Word: mcgwire
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...have a history, the San Francisco slugger and me. Years before he began his assault on Mark McGwire?s homerun record, Bonds broke my heart. Back in the early ?90s, he belied his bravado, choked stupendously during key playoff games, and left my beloved Pirates dangling just short of the World Series. Two years in a row I sat watching the hated Atlanta Braves play for the championship, gnashing my teeth and cursing Barry Bonds...
...only is he making headlines, he?s also proving himself a truly gifted hitter, reminding Pirates fans, once again, of what might have been. His greatness is increasingly inescapable - as is my boyfriend?s undisguised glee. Thursday night, Bonds hit his 60th, on pace to meet, or even break McGwire?s record. As Ed watched SportsCenter and I sat nearby reading, Bonds? season in homeruns played across the screen. "Will you look at that," Ed murmured in wonder. "That?s something else." I glanced up, distracted by the swelling, Roy Hobbs-esque music, and saw Bonds rip another homer...
This time around there won't be any McGwire-family love-ins at home plate. No adorably accented declarations about how wonderful the game has been to him. No Maris family watching, square-jawed and teary-eyed, from their box seats on the brink of inevitability...
...which there are a few, are not the sweet, character-building ones that move Billy Crystal to filmmaking. Make no mistake, though, with 39 dingers at press time--the most in baseball history before the All-Star break--Bonds doesn't just have a chance to break Mark McGwire's 1998 record of 70; he's looking like a lock...
...that Bonds will say so. In a virtuoso display of athlete-speak, Bonds is doing everything possible to talk down his achievements and keep the media crush at bay. "I'm not even thinking about Mark McGwire," he said before a weekend series against Mac's St. Louis Cardinals. Other variations on the theme include "You can get hit by a truck tomorrow" and "I've had hot streaks before...