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Bonds breaks Aaron's record in fifth inning

Aug 8, 2007 - 6:12 AM SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- Barry Bonds has been called a lot of things by a lot of people. Now another name can be added.

The San Francisco Giants' slugger blasted his 756th career home run at AT&T Park on Tuesday, breaking a tie with Hank Aaron in an 8-6 loss to the Washington Nationals.

The 43-year-old Bonds deposited Nationals lefthander Mike Bacsik's 3-2 fastball right down the middle of the plate deep into the right-center field seats with one out and nobody on in the fifth inning.

"I knew I hit, knew I got it," Bonds said when asked about what he was feeling. "Phew, I'm just glad its over. When I saw Hank Aaron on the scoreboard that just made it. ... He'll always be the home run king. ... It meant everything, it meant everything."

Bonds spoke with Bacsik.

"I told him congratulations," Bacsik said. "I said, 'I wanted to go after you and challenge you. I didn't want to walk you.' I didn't want to walk him on four pitches."

Bacsik seemed pleased that he will be linked to Bonds the rest of his life. "It will be cool, me and Barry will hang out on weekends," said Bacsik, who got an autographed bat. "It is the coolest memorabilia I have. It is the greatest accomplishment of all-time as of today."

Bonds, who has been killed by the media for his arrogant attitude and alleged steroid use, raised both hands triumphantly above his head as he connected with the pitch off Bacsik, who became the 446th different pitcher to yield a home run to the Giants' superstar.

"It's pretty awesome," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "We're all very proud for him. It must have neen very hard for him with all that he has gone through."

Bonds' son, Nikolai, was waiting to greet his father with his index finger lofted to the sky, but Bonds first stood on home plate, raised both arms to the sky before pumping his left fist into his right hand.

Bonds then exchanged hugs with his son, teammates, two daughters, mother and wife.

After accepting congratulations from his family, Bonds acknowledged the cheering throng, bowing and blowing kisses to each corner of the ballpark.

Willie Mays, No. 4 on the all-time home run list, came out to embrace his godson, and in a surprising turn, Aaron delivered a tribute that was shown on the center field scoreboard.

"I would like to offer my congratulations to Barry Bonds on becoming baseball's career home run leader," Aaron said on the message board. "It is a great accomplishment which requires skill, longevity and determination. Through the past century, the home run has held a special place in baseball and I have been privileged to hold this record for 33 of those years.

"I move over now and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historical achievement. My hope today, as it was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire others to chase their own dreams."

Bonds then addressed the crowd.

"I want to thank all the fans here in San Francisco," Bonds said. "I broke it at home, it's been fantastic. I want to thank my teammates. You guys have been strong, thanks.

"I want to thank my kids. I'm glad I did it before you went to school. I want to thank the Washington Nationals for understanding this day."

He hugged his godfather, Willie Mays, then tears filled his eyes as he talked about his deceased father, Bobby.

"My dad, thank you for everything."

After the inning was over, Bonds walked to his position, raised his cap to the fans. He thrusted both fists in the air in short left field as he turned to each section of the park.

Matt Murphy from Queens, New York ended up with the ball after a scrum in the bleachers. The 22-year-old, sporting a New York Mets jersey, was carried out of the right-center field section, flanked by a squad of San Francisco policemen.

Bonds' blast gave the Giants a 5-4 lead, but Washington scored four times in the eighth to take an 8-6 lead.

Nook Logan singled home on run off Kevin Correia (1-6) and Tony Batista tied the game at 6-6 with a run-scoring base hit. Felipe Lopez followed with an RBI double and Ryan Zimmerman capped the fame with a sacrifice fly off Randy Messenger.

Chris Schroder (1-0) allowed a run over two innings to pick up his first major league win. Jon Rauch logged the eighth and Chad Cordero the ninth for his 24th save.