Hank Aaron

A scout's take On Alfonso Soriano, Washington Nationals 30-year-old left fielder Swing -- I see Hank Aaron the way he swings the bat. Soriano's not a classic power hitter. But you look at Hank Aaron on film and he was a wrist hitter who just whips the bat. Soriano's a wrist hitter, too. That's the closest parallel I can give you. Mind, body-- He really has fun playing the game. He enjoys playing baseball. And he's got the type of body that will stay in shape. He'll never get too big, and he's athletic enough to be OK in the outfield.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds, the greatest home run hitter of his generation, became the second-greatest home run hitter of all time yesterday afternoon when he hit the 715th home run of his long and often controversial career. Bonds, who remains at the epicenter of a controversy about whether he used steroids, put himself on a different plateau in the hierarchy of sluggers when he swung on a full-count pitch from Byung Hyun Kim of the Colorado Rockies, and sent the ball soaring over the fence just right of straightaway center field, an estimated 445 feet from home plate.

WASHINGTON -- I have spent the past month or so confused about what I thought was an indisputable baseball truth: Who is the major league home run king? I was under the delusion that it was the player with the most career home runs, Hank Aaron. I've recently been apprised of my mistake, though. It's Babe Ruth, the guy whose "record" Barry Bonds has been "chasing." I had expected a deluge of feature stories, profiles and recollections about the home run king -- and diatribes against the injustice of Bonds' tainted pursuit.

It took him three nights and 11 plate appearances in a home run park, but San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds delivered last night in Philadelphia with his 713th career homer. Facing Phillies right-hander Jon Lieber with two outs in the sixth inning, Bonds crushed a 2-1 fastball that bounced off the McDonald's sign on the third-deck facade above right field at Citizens Bank Park. It traveled roughly 450 feet. With the shot, Bonds moved one away from tying Hall of Famer Babe Ruth for second place all-time.

Should Barry Bonds surpass Babe Ruth for second place on baseball's list of all-time home run leaders - he is two short of tying him - his feat will be etched in baseball record books just like any other accomplishment. The statistics will carry no asterisks, no references to the steroid allegations that have haunted the San Francisco Giants' slugger in recent years. But there will also be no end to the speculation over whether Bonds' numbers are as legitimate as those of the greats before him. "I would say that the impact of the numbers will never be the same," said Marty Eichler of Abingdon, among the baseball fans interviewed at random last week about the prospect of Bonds' surpassing Ruth in homers.

Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams could not have timed it better. Game of Shadows, their damning account of steroid use in Major League Baseball, hit bookstores just days before the start of the season. The book is an investigative tour de force of how steroid use has become accepted as standard practice by an increasing number of high-profile athletes, allegedly including Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants, who stands poised to pass Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time home run list.

If Barry Bonds doesn't break Hank Aaron's record this season, should he come back next year? Barry Bonds should be man enough to admit using drugs to get where he is. Retire and leave the record to Hank Aaron, who did it without help. David Reeves Forest Hill With the taint of steroids in his history, Barry Bonds breaking any record is almost laughable at this point. I don't think he should even come back this year. Nancy Cantville Eldersburg He will always have the BALCO thing beside the record.

Astros manager Phil Garner has his own magic number, and Houston moved toward it yesterday. Wandy Rodriguez pitched a career-high 7 1/3 innings, and Lance Berkman put Houston ahead to stay with a two-run, first-inning double in a 6-1 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Brewers that extended the Astros' winning streak to five. Houston, which had just six hits, increased its lead over the Philadelphia Phillies to 1 1/2 games in the National League wild-card race. The Florida Marlins remained 2 1/2 games back of the Astros (81-68)

MINNESOTA - To activate pitcher Erik Bedard for last night's start against Minnesota, the Orioles apparently wanted to send struggling reliever Steve Kline to Double-A Bowie. But Kline said he refused the assignment, and with few other options, the Orioles designated long reliever James Baldwin for assignment. The Orioles now have 10 days to trade Baldwin, pass him through waivers or give him his release. If Baldwin clears waivers, the Orioles could option the veteran back to Triple-A Ottawa, but Baldwin would have to accept the assignment.

SEATTLE - The list is so impressive that it humbles a likely first-ballot Hall of Fame player. Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro recites the names - Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Eddie Murray - and says he doesn't belong in their class. But a run-scoring double last night put him on the roll call. Palmeiro became only the fourth player to accumulate 500 home runs and 3,000 hits in a career when he lined a fastball from Joel Pineiro into the left-field corner with one out in the fifth inning in the Orioles' 6-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field, ending a wait that seemed much longer to the man who endured it. Players from both teams leaned on the dugout railings as Palmeiro came to the plate, his first two at-bats resulting in a walk and a groundout.