I remember watching this live. ESPN cut into whatever programming they had on and showed Bonds' at-bat, something they'd been doing ever since he got close to breaking Mark McGwire's record of 70. At this point, Bonds breaking the record seemed inevitable. I would have been more surprised if he'd missed the mark. Anyway, here are some brief thoughts on Bonds' record-breaking home run:
--Chan Ho Park refuses to look back after Bonds swings the bat. It's a no-doubter and he wants nothing to do with it. He's hoping if he doesn't watch the ball fly, maybe it'll fall safely into the outfield. But it doesn't. Bonds destroyed that baseball. It's fitting he broke the single season home run record by hitting a ball into the deepest part of the ballpark.
--Bonds knows that ball is gone. That swing was smooth, with no wasted movement. Bonds really did have a beautiful swing, and it's too bad his legacy is so marred by rumors of performance enhancing drugs. His at-bats were fun to watch, as he never swung at a bad pitch. And when he did swing--it was like watching a baseball robot.
--From all accounts that I've read, Bonds wasn't the best teammate. So watching all his teammates celebrate with him at home plate makes me wonder--did they just do their baseball duty? Did they really care that Bonds broke the record? It'd be a bad look if they didn't celebrate with him. I don't know. It's just something I've always thought about.
--Bonds is pretty stoic throughout the whole scene. He even looks a little put out that he has to come out of the dugout and respond to the crowd's ovation. I don't remember all of Bonds' career, but what I do recall is a certain joylessness in his demeanor. I'm not saying he didn't love baseball. First of all, I don't know Bonds personally. Secondly, to succeed in a game as hard as baseball, I think you have to enjoy it. But Bonds never seemed to like what he did, or enjoy the chase for 71 home runs. It just felt like he was doing a job, and that robbed some of the joy from the whole experience.
--Hopefully one day someone will hit 74 home runs.
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