1961 was the year of Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. 1998 belonged to Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire. 2001 saw only one home run king, Barry Bonds. Bonds was not satisfied with breaking the now three year old single season home run record. He also set new records for slugging percentage (.863), walks (171), and home runs per at bat (6.52). He broke his personal record with one-hundred thirty-one runs batted in and finished the season with a .328 batting average. His on base percentage (.515), the best in the National League since John McGraw in 1900. Bonds became the oldest player to lead a league in home runs and also became the oldest player to reach the fifty, sixty, and seventy home run plateaus.
The record breaking long ball came off of Los Angeles' Chan Ho Park on October 5. The new high did not last long, as Bonds went yard two innings later. Bonds finished up with one more trip around the bases two days later, leaving the new record at seventy-three. Bonds continued his dominance over the following years, but never again reached his 2001 numbers. Baseball Almanac is proud to present those seventy-three unforgettable home runs.
"When he (Wilfredo Rodriguez) threw the first pitch, I just was 'Wow.' It's really rare when you see left-handers that throw harder than Billy Wagner or Randy Johnson. He doesn't throw as hard as them, but he's not that far off. When he threw the first pitch, I was like, 'Whoa, this guy throws harder than it looked like when he was warming up.'" - Barry Bonds
73 Single Season Home Runs by Barry BondsThe Unforgettable 73 |
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# | Date | Pitcher | Team (AWAY) | Inn | Outs | Count | RBI | Length |
1 | 04-02-2001 | Woody Williams | San Diego | 5th | 1 | 0-0 | 1 | 420' LCF |
2 | 04-12-2001 | Adam Eaton | SAN DIEGO | 4th | 1 | 1-0 | 1 | 417' RCF |
3 | 04-13-2001 | Jamey Wright | MILWAUKEE | 1st | 1 | 0-1 | 2 | 440' RCF |
4 | 04-14-2001 | Jimmy Haynes | MILWAUKEE | 5th | 1 | 2-0 | 3 | 410' RF |
5 | 04-15-2001 | David Weathers | MILWAUKEE | 8th | 2 | 1-1 | 1 | 390' LCF |
6 | 04-17-2001 | Terry Adams | Los Angeles | 8th | 0 | 2-0 | 2 | 417' RF |
7 | 04-18-2001 | Chan Ho Park | Los Angeles | 7th | 2 | 0-0 | 1 | 420' RCF |
8 | 04-20-2001 | Jimmy Haynes | Milwaukee | 4th | 1 | 0-0 | 2 | 410' LCF |
9 | 04-24-2001 | Jim Brower | Cincinnati | 3rd | 1 | 3-2 | 2 | 380' RCF |
10 | 04-26-2001 | Scott Sullivan | Cincinnati | 8th | 2 | 3-2 | 2 | 430' CF |
11 | 04-29-2001 | Manny Aybar | Chicago | 4th | 2 | 2-1 | 1 | 370' RF |
12 | 05-02-2001 | Todd Ritchie | PITTSBURGH | 5th | 2 | 3-2 | 2 | 420' LCF |
13 | 05-03-2001 | Jimmy Anderson | PITTSBURGH | 1st | 1 | 3-1 | 2 | 420' LCF |
14 | 05-04-2001 | Bruce Chen | PHILADELPHIA | 6th | 1 | 1-1 | 2 | 360' RF |
15 | 05-11-2001 | Steve Trachsel | New York | 4th | 0 | 3-2 | 1 | 410' RCF |
16 | 05-17-2001 | Chuck Smith | FLORIDA | 3rd | 1 | 0-1 | 2 | 420' RCF |
17 | 05-18-2001 | Mike Remlinger | ATLANTA | 8th | 1 | 0-1 | 1 | 391' RF |
18 | 05-19-2001 | Odalis Perez | ATLANTA | 3rd | 0 | 3-2 | 1 | 416' RCF |
19 | 05-19-2001 | Jose Cabrera | ATLANTA | 7th | 0 | 2-0 | 1 | 440' RCF |
20 | 05-19-2001 | Jason Marquis | ATLANTA | 8th | 2 | 3-0 | 1 | 410' LCF |
21 | 05-20-2001 | John Burkett | ATLANTA | 1st | 2 | 2-2 | 1 | 415' CF |
22 | 05-20-2001 | Mike Remlinger | ATLANTA | 7th | 1 | 0-0 | 1 | 436' CF |
23 | 05-21-2001 | Curt Schilling | ARIZONA | 4th | 0 | 2-0 | 1 | 430' CF |
24 | 05-22-2001 | Russ Springer | ARIZONA | 9th | 0 | 0-0 | 2 | 410' LCF |
25 | 05-24-2001 | John Thomson | Colorado | 3rd | 2 | 2-2 | 1 | 400' RF |
26 | 05-27-2001 | Denny Neagle | Colorado | 1st | 1 | 3-1 | 2 | 390' RF |
27 | 05-30-2001 | Robert Ellis | Arizona | 2nd | 0 | 0-0 | 1 | 420' RF |
28 | 05-30-2001 | Robert Ellis | Arizona | 6th | 1 | 3-1 | 2 | 410' CF |
29 | 06-01-2001 | Shawn Chacon | COLORADO | 3rd | 1 | 2-0 | 2 | 420' RF |
30 | 06-04-2001 | Bobby Jones | San Diego | 4th | 0 | 2-1 | 1 | 410' CF |
31 | 06-05-2001 | Wascar Serrano | San Diego | 3rd | 1 | 1-1 | 2 | 410' LCF |
32 | 06-07-2001 | Brian Lawrence | San Diego | 7th | 2 | 1-1 | 2 | 450' CF |
33 | 06-12-2001 | Pat Rapp | Anaheim | 1st | 2 | 0-0 | 1 | 320' RF |
34 | 06-14-2001 | Lou Pote | Anaheim | 6th | 1 | 2-1 | 1 | 430' RCF |
35 | 06-15-2001 | Mark Mulder | Oakland | 1st | 2 | 3-1 | 1 | 380' LCF |
36 | 06-15-2001 | Mark Mulder | Oakland | 6th | 1 | 2-1 | 1 | 430' RCF |
37 | 06-19-2001 | Adam Eaton | SAN DIEGO | 5th | 1 | 2-1 | 1 | 375' RCF |
38 | 06-20-2001 | Rodney Myers | SAN DIEGO | 8th | 0 | 2-1 | 2 | 347' RF |
39 | 06-23-2001 | Darryl Kile | ST. LOUIS | 1st | 1 | 3-1 | 2 | 380' RF |
40 | 07-12-2001 | Paul Abbott | SEATTLE | 1st | 2 | 2-0 | 1 | 429' RCF |
41 | 07-18-2001 | Mike Hampton | Colorado | 4th | 0 | 2-1 | 1 | 320' RF |
42 | 07-18-2001 | Mike Hampton | Colorado | 5th | 1 | 0-1 | 2 | 360' LF |
43 | 07-26-2001 | Curt Schilling | ARIZONA | 4th | 0 | 0-0 | 1 | 375' RF |
44 | 07-26-2001 | Curt Schilling | ARIZONA | 5th | 1 | 0-0 | 4 | 370' LCF |
45 | 07-27-2001 | Brian Anderson | ARIZONA | 4th | 0 | 1-1 | 1 | 440' RF |
46 | 08-01-2001 | Joe Beimel | Pittsburgh | 1st | 2 | 1-0 | 1 | 400' RCF |
47 | 08-04-2001 | Nelson Figueroa | Philadelphia | 6th | 1 | 2-2 | 2 | 405' RF |
48 | 08-07-2001 | Danny Graves | CINCINNATI | 11th | 0 | 1-1 | 1 | 430' RCF |
49 | 08-09-2001 | Scott Winchester | CINCINNATI | 3rd | 1 | 0-0 | 1 | 350' RF |
50 | 08-11-2001 | Joe Borowski | CHICAGO | 2nd | 2 | 2-2 | 3 | 396' CF |
51 | 08-14-2001 | Ricky Bones | Florida | 6th | 1 | 0-2 | 4 | 410' RF |
52 | 08-16-2001 | A.J. Burnett | Florida | 4th | 0 | 1-0 | 1 | 380' RF |
53 | 08-16-2001 | Vic Darensbourg | Florida | 8th | 0 | 1-2 | 3 | 430' RCF |
54 | 08-18-2001 | Jason Marquis | Atlanta | 8th | 1 | 2-2 | 1 | 415' RCF |
55 | 08-23-2001 | Graeme Lloyd | MONTREAL | 9th | 1 | 3-1 | 1 | 380' RCF |
56 | 08-27-2001 | Kevin Appier | NEW YORK | 5th | 0 | 1-0 | 1 | 375' RCF |
57 | 08-31-2001 | John Thomson | Colorado | 8th | 1 | 0-2 | 2 | 400' RF |
58 | 09-03-2001 | Jason Jennings | Colorado | 4th | 0 | 1-0 | 1 | 435' RCF |
59 | 09-04-2001 | Miguel Batista | Arizona | 7th | 2 | 0-0 | 1 | 420' RCF |
60 | 09-06-2001 | Albie Lopez | Arizona | 2nd | 2 | 2-2 | 1 | 420' RCF |
61 | 09-09-2001 | Scott Elarton | COLORADO | 1st | 1 | 1-1 | 1 | 488' RCF |
62 | 09-09-2001 | Scott Elarton | COLORADO | 5th | 2 | 2-2 | 1 | 361' RF |
63 | 09-09-2001 | Todd Belitz | COLORADO | 11th | 1 | 0-1 | 3 | 394' RCF |
64 | 09-20-2001 | Wade Miller | Houston | 5th | 2 | 1-0 | 2 | 410' CF |
65 | 09-23-2001 | Jason Middlebrook | SAN DIEGO | 2nd | 2 | 2-1 | 1 | 411' CF |
66 | 09-23-2001 | Jason Middlebrook | SAN DIEGO | 4th | 1 | 2-0 | 1 | 365' LF |
67 | 09-24-2001 | James Baldwin | LOS ANGELES | 7th | 2 | 1-1 | 1 | 360' RF |
68 | 09-28-2001 | Jason Middlebrook | San Diego | 2nd | 2 | 3-0 | 1 | 440' RCF |
69 | 09-29-2001 | Chuck McElroy | San Diego | 6th | 0 | 2-1 | 1 | 435' RF |
70 | 10-04-2001 | Wilfredo Rodriguez | HOUSTON | 9th | 0 | 1-1 | 1 | 480' RCF |
71 | 10-05-2001 | Chan Ho Park | Los Angeles | 1st | 2 | 1-0 | 1 | 440' RCF |
72 | 10-05-2001 | Chan Ho Park | Los Angeles | 3rd | 0 | 1-1 | 1 | 410' CF |
73 | 10-07-2001 | Dennis Springer | Los Angeles | 1st | 2 | 3-2 | 1 | 380' RF |
The Unbreakable 73 : Barry Bonds |
Did you know that Barry Bonds passed ten fellow members (Eddie Murray, Mel Ott, Eddie Matthews, Ernie Banks, Ted Williams, Willie McCovey, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Mike Schmidt & Reggie Jackson) of the 500 Home Runs Club during the 2001 season?
Click the player to Hear Barry Bonds' 70th Home Run
Barry Bonds 2001 season trivia: 1. More home runs (seventeen) were hit by Bonds on Thursday than any other day. 2. Bonds became the oldest player to lead either league in home runs AND the oldest player to hit fifty, sixty and seventy home runs. 3. Bonds became the the fastest player in a season to reach the thirty, forty, fifty, sixty and seventy plateaus.
During the postgame press conference Barry Bonds was joined by his daughters Shikari and Aisha and his son Nikolai. He said in regards to number seventy, "Wow. It was electrifying. It came with a victory, and that's what made it really special."