Bonds sets his sights on a whole different goal

SAN FRANCISCO -- Willie Mays knows Barry Bonds better than almost anyone. Mays counsels his godson on everything from the perils of fame to the difficulties of hitting in San Francisco's famously fickle weather.

So when Mays says Bonds is capable of becoming a first-time batting champion at 38, it's not wise to take the Hall of Famer's opinions lightly.

"I think Barry can do exactly what he wants," Mays said. "He's trying for the batting title this year. Whatever Barry does, he knows I'm behind him. ... He's still a young man. He'll have a lot of records when he quits. He's got a lot of records now, but he'll have more.

"Don't even worry about (the batting title). He'll get that. It's not even a problem."

After hitting his 600th homer earlier this month, the San Francisco Giants' slugger isn't within reach of any more dramatic home run milestones this season. Instead, Bonds has set his sights on an unlikely goal: the NL batting championship.

Mays, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Frank Robinson all won batting titles. Bonds hasn't done it in his first 16 major league seasons.

Home runs just happened

During his run to 600, Bonds again expressed surprise at his recent home run feats. It was never his goal to hit this many home runs, Bonds said -- and then, almost without prompting, he gave a rare insight into one of his goals beyond that still-elusive World Series ring.

"I want to win that batting title," Bonds said simply.

With five weeks left in the season, Bonds entered Monday night's game against Colorado hitting .357.

After leading the league for much of the summer, he's neck-and-neck atop the NL leaderboard with the Rockies' Larry Walker, the champion in 1998, 1999 and last season. Montreal's Vladimir Guerrero is more than 20 points behind in third place.

"He's got a good chance, but it's a long process," San Francisco manager Dusty Baker said. "You can be right in the running until the last week of the season, and if you go in a slump, it's all over. I'd love to see it, though. It'd be nice to see somebody win it who doesn't play in Colorado."

Since joining the NL in 1993, Walker and fellow Rockies Andres Galarraga (1993) and Todd Helton (2000) have won five of the nine titles; San Diego's Tony Gwynn won three others.

Geography is working against Bonds in two ways. While Walker hits in the thin air of Denver, Bonds plays half of his games in Pacific Bell Park -- perhaps the most pitcher-friendly environment in the NL, according to Helton, the Mets' Mike Piazza and other talented hitters.

In fact, no member of the San Francisco Giants has won a batting title since the franchise moved west in 1958.

Joining other greats

Mays, Aaron and Ruth -- the only three home run hitters still in front of Bonds -- all won batting titles early in their careers. But Bonds, unlike almost every great player before him, seems to be getting better with age.

Bonds, who began his career as a speedy leadoff hitter before his well-chronicled transformation into a musclebound slugger, has never hit higher than .336 -- and that was in 1993, his first season with the Giants.

Last season, Bonds put up some of the most mind-boggling offensive numbers in baseball history -- and he still hit only .328, finishing seventh in the NL. Managers and pitchers always tread lightly around players with high averages, but Bonds' power abilities make him almost impossible to challenge.

"I think he'll make the most of his chances," said Robinson, a former Triple Crown winner who was passed by Bonds on the career homers list earlier this season. "The only question is whether Barry will get enough chances. There's no team that wants to let him beat you."

Nobody in baseball history has walked as frequently as Bonds, who set the major league record with 177 free passes last season. Walker has nearly 100 more official at-bats than Bonds.

"Barry gets fewer pitches to hit than almost anybody ever has in the history of the game, and he's still in the running for that batting title," teammate Shawon Dunston said. "To me, that's the most impressive thing about his season. I think he'll get it. Nothing he does will surprise anybody these days."