655 AND COUNTING: Barry Bonds on Monday hit his 655th career home run, putting him exactly 100 behind Hank Aaron's record of 755, which has stood since Aaron retired in 1975. And after hitting 656 tonight, Barry is 4 away from tying his godfather, Willie Mays, for third all time.
Can Bonds catch Aaron? Bonds will turn 40 later this year, but until now he has somehow both gotten better with age and avoided injury; if he can keep that up for another 2-3 years, he's got it. He'll almost certainly reach 700 in 2004, and likely tie Babe Ruth's 714 in '04 or early '05; if he catches Aaron that'll likely happen in late '05. Can he do it? I'd peg his chances at about 50/50.