[Sohel]

Originally Posted by Tigers_eye
He is the new king! Congrats! Bud Selig, the commish wasn't there to witness it. Hank Aaron wasn't there either however, he had a recorded video message played at the game after the home run.

1. Barry Bonds 756

2. Hank Aaron 755

3. Babe Ruth 714

4. Willie Mays 660

5. Sammy Sosa 604

6. Ken Griffey Jr. 589

7. Frank Robinson 586

8. Mark McGwire 583

9. Harmon Killebrew 573

10. Rafael Palmeiro 569

Monumental achievement, chemically assisted or not. Hank Aaron's message framed it just right. Hank Aaron, the Babe, Ty Cobb, Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, Hank Greenberg, Whitey Ford, Mickey Mantle, Joe Dimaggio, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, and my all time favorites- Sandy Koufax and Roberto Clemente have company in that exclusive Pantheon watching over the Hall of Fame. Time to go after the Sadaharu Oh record of 868 home runs. Bonds said he wants to continue playing, so that's definitely a possibility. Looking forward to him breaking that record and crossing the final frontier in a Giants v. As World Series, but with a different kind of earthquake this time.

The SF Chronicle link: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...SP8LREVAU2.DTL

Excerpts-

There's a new home run champion of all time, and it's Barry Bonds.

Is he the greatest home run hitter of all time? All who cherish this game will have to search their hearts and answer that question in their own way. But the number is not open to debate, dispute, praise or scorn. The major-league record is 756, and Bonds owns it.

He broke his three-day-old tie with Henry Aaron in the fifth inning of the Giants' 8-6 loss to the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night. With one out and nobody on base in a 4-4 game, Bonds hammered a 3-2 pitch from left-hander Mike Bacsik into the bleachers to the right of straightaway center field.

Bonds hoped to set the record at home, in front of fans who love him unconditionally, just like most of his other milestone home runs. To the surprise of nobody, it happened exactly that way in front of 43,154 people.

Lest anyone doubt how Bonds feels about this record, amid a loud chorus of criticism that he achieved it using performance-enhancing drugs, he explained his feelings forcefully and concisely during his postgame news conference.

"This record is not tainted at all, at all, period," Bonds said. "You guys can say whatever you want."

And

In a remarkable moment, the Giants asked everyone to turn their attention to the scoreboard for a video tribute, similar to those by Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali on earlier nights. The crowd had to be stunned to see the face of Aaron, who has spurned Bonds throughout this chase, saying he wanted to be anywhere but in the ballpark when Bonds broke his record.

Aaron congratulated Bonds and said, in part, "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 seemed touched and pointed toward the screen. Later, Bonds was asked what Aaron's message meant to him. He said, "It meant everything. It meant absolutely everything. ... We all have a lot of respect for him from everyone in the game. Right now, everything's just hitting me so fast I'm lost for words again. It was absolutely the best, absolutely the best."

In the last archway along the right-field wall, where the homer totals of Bonds, Aaron, Babe Ruth and Mays have been listed for the last several years, the "1" that had marked Aaron's nameplate was replaced by "2," and Bonds' went from "2" to "1."

Aaron established his record by surpassing Ruth on April 8, 1974, and held it for 12,173 days, sharing it with Bonds for the last three.

When Aaron hit his 715th home run, two fans at Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium ran onto the field and greeted Aaron as he trotted between second and third base. After Bonds hit his 756th and stood in front of the Giants' dugout, a man ran onto the field and was tackled by a large complement of police and security officials. Bonds did not appear to see the intrusion.

...