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Day of rest Home run king makes pinch-hit appearance in ninth
Updated: Saturday October 06, 2001 8:57 PM
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- After homering twice Friday night to set a single-season record, Barry Bonds got a rest. Except for a brief appearance in the ninth inning as a pinch hitter, the newly christened home run king was out of the San Francisco Giants' lineup in Saturday's 6-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. "People were hooting on me for not playing Barry, but he was worn out," San Francisco manager Dusty Baker said. "He was emotionally and physically drained." The Giants were eliminated from playoff contention with Friday's 11-10 loss to the Dodgers -- despite home runs Nos. 71 and 72 by Bonds to break St. Louis slugger Mark McGwire's mark of 70, set three years ago. At 4 hours, 27 minutes, it was baseball's longest nine-inning game, surpassing the record of 4:22, set by the New York Yankees and Baltimore in 1997 and matched last season by Milwaukee and the Chicago Cubs.
The game itself did not end until after midnight, and was followed by a ceremony honoring Bonds for his achievement. The festivities, which included Hall of Famer Willie Mays, went on until nearly 1 a.m. Bonds said he had spoken briefly to fellow major leaguer Bobby Bonilla on Saturday morning about his achievement, but he was too tired to contemplate it. "He was saying, 'You don't even understand what you did,'" Bonds explained. "I said, 'We'll talk about it in the offseason.'" Bonds was replaced in left field Saturday by Jalal Leach, in his first stint on a major league roster after 12 years in the minors. Catcher Benito Santiago was also rested, replaced by Edwards Guzman, while Damon Minor started at first base -- instead of regulars Andres Galarraga and J.T. Snow. One disappointed fan at Pacific Bell Park hoisted a sign reading "Where's Barry?" and the crowd regularly chanted his name when the Giants were up to bat. Bonds did make a brief appearance as a pinch-hitter in the ninth. He singled off Dodgers reliever Matt Herges, then was replaced by pinch-runner Dante Powell. Even though he wasn't on the field for very long, Pacific Bell Park was still decked out to honor Bonds' historic achievement. Banners proclaiming "Bonds" and "71" hung on each side of the video scoreboard above center field. Bonds hit the record-breaker in the first inning Friday night against Chan Ho Park. It sailed to deep right-center, where it was snagged by Jerry Rose, a season-ticket holder and lifelong Giants' fan who came with his glove. His second homer, which came in the third inning off Park, just cleared the fence in center field near the 404-foot marker and fell to the field when it was bobbled by a fan. Bonds had tied Big Mac's record Thursday night in Houston, with a ninth-inning blast off Astros reliever Wilfredo Rodriguez. "I'll have time to reminisce about all this when it's over," he said.
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