As a kid, I was enamoured by baseball trivia. At one time in the mid-80s I had memorized every member of the 500 club. The 500 club was an elite club of home run hitters who had hit at least 500 in their major league career.
The 600 club was so exclusive, there were only three members. Hank Aaron was the king, Babe Ruth was the only other to hit 700 career dingers and Willie Mays was a comfy third with his 660. Such a nice round number for The Say Hey Kid who many considered to be the best all around ball player ever.
Last night, Barry Bonds hit his 661st career homer off right-hander Ben Ford over the right-field arcade and into McCovey Cove. Bonds now sits alone in third place on the career home runs list bumping his godfather to fourth.
Many dislike Barry Bonds. He's short with reporters and fans and not the easiest guy to root for. As for pure baseball talent, there may be none better. Pitchers fear Bonds' power so much, they rarely pitch to him. He was once intentionally walked with the bases loaded in an 8-6 game. In fact, he was walked a whopping 198 times in 2002. He's also the only man to hit 73 home runs in a single season and slug .863 in a season, as Bonds did in 2001. The man is certainly the best player of his generation and you've got to respect that.
Babe Ruth and his 714 career homers should be Bonds' next target, and the way he hits that number could be passed about one year from now.
