SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants slugger Barry Bonds said during the first week of the season that the real countdown could begin when he reached the 750-homer mark. Consider it having begun.
Bonds hit No. 750 on Friday night to lead off the eighth inning against the Diamondbacks at AT&T Park, placing him five away from tying Hank Aaron's magic 755 and six away from passing him for the lead on Major League Baseball's all-time list.
The blast off Arizona right-hander Livan Hernandez came only an inning after a male fan trotted out to left field and appeared to chat with Bonds while he was trying to play his position. The incident occurred with Giants starter Matt Morris nursing a one-ball count on D-Backs second baseman Orlando Hudson. There was one out and one runner on at the time.
Bonds casually put his arm on the fan's shoulder and walked him off the field toward the left-field foul line where the pair was met by security. Bonds never seemed in danger and no security ventured into fair territory during the incident.
The fan's name has not yet been released, but a Giants spokesman said that he had been taken to a San Francisco police department substation and charged with public intoxication and interfering with a sporting event.
Bonds' homer was his first in a week and 16th of the season. It landed in the right-center field arcade above the red brick fence. After the inning had ended and Bonds returned to left field, he was greeted with an ovation from the crowd of 39,146 and doffed his cap in response. It was the fourth homer of his career against Hernandez, a former teammate who played with him on San Francisco's 2002 National League pennant winners.