Baltimore ? Barry Bonds hit his 715th home run on May 28 and headlines all over the country blared the news.

“Bye-bye, Babe.”

Bonds’ blast moved him into second place on the all-time home-run chart, leaving only Hank Aaron ahead of him.

Suddenly, for the first time since 1921, Babe Ruth was not first or second on the career powerball list.

But bye-bye, Babe? Never.

This month marks the 58th anniversary of Ruth’s death. In the passing years, countless ballplayers have come and gone. Some have taken down Ruth’s records. Some have broken through barriers and had great societal impact.

But all these years later, it is doubtful that there has ever been a more fascinating character to walk the American sporting landscape than the homely kid from the Baltimore orphanage who, to this day, remains the nation’s most storied sporting icon.

The 2006 baseball season, like the 1974 season, has seemingly brought Ruth alive again.

In 1974, Aaron passed Ruth to become the all-time home-run leader.

Earlier this season, Bonds passed Ruth.

Both events touched off essays, books and other remembrances of the Bambino.

“Bonds’ accomplishment has definitely spiked awareness of the Babe,” Gregg Wilhelm said. “A new generation is sharing in Babe Ruth’s story.”

Wilhelm was standing inside a tiny brick rowhouse at 216 Emory St., around the corner from Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles. This is where George Herman Ruth was born on Feb. 6, 1895, on an 11-degree day. The home was turned into the Babe Ruth Museum in 1974. Wilhelm is the communications director for the museum, as well as Baltimore’s new Sports Legends Museum, which opened in the old train station outside center field of the ballpark last year.

Ruth was far from perfect, but then again, who is perfect? Certainly not the man who recently moved past him on the all-time home-run chart, but this story isn’t about science and steroids and who is the greatest home-run hitter of them all. Really, there’s room to appreciate them all – Aaron, Ruth and even Bonds.

Ruth crammed a lot of living into 53 years, and not all of it is pretty. You’ve heard the tales. He never forgot his time at St. Mary’s Industrial School, Baltimore’s home for hard-luck and incorrigible boys. He was good to kids. He was always the life of the party.

On the imperfect side, he drank too much, ate too much and took pride in his belching. He drove too fast and crashed too many cars, one on Route 1 in Delaware County. He was an unfaithful husband.

He drove his managers crazy with his petulance and penchant for late nights. But they certainly loved him when he was pitching shutouts early in his career and producing runs after picking up a bat full time.

Ruth, in some ways, was way before his time. He had a little Terrell Owens in him. He held out in contract disputes and threatened to retire. It is believed that he was the first athlete to use a business agent, a publicity agent and a personal trainer when the hot dogs and beer caused his waistline to bulge. He appeared in movies and got big endorsement deals. He was the Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan of his time.

The 2006 baseball season has seen Babe Ruth drop to third on the all-time home-run chart. But his impact on the game, and on American sport and culture, remains secure.

Bye-bye, Babe? Never.