He was also a pioneer of the sport and in that respect he will always eclipse Bonds or any other player who happens

He was also a pioneer of the sport and, in that respect, he will always eclipse Bonds or any other player who happens to demonstrate exceptional ability but is otherwise just one major leaguer among many.Ruth's start in life is one of those American Dream stories. Ruth calculated, correctly, that his achievements were on a scale that did not entirely oblige him to live by the rules of ordinary ball-players.Once he had been established in the popular consciousness as a force of nature, his every move became a source of wonder, not all of it entirely rational. Did he really call that home run in the 1932 World Series, as the next day's newspapers excitedly proclaimed, or was he pointing towards the outfield for some completely unconnected reason? Die-hard baseball fans have been examining film footage of the moment for years, and the more honest among them willingly concede it is impossible to tell.Babe Ruth wasn't just a prodigious player, though. As long as he kept producing marvels on the field, fans and critics were prepared to overlook the fact that he happened to be hungover as he donned his pinstriped Yankee uniform, say, or that his ability to charge round the bases was compromised by the extra pounds he was carrying. He would regularly break team curfew rules on game nights and drove more than one team manager to distraction He could be vulgar and lewd, vain and demanding. He all but destroyed his first marriage with his propensity for casual sexual encounters.Ruth was fortunate, though, to live in a more forgiving age. The Great Bambino was a binge-eater and binge-drinker, whose weight ballooned alarmingly at several important junctures during his career.

Bonds may be a controversial figure now, but it is often forgotten that Babe Ruth himself was no angel. In many ways, it goes more generally to the heart of American culture. Is raw statistical achievement the benchmark of success in this society, or is greatness also about something that the record books alone do not show? Does America like its heroes unquestioned and unsullied, or is there also some attraction in the notion of tearing up the past, knocking down the old icons and installing new heroes in place of the old ones?Buried in the Bonds vs Ruth arguments are some uncomfortable truths about America's propensity for mythologising and over-idealisation of the past. They know he is still a superstar who continues to give pause to every pitcher who faces him, and that's more than enough for them.This is an argument that goes well beyond simple sporting prowess. He may, at 41, be past his prime and prey to constant problems with his knees.

It may be true that the only reason he is still playing at all is to chase those outstanding records But his fans don't care. Indeed, the Giants' box-office receipts depend in large measure on whether he is in the line-up for any given game. Outside San Francisco, he is widely viewed as a villain and a cheat whose place in the record books is an offence to the entire game; he is heckled and booed whenever he comes up to bat.Only in his home town does he continue to be revered as a hero. Over the past 19 years, he has worked to become one of the most consistently dangerous batters in the game, culminating in the fabled 2001 season, when he set the record for the most home runs - 73 - hit by a single player in one year.But Bonds is also mired in controversy over his alleged use of steroids, drugs which not only help a player build up muscle but also help sharpen precisely the kind of lightning- quick reflexes a home-run hitter needs. Only one other player, Hank Aaron, has ever hit more, and the chase is now on for Bonds to catch up with Aaron's 755 total.San Francisco's home-town newspaper, the Chronicle, summed up the local attitude yesterday with a headline that read: "Bye, Bye Babe." The implication was clear: the legend of the Great Bambino has finally been eclipsed.There's no doubt that Bonds is an extraordinary player. Ask a fan of the present-day San Francisco Giants, though, and you will get a very different response. The Giants' own home-run king, Barry Bonds, hit the 715th out-of-the-park ball of his career on Sunday, propelling him past Babe Ruth's benchmark record of 714.