U.S. & World

A Look At The Career Of Barry Bonds

(CBS) With Barry Bonds now on top of the all-time home run list, it will be a time of celebration for some and a time of more criticism for others.

Bonds' Early Career

Bonds' career started in Pittsburgh where he was the sixth overall pick in the 1985 Major League Baseball draft.

According to MLB.com, during his college career he played three seasons for Arizona State University, hitting .347 with 45 home runs and 175 RBI.

He played seven seasons for the Pirates from 1986-1993 and hit 176 home runs, but he really made a case for himself when he began playing for the San Francisco Giants in 1994.

In just his fifth major league season, Bonds broke the 30 home run plateau when he hit 33.

Keeping Pace With Aaron

In 1992, Bonds began a streak of 13 straight seasons where he hit more than 30 homers, giving him an early chance to take a run at Hank Aaron's record. During those 13 seasons from 1992-2004, Bonds hit 561 home runs to put him within striking distance of Aaron's record of 755.

At the end of the 1992 season Bonds became a free agent and decided to stay in the National League, but changed coasts as he signed a six-year deal worth almost $44 million.

In his first season with the Giants, Bonds hit 46 home runs with 123 RBI earning him MVP honors.

Controversy Strikes As The Record Gets Closer

The turn of the century seemed to give Bonds a new gear as hit hit over 40 homers in five straight seasons including hitting 73 in 2001 to break Mark McGuire's single season home run record.

During that five-year streak, Bonds hit 258 home runs to put Aaron's record in his sights and setting the media coverage around him into a frenzy.

In 2003, accusations of steroid use began to haunt Bonds when federal agents raided BALCO, a Bay Area lab supplying athletes with sports supplements.

Just a couple of miles from the ballpark, the BALCO Grand Jury is in its fourth year of deliberations and could yet decide that Bonds committed perjury when he denied taking steroids.

Bonds' links with steroids were investigated by San Francisco Chronicle reporter Lance Williams.

Adding to his troubles was a nagging knee injury that required surgery and sidelined Bonds for all but 14 games in 2005, where he still managed to hit five homers.

The Final Push

In 2006, Bonds came back with only some minor knee issues from his multiple surgeries the previous year. He entered the season with 708 career home runs, just six shy of Babe Ruth.

On May 20, 2006, Bonds tied Ruth for second on that all-time home run list and passed Ruth to take sole possession of second just eight days later on May 28. He finished the 2006 season with 26 home runs, leaving him just 21 shy of tying Aaron.

The 2007season proved to be special early on as Bonds hit his first home run of the year in just the second game of the season.

Bonds pulled within five of Aaron on June 29, 2007, with home run No. 750 off a former teammate, Livan Hernandez.

Bonds moved within two homers of Hank Aaron's record on July 19, 2007, hitting Nos. 752 and 753 ending his worst slump in six years.

No. 755 was a strong shot for all the doubters, an opposite-field drive of 382 feet to left-center, moving Bonds within one swing of having baseball's pinnacle of power all to himself. It came on a 2-1, 91 mph fastball.

With one swing of the bat on a 3-2 pitch from Mike Bacsik of the Washington Nationals, Barry Bonds took over sole possession of the record on Aug. 7, 2007.

Following the home run, Bonds addressed the crowd and was brought to tears when he thanked his father, fans and teammates for all of their support through his career.

Hank Aaron also made an announcement, that was taped at an earlier date, congratulating Bonds for breaking his record.

According to MLB.com, Bonds has won seven NL Most Valuable Player awards, been elected to 14 All-Star games with the most recent coming in 2007, has won eight Gold Glove awards and 12 Silver Slugger awards among many other single season records.

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)