SAN FRANCISCO -- Baseball commissioner Bud Selig was at home
watching Barry Bonds and the Giants play when he decided he needed
to be at the ballpark to see San Francisco slugger break Hank
Aaron's career home run record.
Selig arrived in San Francisco on Tuesday, and said he'll try
and be present when Bonds passes Aaron. In a statement earlier in
the day, Selig said he decided to attend "out of respect for the
tradition of this game, the magnitude of the record, and the fact
that all citizens in this country are innocent until proven
guilty."
"It's a huge moment in baseball history," Selig said as the
Giants played the Atlanta Braves. "It just struck me this was the
appropriate time. Really, it's no more involved than that.
"I'm confident in my decision," he added. "I think it was the
right thing for me to be here, and I'm here."
Selig does plan to leave Friday for Cooperstown, N.Y., where
he'll attend Sunday's Hall of Fame induction ceremonies of Tony
Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. But he said he'll rejoin the Giants
afterward if Bonds still is chasing the record.
"Chances are yes, I probably would," Selig said.
Selig didn't commit to being part of any on-field celebrations,
saying that was up to the Giants organization. He also said he has
not talked to Bonds, and does not plan to.
"I try not to talk to players period during the course of the
season," Selig said. "Unless they've acted badly."
Bonds, who turned 43 on Tuesday, has been dogged for years by
suspicions that he used performance-enhancing drugs. But he's never
tested positive, and has said he's never knowingly taken steroids
or any other drugs.
He began Tuesday with 753 homers, two shy of the record.
"Everyone has to make their own judgment," Selig said. "I'm
just here to watch it."
Bonds didn't speak before the game, but his teammates were happy
that Selig will be on hand to see Aaron's record fall.
As recently as last weekend, when Selig watched Bonds and the
Giants play in Milwaukee, the commissioner said he remained
undecided on whether to be in attendance when the record falls.
Selig skipped the Giants' homestand opener on Monday, watching the
game from his home in Milwaukee instead.
But he arrived just before gametime Tuesday, and watched from a
box on the broadcast level of the press box with Giants executive
vice president Larry Baer. Team owner Peter Magowan joined them
later.
"It's a prestigious record, it's hard not to be there," Steve
Kline said. "It would contradict his words on someone being
innocent until proven guilty. They've been after him for a while.
If he's found guilty, they can do something different then. Right
now, he's about to be the new home run king."
The former owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, Selig has been
friends for years with Aaron, who began his career in 1954 with the
Milwaukee Braves and ended it in 1976 with the Brewers.
In 1974, commissioner Bowie Kuhn was criticized when he was not
at the ballpark in Atlanta when Aaron hit his 715th home run to
surpass Babe Ruth. Kuhn was at the game in Cincinnati when Aaron
tied Ruth.
"Bottom line, Barry's good for the game," Barry Zito said.
"People on the upper levels might not want to embrace that. But
the way he draws people to the game is second to none."
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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum in New York and AP Sports Writer
Janie McCauley in San Francisco contributed to this report.