Gary Peterson

The Many Faces of Barry Bonds concluded its raucous three-day run in Philadelphia on Sunday, with appearances by three of his popular standards:

The Ruthless Slugger, the Grudging Orator, and the Horse's Caboose.

Which is to say, Bonds mashed his 713th career home run to pull within one of Babe Ruth on baseball's all-time list; then, speaking in an expressionless monotone, he gave us a glimpse at a Barry Bonds we wish we could see more often; then he stiffed the fan who caught the baseball and came seeking an autograph.

You know what they say — the great ones make it look sooooo easy.

The home run, well, we've seen that act enough 712 times before. And yet, when he catches one clean, it still makes you blink twice and rub your eyes. His blast Sunday, off Philadelphia starting pitcher Jon Lieber, went roaring an estimated 450 feet to right-center field, banging off the facing of the upper deck.

He smoked it. Killed it. Knocked it naked. It was his fifth of the season, the first which he has pulled and pounded. He may be damp dynamite at this point. We may not know when, or how, or why he'll go off. But we know another big bang is coming.

But that's hardly the news of it anymore. We knew 713 was going to happen. We know 714 is coming. After that, 715. Between 715 and Henry Aaron's hallowed 755, that would be a yawning expanse of gray area.

Thing is, we know Ruth is toast. So the only mystery in that regard is off whom, and how far.

The spectacle is the real attraction — the San Francisco fans who shower Bonds with love, the fans everywhere else who bathe him in verbal abuse, the horde of media that would rather be covering an NFL exhibition game, the reality TV show, etc., etc., etc.

So to see the Ruthless Slugger on Sunday was significant, but hardly unprecedented. It's what happened later that was unscripted and edgy.

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Once the small matter of the Giants' fourth straight loss (and seventh in eight games) was out of the way, Bonds was ushered to an interview room. There, instead of singing yet another 10 bars of "I Don't Care, You Can't Make Me," he showed a human side.

As he is wont to do when approaching a milestone, he spoke reverently of his climb through the statistical stratosphere.

"I think this is the greatest thing," he told reporters. "It's awesome. I may not show it a lot, but that's just me trying to keep my head screwed on straight. It's overwhelming right now."

Refresher: This from the same guy who, two weeks ago, said, "If I finish with 709, so what?"

"Babe Ruth is a great, great baseball player," Bonds said Sunday. "He started all of this, he was in a league of his own."

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This is the Bonds that a lot of us would like to see more of, a guy who acknowledges the significance of what he is doing, and the men who did it before him. More often we see the guy who, in spring training, complained that the game wasn't fun for him anymore. It made you wonder — when was the last time he looked like he was having fun? Too often he seems to regard the game as an imposition, and its historical ledger as an unwanted burden.

The few times he has tipped his cap to the game's tradition have come when he has stood in the shadow of a milestone — as he approached his 500th and 600th career homers, the 70th and 71st home runs in 2001, the 661st homer that propelled him past his godfather, Willie Mays, and into third on the career list.

He showed that side again Sunday, going so far as to speak highly of a man, Ruth, whom he has disparaged in the past. And then, just that quickly, the warm and fuzzy moment was gone.

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As it happened, Carlos Oliveras, an Airman 1st Class in the Air Force, wound up with the 713th home run ball. He was escorted to Bonds' press conference, where Bonds was asked if he would autograph the baseball. His answer, incredibly, given the public relations windfall that would have been generated by such a meager effort: No.

Later, Oliveras asked Bonds personally to autograph the ball. According to an Associated Press account, "Bonds smirked and said nothing."

Bonds did pose for a picture and shook Oliveras' hand. Then Oliveras was asked to sign a waiver so the interaction could be shown on Bonds' reality TV show.

With that, The Many Faces of Barry Bonds departed Philadelphia for the friendlier confines of San Francisco and A&T Park. They say the applause petered out before the curtain hit the stage.