By Alex Trickett BBC Sport Online

The World Series between the Giants and the Angels begins on 19 October.

Barry Bonds is being mentioned in the same breath as baseball greats Ty Cobb and Ted Williams a lot at the moment.

In general, this is no bad thing - the three men stand alongside Babe Ruth as some of the best hitters to ever grace the game.

But, at this time of year, such comparisons remind Bonds of the one thing missing from his career CV.

The Giants slugger, like Cobb and Williams, has never landed a World Series title.

And, at 38 years of age, this year's Fall Classic - against upstart AL rivals Anaheim - may be his last chance to put the record right.

Bonds plays it cool with the press, with whom he has always had a difficult relationship.

"My legacy will be what it is regardless," he said after the Giants clinched the National League pennant on Monday.

But, make no mistake, the powerful left-fielder would love to get his hands on a winner's ring.

To do so would mean a lot to the "first family" of baseball.

Bonds' dad, Bobby, failed to win MLB's biggest prize during a long and successful career.

And his godfather, the legendary Willie Mays, made only a handful of appearances at the season finale.

Their experiences suggest the need to seize any World Series moment.

But Bonds Jr may be forgiven for feeling destiny is on his side.

After toiling away for 17 seasons without a sniff of a title, his moment comes on the back of two monstrous batting years.

San Francisco's number 25 hit an incredible 73 regular-season home runs in 2001, to shatter Mark McGwire's big league record.

This term, he batted a life-time best .370, adding 110 RBIs and another MVP award for good measure.