SAN FRANCISCO -- Had only Ted Williams been able to suit up (even at age 83, he could probably hit .300), the three greatest left fielders in history would have been in the lineup over the weekend in San Francisco.

	Rickey Henderson and Barry Bonds are good friends, and some think with similar attributes toward others.

Playing left field for San Francisco was Barry Bonds. He has won three MVP awards and should have won two others. He is close to becoming the first player with 500 career home runs and 500 stolen bases. He could finish with more home runs than his godfather, Willie Mays. He's won eight Gold Glove awards.

Playing left for San Diego was Rickey Henderson. He was the MVP in 1990, the year before he broke Lou Brock's record for most career stolen bases. He broke Babe Ruth's record for career walks earlier this season. Only Ty Cobb has scored more runs.

And here Barry and Rickey are, both on the verge of breaking two of baseball's most important records. After getting only one pitch to swing at Sunday, Barry is one home run shy of Mark McGwire's single-season record. After not scoring all weekend, Rickey is one run shy of Cobb's career record.

Yet, when baseball announced its All-Century Team two years ago, neither was on the roster. Finishing 17th and 18th in the balloting, they didn't even receive as many votes as Carl Yastrzemski.

Much of that, of course, is their own fault. The All-Century Team was largely a popularity contest (Nolan Ryan received more votes than any other pitcher) and both Bonds and Henderson have alienated fans over the years.

Rickey has been baseball's most notorious hot dog for two decades and set the record for the game's largest ego when he broke the stolen base mark and ungraciously declared, "I am the greatest," with Brock watching from the stands. As a writer once said, Rickey refers to himself in the third person and thinks of himself in the first.

Bonds has been difficult with fans, media and teammates alike throughout his career and he'll never live down asking for a reduction in his child support payments during the 1994-95 strike.

"I think there's no question that Barry has said some things or done some things that people just aren't going to forget," Tony Gwynn said. "I've talked to him, but Barry is Barry, and for you guys who cover him, you know what I'm talking about. He's going to do things the way that he sees fit."

Barry disagreed, saying Gwynn "never had the opportunity to play with me on a day-to-day basis. I think a lot of times, what you read could weigh into that comment, but I never said anything negative toward fans in my lifetime. I've never written a newspaper (story) in my entire lifetime. I've been misquoted a lot of times during my lifetime."

It isn't just his reputation with fans and the media, though. He also is not the best-liked player among teammates. When Jeff Kent homered to tie the game Saturday, Bonds did not get off the bench to congratulate him. He and Kent aren't close -- Kent took some shots at Bonds in a recent Sports Illustrated story -- but c'mon. The Giants are in the last week of a pennant race, so when Bonds reacts that way, it just adds to his reputation.

Rickey, meanwhile, will never live down reports that he played cards during the Mets' final loss in the 1999 playoffs (he still denies it) and he walked himself out of New York last year when he pouted over his role with the club. On the other hand, he got along very well with the Mariners when Seattle signed him and Gwynn says he's been a positive influence with the Padres this year.

Once asked what type of teammate Rickey was, former Oakland catcher Terry Steinbach replied it all depended on when you asked the question.

Rickey and Barry. Barry and Rickey. "We never got our due and we're never going to get our due until it's all over with, probably because of the controversy around us," Rickey said.

"Barry is an outstanding player, but you hear so much about him -- and I'm in the same boat -- that he's such a bad guy. But he's really not a bad guy. He's very competitive in the game of baseball and when guys are more competitive, they come off as moody. But it's because we're so competitive. That's why he's had success and I've had success."

Rickey and Barry. They have much in common beyond their accomplishments at the same position. They grew up in the Bay Area. They are friends. They even hung out together when Barry was at Arizona State and Rickey spent spring training in Phoenix.

"He talks about that, but did he tell you he took all my music?" Rickey said. "I'd go back to Oakland and he'd have all my tapes and he just kept them. I had a little R&B, a little jazz. He might have taken Barry White. It was a mix. He took all the tapes.

"And I was his favorite ballplayer. I have his ASU book and in the back it says I'm his favorite player. That's when he was a young guy."

When Rickey was a young guy in the Bay Area, his favorite player was Willie Mays. Now, he and Barry are both older and they are obviously their own favorite players.

Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com.