711

After going 0 for almost all of April, Barry Bonds has hit three home runs in the past week to inch that much closer to the number 2 spot on the all-time home runs list.

I was driving home from work last night when I heard that he had come in to pinch hit number 711. And I'm not ashamed to say that while I didn't cry, I suddenly got somber. And I know, I truly will cry when he hits 714 and 715.

As a baseball fan, I feel cheated because he cheated. Clearly without the juice, his knees are shot and he doesn't have the strength he had in previous seasons to pull the ball. He looked like an old man hobbling around the bases the other night -- though not in the dramatic fashion of Kirk Gibson in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. He wasn't an everyman hero.

As a Babe Ruth historian -- and I think I can legimately call myself that having been "his" public relations director for five years -- I am saddened. Not because he is being passed. Not because he's going to be third on the list. But because the person who will soon be number 2 has no respect for the history of the game. And no respect for what Babe Ruth accomplished as a player.

Barry Bonds sees color. He sees race. Babe Ruth played in an all-white league, and so his numbers, his stats, have no integrity. We got into a verbal pissing match with Barry Bonds a few years back, when at the All-Star Game, he made comments about passing Ruth, but leaving Hank Aaron's record alone.

He made a comment like, "once I pass Ruth, I don't want to hear anything more about him. He's done. Over. No more Ruth." I'm paraphrasing -- I don't remember his exact quote, but that was the gyst of it. My boss wrote a scathing "letter to the editor" addressing the comments, and for five hours, I used both the office fax machine and the fax machine on my computer, as well as my e-mail. I had the MLB media directory in hand and sent our official repsonse out to as many media outlets as I could.

The google alerts went crazy the next day. And, as expected, Bonds fired back. "The Babe Ruth Museum doesn't know me. They should mind their own business."

Babe Ruth would have gotten into the Hall of Fame as a pitcher. He was that good. And yet, four years into his career, nearing the 100-wins mark of his pithcing record, he moved to right field. And then, and only then, did he begin his introduction to the league of the long ball.

For those of you who aren't sports fans -- and are still reading, I'm impressed -- that would be the equivalent of Wayne Gretzky (hockey's greatest scorer) doing what he did and then becoming a goalie, and excelling at that position as well.

And so it looks like, maybe even over the weekend, certainly in the next few weeks, Babe Ruth's 714 will move to third. And I wouldn't be surprised if Barry Bonds hits 715 -- or maybe a few more -- and then hangs it up. Retires. Leaves the scrutiny behind. Because, in his mind, it is about race, and by replacing Ruth, he will have accomplished something. What? I'm not sure.

I can't address the race issue as well as Thom Loverro of the Washington Post -- so I'll let him. Make up your own mind. Records are made to be broken, so cheer if you want. I won't be.

If it were Junior Griffey closing in on 714, or Alex Rodriguez (and he still could do it) -- I would be on the edge of my seat. It would be like the summer of 1998 all over again (when we all turned the blind eye to the steroid possibilities of McGwire and Sosa) -- excitement for every game. Did he hit one? How many to break the record? At this point, I can only hope that A-Rod has it in him and can replace Bonds within a few years.