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Since breaking into the major leagues 16 years ago, Barry Bonds has had many big
seasons, but none bigger than 2001. At age 37, the San Francisco Giants left
fielder broke by three the single-season home run record of
70 set in 1998 by Mark McGwire. Baseball historians first sat up and took notice
of Bonds in May when he bashed 11 home runs in 10 games, and talk of
record-breaking began in earnest on June 4 when he reached the 30-homer mark
faster than any other player in history. By the time he arrived in Seattle for his tenth career All-Star Game, Bonds had already set the record for
most home runs at the break (39) and had joined the elite 500-career homer club,
but was also in the midst of a midseason cooling off period, having gone
homerless in his previous 14 games. Bonds' bat heated up again in late July,
when he hit No. 44 in what would turn out to be the seventh of his 10 multi-home
run games this season. Bonds helped keep the Giants in a tight NL West pennant
race not only by hitting the long-ball but also by leading the league in several
other offensive categories including slugging percentage, on-base percentage,
extra-base hits and walks. In early September at Coors Field, Bonds put on his
most spectacular power display of the year, hitting three homers in a single
game, the third of which made him the fastest ever to reach 63. "Every
at-bat means something," Bonds said after his performance in Colorado.
"You try not to watch the scoreboard. But it's hard not to." With five games left on the schedule, Bonds broke Babe Ruth's single-season walks mark of 170. The accomplishment was bittersweet for Bonds -- opponents respected his bat, but were unwilling to pitch to him. That changed on October 4 when Bonds came to the plate to lead off the ninth inning against the Astros at Enron Field. Houston rookie Wilfredo Rodriguez challenged Bonds with a 96-mph fastball which he smacked 454 feet into the upper deck in right-center field to match McGwire's record. Bonds closed out the season's final weekend by launching three additional home runs. Record-breaking No. 71 came on October 5 at Pac Bell Park off the Dodgers' Chan Ho Park, and was quickly followed by No. 72 in the third inning of that same contest. Bonds closed out the year by bashing No. 73 in the Giants' final game. He finished the season with an astounding .863 slugging percentage, surpassing the record of .847 set by Babe Ruth in 1920, and Bonds' pace of hitting a home run every 6.52 at-bats this season broke the record of a homer every 7.27 at-bats set by McGwire in 1998. Said Giants manager Dusty Baker of Bonds, "It's the greatest year I've seen from a single player." |
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Photograph by Tom DiPace
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