Baseball is all about numbers, just like the stock market. Wall Street got all excited when the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke 14,000. Any day now Barry Bonds will be breaking the career home-run record set by Hank Aaron of 755. He only needs three more to reach 756.

Barry Bonds' last few years have been surrounded by controversy, from mistresses to steroids to anti-social behavior, as he has chased his destiny in pursuit of the home-run record. I will not dwell on any of these issues here as they have all been discussed in far greater detail than need be in every form of media.

I just got back from lunch at O'Brien's Pub where the subject came up (how could it not) and I was thinking about how I would end the story in grandeur if I was writing it. More importantly Hank and I (the bartender, not Aaron) were discussing what Bonds could do to create the perfect ending to this story and his career. Then it came to me -- Bonds should hit No. 755, shake hands with the umpire, his teammates and manager, wave to the fans, and simply walk off the field -- The Ultimate Walk-off Home Run.

Last night, Allan Kreda commented on how Barry Bonds' personal bottom line might fare if (when) he topples Hank Aaron's home-run record (he's currently 10 runs shy at 746). The controversial slugger is lacking in lucrative endorsement deals and facing hefty legal fees. Not that I feel too badly for the guy.

One group that is hoping to benefit as Bonds continues to chase the record is television broadcasters. Polarizing personality or not, Barry Bonds is keeping baseball fans interested in seeing a new entry in the record books (even if an asterisk is involved).

Walt Disney's (NYSE: DIS) ESPN is hoping to break into its normally scheduled programming whenever Bonds comes to bat once there is the potential to tie or break the record. News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) FOX is working with Major League Baseball to air an extra game (outside of its set broadcast schedule) when the record-breaking is imminent.

How much money would Barry Bonds be worth if he liked the media and the media liked him? That is the proverbial $64,000 question with the brawny outfielder just 10 home runs shy of Hank Aaron's career home run record of 755.

The 42-year-old Bonds has a one-year $16 million contract with the San Francisco Giants and if he has saved and invested well during his lucrative playing years, he should have no financial worries heading into his life after baseball. His career earnings dating back to his rookie season with Pittsburgh in 1986 are at least $172 million. But with potential legal bills mounting, Bonds is probably saving every penny he can. He still may be indicted by federal prosecutors on charges of perjury and he could be fined hefty amounts by the U.S. government in tax penalties.

With all this going on for the soon-to-be home run king, he's practically invisible on the endorsement front. Companies don't want to go anywhere near Bonds because of still unproven suspicions of steroid use. That and his general unfriendliness towards the media, and he really is alone on an island most days at the ballpark. But that didn't seem to bother him much this week as the Giants visited Shea Stadium and the New York Mets.

Bonds didn't even speak to the media before the first game of the series on Tuesday. The most intriguing aspect of the Bonds home run-record chase is how Aaron himself says he won't attend when the record is broken. And Commissioner Bud Selig has not confirmed whether he will attend either. Some way for baseball to treat its most hallowed record. The same Major League Baseball which clearly turned its collective heads the other way when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa (both bulked up beyond rational belief) were chasing Roger Maris' single season record of 61 in 1998. McGwire went on to hit 70 dingers that summer, a record Bonds surpassed with 73 in 2001.

Will Bonds ever reap the financial rewards of the record he's about to shatter? The answer, quite clearly, is no.