BAMAPHIN 22
FinHeaven Elite
Barry Bonds might get a telephone call from baseball commissioner Bud Selig instead of a handshake if the San Francisco Giants slugger breaks Hank Aaron's home run record. Selig wouldn't say Thursday whether he would attend any Giants games if and when Bonds closes in on the mark.
Selig insisted that Major League Baseball would celebrate Bonds' potential feat exactly as it does any other major milestone, such as a pitcher's 300th win. Last year, Selig telephoned San Diego closer Trevor Hoffman when he became the career saves leader.
Does he even want Bonds to pass the 755 homers of Aaron, who played his final two seasons in 1975 and '76 with the Selig-owned Milwaukee Brewers?
"It is a fact Hank Aaron and I have been friends for 50 years, close friends," Selig said. "When you're the commissioner, you just don't think about that. I have said before, if and when Barry Bonds breaks that record it will be handled the same way that every other record in baseball that's been broken was handled."
There has been wide speculation Selig would prefer that Bonds just retire now to avoid further scrutiny as the seven-time NL MVP pursues the mark of Hammerin' Hank. The 42-year-old Bonds, whose $15.8 million, one-year contract with the Giants remains unresolved less than a week before the team begins spring training, begins his 22nd major league season only 22 homers from passing Aaron and Bonds is healthier now than in recent seasons.
"This is a matter between the Giants and Barry," said Selig, who was treated to his favorite frozen custard dessert flown in from Milwaukee. "As far as I'm concerned, as long as things that are being done are in the best interest of the sport, whether it's contractual or anything else, I don't make those judgments."
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2861410
Selig insisted that Major League Baseball would celebrate Bonds' potential feat exactly as it does any other major milestone, such as a pitcher's 300th win. Last year, Selig telephoned San Diego closer Trevor Hoffman when he became the career saves leader.
Does he even want Bonds to pass the 755 homers of Aaron, who played his final two seasons in 1975 and '76 with the Selig-owned Milwaukee Brewers?
"It is a fact Hank Aaron and I have been friends for 50 years, close friends," Selig said. "When you're the commissioner, you just don't think about that. I have said before, if and when Barry Bonds breaks that record it will be handled the same way that every other record in baseball that's been broken was handled."
There has been wide speculation Selig would prefer that Bonds just retire now to avoid further scrutiny as the seven-time NL MVP pursues the mark of Hammerin' Hank. The 42-year-old Bonds, whose $15.8 million, one-year contract with the Giants remains unresolved less than a week before the team begins spring training, begins his 22nd major league season only 22 homers from passing Aaron and Bonds is healthier now than in recent seasons.
"This is a matter between the Giants and Barry," said Selig, who was treated to his favorite frozen custard dessert flown in from Milwaukee. "As far as I'm concerned, as long as things that are being done are in the best interest of the sport, whether it's contractual or anything else, I don't make those judgments."
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2861410
