Barry Bonds hit No. 69 on Saturday, but that wasn't the best part of the afternoon at PacBell Park. Bonds' daily homer is in danger of becoming as routine as the mail delivery, but probably not until after he hits No. 71.

The best part came when Tony Gwynn pinch-hit in the ninth inning. The Gwynn farewell tour has taken place under the Cal Ripken Jr. radar, which isn't even close to fair. The man is the best pure hitter of his generation, and he's probably the most refined student of the game since Ted Williams.

When Gwynn approached the batter's box, the crowd stood and cheered in a way they usually reserve for Bonds. And if you looked closely and trained your eyes toward left field, you would have seen Bonds, clapping unapologetically into his glove. Grace isn't normally a word that rushes to mind when the subject is Bonds, but there's no question this home-run chase -- and the attendant support he has received -- has softened the man.

No. 69 came off Chuck McElroy, who has been Bonds' arch-nemesis for quite some time. Bonds was 2 for 32 off McElroy before Saturday, and how many pitchers can say they're 30 of 32 in Bonds situations?

When McElroy was summoned to start the sixth inning, Bonds said he had one thought. "I thought my day was over," he said. To the contrary, it was only just beginning. The homer off McElroy gave the Giants a 2-1 lead, and as soon as the ball was fished out of McCovey Cove by an overboard kayaker apparently unaware of the toxicity of the Bay, the score served as a reminder that a pennant race remains intact.

Later, as the ovation for Gwynn subsided and Robb Nen stepped onto the mound, a guy in the lower boxes yelled, "Strike him out, Robb!"

With everyone, even Bonds, going all soft and gooey on an impossibly beautiful Saturday afternoon, the sentiment -- not to mention the timing -- was perfect.

E-mail Tim Keown at tim.keown@espnmag.com.