Monday, June 18, 2007
Boston’s Tim Wakefield became the 441st pitcher
to allow a Bonds homer.
BOSTON (AP) — Barry Bonds added baseball’s oldest ballpark to his longball list and was back on his way to the sport’s most hallowed record.
The San Francisco slugger hit his 748th career homer in Boston’s 9-5 victory over the Giants Sunday, adding Fenway Park, the Red Sox and knuckleballer Tim Wakefield to his scrapbook and moving within seven of Hank Aaron’s mark.
“I thought it was a popup, and I turned around and saw J.D. [Drew] just keep going back, further and further and further,” said Wakefield, the 441st pitcher to feed Bonds’ home run habit. “He put a good swing on it, and I’m sure he’s put a lot of swings on a lot of other pitchers.”
The last time Bonds homered off a knuckler was when he hit No. 73 of 2001 off Los Angeles Dodger Dennis Springer to establish the single-season record. Bonds had been hitless in eight at-bats against Wakefield, even joking that the pitches were too slow to hit hard.
“I think my age got me slower so I’m more able to time it a bit better,” Bonds said with a smile after going 2-for-3. “I tip my cap to him, he came after me in every at-bat. He gave me something to hit.”
Didn’t effect outcome
But his sixth-inning solo shot merely cut Boston’s lead to 8-4, and Manny Ramirez padded the lead with his second homer in as many games. Ramirez was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, David Ortiz had a pair of doubles, and Wakefield (7-7) pitched well before faltering in the sixth to help the Red Sox complete the three-game sweep.
“I was fortunate enough to pitch to him where a home run didn’t bother us too much,” said Wakefield, who allowed five runs and eight hits with a walk, striking out three in 52⁄3 innings. “It’s great to walk away from this homestand 4-2. To sweep San Francisco was special.”
The lifetime National Leaguer, a seven-time MVP, has now homered in 36 ballparks, adding Fenway to the list in his third game at the ballpark that was the first home of the first man to top 700 homers. Bonds passed Babe Ruth and his 714 total last year, and resumed his pursuit of Aaron’s 755 with 11 homers in his first 76 at-bats this year; but he has just three in 91 at-bats since.
“It was never gone,” Bonds said of his home run stroke. “It’s the person. It’s me. Sometimes you just don’t have it. Sometimes you do.”
Teammates in Pittsburgh
Bonds and Wakefield were teammates with Pittsburgh in 1992, when Atlanta scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning in the seventh game of the NL championship series to beat the Pirates and advance to the World Series. All this weekend, Bonds has lamented the fact that Wakefield didn’t pitch the series finale.
“When we were in Pittsburgh, we loved him,” Bonds said. “We’re both in our 40s now, and he’s still good.”
Bonds singled in the second against his ex-teammate and hit a long — but not threatening — fly ball to center in the third. He came up again to lead off the sixth, posing for some pictures while on deck for both Giants and Red Sox fans.
After a mixed response, he watched a ball go by and then sent the next knuckler to right, on a line toward the red seat that marks Ted Williams’ longest home run. Drew chased after the ball and reached out for it, but it went into the Giants bullpen.
The crowd, with a fair amount of Giants orange scattered throughout, offered some brief applause before the clapping was overwhelmed by the hometown jeering. One fan about eight rows behind the Giants on-deck circle held up a T-shirt that said “Huge Giant Head.”