U.S. & World

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS) ― No. 715 played out exactly the way Barry Bonds wanted -- he hit it at home, in front of the fans who love him.

It just took him a little longer than he hoped it would.

The San Francisco slugger moved past Babe Ruth on the career home run list with a mammoth shot Sunday, and now stands behind just one person.

Hank Aaron owns baseball's most revered record with 755 homers. And now the debate begins: Will Bonds stick around long enough to break it?

Bonds' latest milestone -- a mightier homer than No. 714 -- was a 445-foot, two-run shot to center before a sellout crowd. The homer came on the last day before the Giants begin a road trip to Florida and New York.

He homered off Byung-Hyun Kim in the fourth inning during a 6-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies. The ball glanced off a fan's hands about 15 rows up and then dropped onto an elevated platform beyond the fence.

The souvenir sat there for a few minutes before rolling off the roof to 38-year-old San Francisco resident Andrew Morbitzer waiting for a hot dog, and he was quickly ushered away by security for a postgame news conference.

Bonds circled the bases as streamers fell from the upper deck.

Now, the list looks like this:

Aaron 755.

Bonds 715.

Ruth 714.

Bonds connected at 2:14 p.m. on a 90 mph fastball with the count full, then immediately raised his arms and clapped his hands before beginning his historic trot. Kim became the 421st pitcher to surrender a homer to the 41-year-old slugger.

Bonds embraced and kissed his 16-year-old son, bat boy Nikolai, as he crossed home plate, then was greeted by his teammates at the top of the dugout. He took one curtain call in which he tipped his hat and raised both arms and blew a kiss to the crowd.

Moments later, he came out again and waved.

After the homer, the Giants unfurled two banners from the light towers on either side of the main scoreboard in center field: one of Bonds on the left side and the other of Hammerin' Hank's 755.

Bonds, who had walked on five pitches in the first inning, went five games between 714 and 715. He hit 714 on May 20 at Oakland, a span of 17 at-bats and 25 plate appearances. Aaron had a four-game wait between 714 and 715.

Bonds singled to right in his next at-bat in a drive off the right-field facade that looked as if it might be headed out, too, for No. 716. He grounded out to third to end the eighth and was replaced in the ninth.

Bonds is still loved at home despite the steroid accusations that surround his home run pursuit.

This is the first time in nearly 85 years that Ruth hasn't been in the top two on the career home run list, according to David Vincent of the Society for American Baseball Research. He passed Sam Thompson to move into second on June 20, 1921, when he hit his 127th home run.

Bonds has hit most of his other milestone home runs in San Francisco: 500, 600, 700 along with 660 and 661 to tie and pass godfather Willie Mays. In 2001, Bonds hit the final three of his 73 homers at home to break Mark McGwire's single-season record of 70.

Aaron passed Ruth in April 1974 -- and now Aaron is the only one left for Bonds to chase.

This was Bonds' last chance during the six-game homestand before the Giants left town for another week. He hadn't homered at home since May 2 against San Diego's Scott Linebrink.

Kim has a history of giving up notable homers -- he allowed tying two-run homers with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to the Yankees' Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius in Games 4 and 5 of the 2001 World Series.

Giants manager Felipe Alou wrote Bonds into the lineup without checking with the seven-time NL MVP about playing in a day game following a night game, aware that Bonds wanted to make history at home.

"That's one of the reasons I'm playing him without even asking him," Alou said. "We're going to be gone for a week. Today's the perfect day."

Hitting it in Florida in a near-empty stadium was far from what Bonds or the Giants wanted for his latest feat.

Fans at San Diego's Petco Park booed when a replay of Bonds' homer was shown on the big screen during the sixth inning of the Cardinals-Padres game. Bonds was booed repeatedly during a season-opening series at San Diego, and a fan threw a toy syringe at him on opening day.

(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)