SAN FRANCISCO -- Each October, the monkey weighed a little heavier, his grip a little tighter and his attitude a little more brazen. After five previous postseason disasters, the monkey was so firmly in residence upon Barry Bonds' back that he installed a swinging tire, Direct TV and TiVo.

Bonds finally delivered the eviction notice Monday in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series. Continuing a very productive postseason, Bonds drove in the game-tying run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning and was one of the first players off the bench when David Bell scored the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth. After 17 seasons, four (soon to be five) MVP Awards and 613 home runs, the greatest player of our generation is going to the World Series.

	In his 17th season in the big leagues, Barry Bonds celebrates his first trip to the World Series with Kenny Lofton.

As soon as Bell slid home with the winning run, Bonds raced onto the field with a smile as wide as the Golden Gate Bridge, hugged teammates and generally behaved like any other player who had just won the pennant.

"I'm no different than anyone," Bonds said. "Everyone wants to go to the World Series."

Finally, now he is. And a certain animal must look for a new residence (we hear there's a vacancy in Oakland), even if Bonds wouldn't acknowledge the two ever shared the same address.

"I didn't have a monkey on my back," Bonds said. "That's just what you media people say."

Sorry, Barry. You're right. Our mistake. You're the best player in the game and eventually may be the all-time home run king, but you're right. Just because you had played 16 previous seasons without reaching the World Series while hitting .196 in five previous postseasons did not mean there was a monkey on your back.

Although it sure looked real enough for Jane Goodall to teach it sign language.

Whether the little guy ever existed or not, he definitely is gone now. Bonds has had a very productive postseason. He hit three home runs in the Division Series, including a Game 5 blast that helped clinch the series. That game marked the third time Bonds' team went the distance with Atlanta in the postseason but the first time his team won. "Once I got past Atlanta, the ghosts of my past were gone."

	Barry Bonds Left Field San Francisco Giants Profile
	2002 POSTSEASON STATISTICS AB HR RBI R BB AVG 28 4 10 10 14 .286

Perhaps, but there still was the matter of being The Greatest Player Who Never Played In The World Series. And Bonds helped shed the dubious title against St. Louis. The Cardinals alternated between pitching to Bonds and walking him, and neither approach worked particularly well. Bonds hit .273 with a home run, six RBI, five runs, 10 walks and a .727 on-base percentage.

"He doesn't have to hit a home run," Giants shortstop Rich Aurilia said. "He can get on on a walk. He can drive in a run with a sacrifice fly."

No, Bonds didn't send any pitches sailing into McCovey Cove in Game 5. He didn't turn any bleacher fans into lawsuit-filing collectors. He didn't even get a hit. He just made a difference. Perhaps the difference.

He flied to left in the second inning, flied out again in the fourth and drew an intentional walk in the sixth. But St. Louis pitcher Matt Morris didn't have any place to put him after hitting Jeff Kent to load the bases with one out in the eighth and the Cardinals clinging to a 1-0 lead.

"That might have been the loudest hit by pitch in history," Aurilia said. "The place erupted when Barry stepped to the plate."

The fans roared even louder when Bonds sent a pitch into deep left-center. It died short of the fence, but went far enough to score Kenny Lofton to tie the game.

"I was pretty confident then," Bell said.

He had good reason to feel that way. One inning later, Lofton singled Bell home to win the game and send Bonds and company sprinting onto the field.

Bonds was the first player to reach Lofton and he gave him a big hug. He was so excited he even sprayed champagne at fans during a celebration on the field. Later, however, he slipped into Barry-mode and wandered the field. He was amid his teammates and the celebrating fans -- whenever someone asked him to pose for a photo, he did -- but he also was distinctly apart from everyone else. As usual.

"I think he got really excited and then he caught himself," Aurilia said. "I think he's excited as anyone even if he'll tell you different."

He ought to be. After 17 years, the godson of Willie Mays is finally going to the event where all great players deserve to shine.

"I'm satisfied with what we've accomplished but I don't want this to be the end of it," Bonds said. "Thanks (fans) for coming. But it's not over yet. We still have a lot to say in the World Series. It's been a great party but it's not over."

And then Bonds turned away again and looked to the stands, searching for someone. Or something. It was hard to say. Perhaps he had been searching for the World Series for so long he still had trouble believing it finally was in his grasp.

Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com.