LOS ANGELES -- The fans threw a baseball at The Man Who Would Be King at one point, a cup of soda at him at another point, occasionally jeered him about a seven-year-old divorce and chanted "Barry sucks! Barry sucks!" throughout the game.

The Bonds Watch

Up to bat First inning, against lefty starter Terry Mulholland. One out, runner on first. Strike, ball, ball, popout to first base. Third inning, against Mulholland. Two out, none on. Mostly breaking balls. Ball, strike, ball, foul, single to right. Fifth inning, against Mulholland. Two out, none on. Foul, strike, ball, ball, ball, ball -- walk. Seventh inning, against Tim Worrell. Two out, runner on second base. Intentional walk. Ninth inning, against closer Jeff Shaw. None out, runner on second base. Mostly fastballs. Strike, ball, ball, strike, foul, ball, ball - walk. Overheard "I'm rooting for when you guys aren't around me all the time." Bonds, when asked whether he was hoping to break McGwire's record at home this weekend: Around the ballpark Bonds was 4-for-35 with one homer at Dodger Stadium this season. The Dodgers walked Bonds seven times in the three-game series and Wednesday's three walks give Bonds 162 this season, tying the National League record set by Mark McGwire in 1998. The night also lifted his on-base percentage above .500 with an .837 slugging percentage. The man is having an amazing season. And by the way Bonds scored the go-ahead run in the ninth inning and the Giants rallied three times to beat the Dodgers in a game they needed to win to keep pace with first-place Arizona. The Giants trailed 1-0, 3-1 and 4-3 before finally ahead with three runs in the top of the ninth inning. San Francisco is 1.5 behind Arizona with nine games to play, none against the Diamondbacks. The Dodgers are 4.5 back with nine to play, including three against Arizona. Keeping an eye on Rickey The home run record isn't the only one close to falling. San Diego's Rickey Henderson is just one run shy of the all-time runs record which has stood for more than 70 years. He may get the record -- and reach 3,000 hits -- this weekend when the Oakland native plays in San Francisco against the Giants. Bonds said he keeps close track of Henderson's pursuit. "I've known Rickey forever, since I don't know when," Bonds said. "I have to think how long he's been playing and work backward. When I was in college (at Arizona State), we used to hang out a lot." Up next Off-day Thursday. Friday, vs. San Diego, in San Francisco. RHP Jason Middlebrook is San Diego's scheduled starter. Bonds is 2-for-2 with two home runs vs. Middlebrook this season.

Did Mark McGwire ever endure this sort of abuse on his way to 70 home runs?

While Big Mac and Sammy Sosa enjoyed a Summer of Love when they chased the home run record, Barry Bonds receives somewhat different treatment. There is some general apathy (no home run charts atop the morning papers, no group hugs and no Maris kids), some open hostility on the road and some occasionally conflicting reactions. Fans on the road boo Bonds when he steps to the plate, but if he is intentionally walked -- as he was in the seventh inning Wednesday night -- they boo the pitcher.

"It just shows that some guys like to boo," Giants manager Dusty Baker said after Bonds went homerless and his team rallied three times to beat the Dodgers 6-4 Wednesday night.

The fans also cheer Bonds when he hits home runs, even when it costs their team a victory, as it did here Monday night. So if they don't exactly root for him, they at least appreciate what he is doing

Mostly though, they booed him at Dodger Stadium, where no Giant is ever welcomed. Which is another indication fans have a different attitude toward Bonds than they did McGwire. The Cubs and Cardinals are longtime rivals as well, yet I don't remember the fans at Wrigley Field singing choruses of "McGwire sucks! McGwire sucks!"

Unlike many players, Bonds takes notice of the booing fans, though it isn't clear whether they bother him or whether he enjoys the attention. When they jeered him Wednesday night, he frequently turned around to look back at his taunters.

"It wasn't until this year that he started doing that," said good-natured Dodgers fan Montse Osorio. "He's supposed to be a 15-year veteran and not let it get to him. But when he does that, the crowd just feeds off it. We just do it more when he recognizes that we're picking on him."

Bonds declined to speculate on the fans, saying it was "just important that we won."

Osorio and his girl friend, Monica Macias, wore Giants jerseys with the team logo crossed out and replaced by L.A. logos. They sat directly behind Bonds in the bleachers and called themselves the Anti-Barry Committee.

"Al-i-mo-ny," Macias yelled at Bonds.

"That one seems to bother him," Osorio said.

Bonds also had his supporters, though. Sprinkled throughout the bleachers were hardy Giants fans wearing their team's colors and withstanding the abuse. "I almost got kicked out last night," Gerald Balbalac said, wearing a Giants shirt and cap. "I'm here to cheer Barry, win or lose."

Wednesday's game was the final one at Dodger Stadium this season. The two teams meet again next weekend in San Francisco in a makeup series of the one postponed the weekend after Sept. 11.

Osorio said that he had planned to go to San Francisco with a group of 12 for the Dodgers-Giants series to root against Bonds, but that everyone backed out due to the chaos and travel worries after Sept. 11.

That would have been a lot of effort and money just to root against one person.

"That's the whole point," Osorio said.

Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com.