Barry Bonds, with 745 home runs, needs 11 more to break Hank Aaron’s all-time record of 755. The question is no longer whether Bonds will set the record as major league baseball’s home run leader. The question now is how many homers will he have before ending his career?
Bonds, 42, appears both interested enough and physically healthy to play beyond this season. Twins reliever Joe Nathan was a teammate with Bonds in San Francisco during the 2003 season. He was asked how much longer Bonds can play at a high level. The Bonds’ numbers so far in 2007 are 11 home runs, 23 RBI’s and a .300 average.
“I think he can do it until his legs finally give out,” Nathan said. “…Most guys once their legs go, it’s kind of hard to generate any power and have a whole lot of balance at the plate. I think he’s still got at least another couple of years if he wants to do it but obviously a lot of things can happen and it depends on what he wants to do and where he is in his life. …”
Is Nathan surprised at Bonds’ productivity this season? “No, having played with him, having seen his approach at the plate. …He’s been around the game. He knows the strike zone pretty well. He’s still a strong guy. Even though he’s a lot older, he’s still in great shape. …He still has tremendous bat speed. You know he never was one of those long swing guys anyway. He always had a short quick swing and had a knack for getting the barrel to the ball.”
Bonds hit for a .341 average in 2003 when he and Nathan played together. Nathan saw that Bonds, a career .299 hitter, was more than just a slugger who hits home runs. “When he’s on, he can hit pretty much anything,” Nathan said.
Last season, even at age 41, Bonds had 367 at bats with a .270 average, 26 home runs and 77 RBIs.