He got you, Babe: Bonds slugs 715th career homer

The Giants outfielder is 40 home runs behind Hank Aaron's record.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds, the most prolific home run hitter of his generation, became the second-most prolific home run hitter of all time Sunday afternoon when he hit No. 715 of his long and often controversial career.
Bonds, who remains at the epicenter of an enduring controversy about whether he used steroids, put himself on a different plateau in the hierarchy of sluggers when he swung on a 3-and-2 pitch from Byung-Hyun Kim of the Colorado Rockies. He sent the ball soaring over the fence just to the right of straightaway center field, an estimated 445 feet from home plate.
Bonds' two-run home run in the fourth inning of a 6-3 loss to the Rockies broke a tie with Babe Ruth and moved the 41-year-old slugger into second place on baseball's career home run list, 40 behind Hank Aaron's record total of 755.
"It can't get any better than this," Bonds said later, wearing a black T-shirt with 715 in orange numbers on the front. Bonds said his teammates toasted him with champagne in the clubhouse.
"I've made everyone wait longer than I have in the past, but there's no greater place for it to happen than San Francisco."
Chasing Aaron
Bonds said it's possible to catch Aaron, given enough time.
"It's a great honor, it's an unbelievable honor," he said of passing Ruth, "but Hank Aaron is the home run king," he said. "I have a lot of respect for Babe Ruth and what he did for baseball, but Hank Aaron is the home run king."
The span between Bonds' first home run and his 715th covered 19 years, 358 days.
Bonds' son, Nikolai, the Giants' bat boy, jumped on home plate as he waited for his father. They hugged, then the celebration began.
A sellout crowd of 42,935 at AT & amp;T Park coaxed Bonds to come out of the dugout twice to acknowledge their cheers and standing ovations. He saluted the fans with his batting helmet.
Banner day
Two banners, one picturing Bonds and the other Aaron, were unfurled from the light towers in center field.
Another small one, which showed the number 715 trailing a baseball framed by two towers of the Golden Gate Bridge, was draped over the wall in left field, next to another permanent banner that featured likenesses of Bonds, Aaron, Ruth and Willie Mays.
Orange and black streamers were shot into the sky and the scoreboard displayed only three numerals '715.'
Slow start
Home runs may be his signature, but lately they have been hard to come by for Bonds, who had 24 plate appearances between his 714th and 715th home runs.
He was stuck on 714 for eight days, since May 20, when he homered off left-hander Brad Halsey of the Athletics at Oakland. His 713th was May 7 at Philadelphia.
Bonds' blast off Kim was his first home run in the last seven games and only his second in his last 18.
"Steroids, no steroids, who knows who's taking them," Kim said. "They don't hit the home runs. He's a good hitter."
Kim is the 421st pitcher to give up a home run to Bonds.
The baseball that Bonds hit for his 715th was retrieved by Andrew Morbitzer, 38, of San Francisco, a marketing director for a software company. He was standing in line at a concession stand under the bleachers and looked up and saw the baseball falling toward him. He caught it with one hand.
Morbitzer, a Giants fan, said it was his first game this year. He has not decided what to do with the baseball.
"I get to be a small part of a big day," Morbitzer said.