Will Bonds pass Hank? Not likely

Barry Bonds belted his 711th home run against the Mets? Billy Wagner Wednesday night, and is inching ever closer to Babe Ruth?s career number of 714 as of this writing.

Does Bonds take steroids? Who knows? The best answer anyone can give right now is ?probably.?

Will he eventually pass Ruth on the all-time homer list? Barring some unforeseen injury, he will. But will he pass Hank Aaron?s magic number of 755?

I?m saying no, he won?t.

It?s this writer?s opinion that were there never any BALCO scandal, or any senate hearings or perjury investigation, Bonds would have continued playing until his body literally couldn?t withstand the rigors of competition, and would one day have indeed become baseball?s all-time career home run leader.

But scandals have plagued Bonds for the last few seasons, and have overshadowed what should have been a historic chase of one of sports? biggest records.

It could be a matter of days before Ruth drops to No. 3 on the all-time list. But Aaron could be another story, as even Bonds himself attests.

Age and injuries have slowed the Giants? slugger somewhat, although he?s still averaged over 35 homers during his 20-year career. Given those numbers, another couple of seasons in the league could realistically push him past Aaron?s career mark.

But I doubt it will happen, and so, apparently, does Bonds.

When asked by MLB.com if he still had a chance to reach 756, Bonds replied, ?Heck no.?

?Maybe something will happen during the winter time. My knee could get better. Maybe there will be some kind of solution they can come up with that would make the pain go away. Who knows??

When the BALCO scandal really hit home a couple of seasons ago, Bonds was battling a knee injury that resulted in his playing just 14 games through the 2005 campaign.

Just theorizing here, but not being in the lineup is a nice way to stay out of the spotlight, isn?t it? Particularly when that spotlight is the investigative type, rather than the congratulatory.

This year Bonds is back in action, and seemingly as healthy as his 42-year-old frame can be. All eyes are on his home run number, and nearly every at-bat is reported upon just as when he was chasing Mark McGwire?s single-season home run mark.

By the way, except for his tight-lipped appearance before Congress a few months back, we haven?t heard that much from McGwire, have we? That?s because he holds second place on the all-time single season home run record list. And although second is a nice place to be, no one really raises much of a ruckus about it.

And that?s the main reason why Bonds won?t pass Aaron. He?ll slug his way into second place, and he?ll step away from the game somewhere between 715 and 754. ?Hammerin? Hank? will remain the game?s most legendary home run hitter, he?ll pose for a few publicity photos with Bonds, and the record will stay intact.

Should he pass Aaron, public outrage would further dull his career, and cries for asterisks in the record books would rain down on the celebration.

But nobody cares about second. It?s a scandal-free place to be. And that?s where I believe Bonds will end up when this is all said and done ? scandal-free, and forever in second place.