San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds waves to fans while taking left field against the San Diego Padres in his final game for the club in San Francisco on Wednesday night. The Padres won 11-3. - AP

SAN FRANCISCO, (Reuters):

BARRY BONDS played his last game for the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night, bidding farewell to fans who stuck by him through a doping scandal and cheered as he became Major League Baseball's home run king .

The night game with the San Diego Padres did not stop to honour Bonds, in his 22nd Major League season, but after leaving the game in the seventh inning he stepped on to the field of AT&T Park to a standing ovation and thanked Giants fans.

Bonds was hitless for the night but he brought Giants fans to their feet in the sixth inning by striking a long fly ball that fell just before the centrefield wall. It was caught for an out and ended the inning. The Padres won the game 11-3.

MLB.com reported on Wednesday that Giants manager Bruce Bochy said he had written Bonds's name on the team's line-up card for the final time.

Bonds, 43, will leave the Giants at the end of this season, an emotional parting for the biggest name in baseball and the club's management, which aims to rebuild a struggling team. The Giants are in last place in the National League West.

Mixed feelings

Giants fan Andrea Salmond of San Francisco had mixed feelings attending the final game for Bonds, who has been with the Giants for 15 seasons.

"The downside is we're going to miss a great player," Salmond said. "On the other hand, it's time for a new era."

That new era includes the Giants moving on from the alleged steroid use by Bonds. "You wonder if that hasn't put a mark on the team," Salmond said.

Earlier on Wednesday, fashion designer Marc Ecko said he would put a symbolic mark on Bonds' historic record-breaking home run ball after paying more than US$750,000 for it.

Ecko said he would permanently brand the ball with an asterisk before shipping it to baseball's Hall of Fame. The asterisk represents the belief by many baseball fans that Bonds may not have been truthful in denying steroid use.

Bonds made baseball history with his 756th homer, topping Hank Aaron's Major League Baseball record, in the Giants' game against the Washington Nationals on August 7. The accomplishment was surrounded by controversy, as Bonds remains under investigation as to whether he lied about past steroid use to a grand jury in the BALCO sports doping case.

Giants owner Peter McGowan has said the BALCO case did not influence the club's decision to part ways with Bonds, and the slugger hopes to stay in the game with another team and to win a World Series championship ring.