He wasn’t traded. Williams was, and the roster remake jolted the Giants to life. When the division-leading Dodgers came to town on Sept. 17 for a two-game series, the Giants were just one game off the lead. In his first at-bat of the series, Bonds rifled a two-run homer to right-center. He punctuated the moment by doing a pirouette out of the batters box.

The Dodgers didn’t much like Bonds’ little dance, but Giants fans didn’t much care. When the two-game series was over, the Giants led the division. They won it on the season’s penultimate day. An ecstatic Bonds leaped on top of the Giants dugout and celebrated with the fans.

Of course there was a treasure trove of milestone home runs — No. 500, Nos. 70 and 71, No. 600, No. 661 (to pass Willie Mays), No. 700, Nos. 714 and 715 (to pass Babe Ruth), and Nos. 755 and 756. But such was Bonds’ relentlessly prolific nature by then that you almost came to expect those. Thus, it was the unexpected moments that stood out.

The 2002 postseason, for example. Bonds was a .196 career hitter in the playoffs before that October. Whereupon he batted .355 against Atlanta, St. Louis and Anaheim, with eight home runs and 16 RBI in 17 games. His home run off Francisco Rodriguez gave the Giants a 4-0 lead in Game 6 of the World Series, seemingly clinching the team’s first championship in 48 years until … well, no sense going there. These are supposed to be happy memories.

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There was the 490-foot home run he hit off the video board at Qualcomm Stadium in 2002, there was his epic mano-a-mano duel with Dodgers closer Eric Gagne in 2004, a six-pitch testosterone-fest that ended with Bonds’ howling home run to center off a 100-mph fastball.

Mostly there was the overriding feeling that anything might happen at any time. And the comfort, for Giants fans, that regardless of the season or the standings, they had a Barry Bonds on their side, and the other team did not.

Those fans showed up on Thursday on a fine September afternoon to say goodbye again. No ifs this time. They roared their approval one last time as Bonds jogged out to take his position, then they did it again as he waived his farewells upon his departure. A large “Thank you Barry — A Giant Forever” dangled over the wall behind him.

It was all about love and memories, never mind the fielding error in the fifth inning.

“All eras come to an end,” Magowan said.

Not if you have them safely stored in your mind’s eye, they don’t.

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