with hate mail and death threats from racist fans who thought a black man was not worthy of breaking the record set by a white hero, the beloved Babe. Bonds, too, has said he deals with racial issues and that threats have been made on his life at times.