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HOME RUN CHASE

September 28, 2001

Barry Bonds

SAN FRANCISO, CALIFORNIA

Q. Was that one for your friend?
BARRY BONDS: (Nods).

Q. Was that one of the more emotional homers you've hit?
BARRY BONDS: Yeah, it was hard to hold back.

Q. How did you get through with your focus today?
BARRY BONDS: I just said, you know, let God handle it. I've got to play the game. Let God handle all of the emotions.

Q. Would you talk about what made Franklin (Bradley) such a good friend and what you are going to miss about him?
BARRY BONDS: Everything. He's done everything for everybody else. He's been around me ever since before my kids were born. And the one time he wants to do something for himself, something fatal happens to him. He was a real friend of mine and I know my kids are going to miss him, too.

Q. Was the curtain call tremendously hard for you?
BARRY BONDS: It was. I went downstairs. I had to -- it just felt good because I just tried to do for him, you know. Being able to do something on the day that you really wanted to do something for somebody.

Q. Have you ever had that emotion before where you ever really wanted something more than for this team?
BARRY BONDS: I lost one of my best friends. It's been a real tough year for me, but this -- I think this is everything built up inside of me at once, and it just felt really good to be able to do something that I wanted to do for a numerous of different people.

Q. When J.T. (Snow) came back after his mother died and Armando, they both hit home runs; it seems like it's fate when this happens?
BARRY BONDS: I don't know, I just -- you know, God doesn't like ugly, and I guess He blesses some of those that deserve it at times. He'll be with us forever. Franklin will be with me forever.

Q. Was there ever a consideration taking that pitch.
BARRY BONDS: No, not at all.

Q. How is this going to change your perspective on the home run chase, the pennant race, what has just happened?
BARRY BONDS: I got through today, and that's the most important thing. Yesterday was very, very difficult, and today was another difficult time, but I got through it. I'm fine with it now, and I can move on.

Q. Why do you think some people give you a hard time, and do you care about it?
BARRY BONDS: I don't know what people you're pertaining to. That's a broad question. I don't know who --

Q. Somebody at the media has been negative on what you've been doing this year, and possibly some of your own teammates?
BARRY BONDS: That's America. Freedom of speech.

Q. Now that you are facing the Padres again, would you discuss the differences between the Dodgers and the Padres, and are they pitching you any differently?
BARRY BONDS: No. I mean, the Padres are out of it. You know, they are going to pitch, so they are going to put it point blank; if you hit it, you hit it; if you, you don't. We're not going to go around you; it's a different situation.
I think if the Dodgers fall out of it, it's the same kind of feeling, but as long as you're within a pennant racer, with either team, you're going to get pitched differently in those type of situations because there's something at stake for your team.

Q. Would you talk a little bit about facing Middlebrook? You took seven balls before you hit the home run. Would you talk about the difference first and second time facing him?
BARRY BONDS: There's no difference. I don't approach anything really different. I attempt to hit any pitch that comes over the plate and I try to stay as aggressive as I can. And even though balls are being pitched around me, I still never anticipate that they are not going to throw me a strike. That's the whole getting-over-the-balls-and-strike situation, or the walks, is being ready to hit, regardless. Even if you know you're not going to get a pitch, being in a position to hit; and never assume that you're not going to get the pitch.
It's the same thing you do defensively. You position yourself to make every pitch they are going to hit the ball to you, and if you are not ready, it's going to go one way or the other and you are not going to make that play. So you have to be prepared all the time and you just can't assume that just because it's 2-0 or 3-1 he's just not going to throw a strike.

Q. Along the same lines, are you now prepared to set this record?
BARRY BONDS: I'm prepared to win the division, if Arizona ever decides to cooperate.

Q. You set the National League walks record tonight. That says something. How do you feel about that?
BARRY BONDS: That's not one record you want to be proud of. (Laughs).

Q. Why?
BARRY BONDS: Because, you know, it's part of this job to play, not observe.

Q. How much different are you now than when you were younger, part of the maturity learning how to take pitches?
BARRY BONDS: I'm just a better player than I was then. I'm a better player now than I was when I was younger.

Q. The walks record does say something about patience and your eye at the plate, wouldn't you say?
BARRY BONDS: You could say that. I don't take anything away from anybody else, and I don't think -- teams are trying to win games, and they go by the stats and how well you are doing against their pitchers and hitters and stuff like that, and if you have more success against one -- it goes of goes both ways, there's guys that I've had success with that I will get pitched to and guys that I've had success with that I won't get pitched to.
But, I don't know, we all want to win, regardless of the team we play for, we all want to win. I don't want to discredit walks in any way, just my patience or anything. Sometimes it is and sometimes it's not, and sometimes they are trying to get me to chase. There's a lot of strategy in this game of baseball, so I don't take full credit for that.

Q. Before the game, Tony Gwynn said some have said some things or done some things that made the fans not appreciate with you as much, do you agree with that?
BARRY BONDS: I disagree, because I never had an opportunity to play on a team with Tony Gwynn, so he's never had an opportunity to see me on a day-to-day basis.
I think a lot of times, what you read could weigh into that comment, but I never said anything negative towards fans in my lifetime. I've never written a newspaper in my entire lifetime. I've been misquoted a lot of times during my lifetime. I've never said anything derogatory toward really, anyone.

End of FastScripts

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