SAN FRANCISCO -- Baseball's leading home run hitter this
season thinks it would be a shame if Barry Bonds is not an
All-Star.
"One hundred percent. I think the game needs it," Alex
Rodriguez said Friday when asked if Bonds deserved to be on the NL
All-Star team next month in San Francisco. "I think it would be
good for the game. This is not popular for a lot of people but
Barry Bonds is probably the greatest player who has ever put on a
uniform. He's awesome."
Rodriguez and Bonds made a rare appearance on the field together
in an interleague matchup between the New York Yankees and Giants.
Bonds hit his 749th career home run but the Yankees won the game
7-3 behind four hits and two RBIs from Rodriguez.
Rodriguez said it's exciting to get to play against Bonds, a
player whose swing he compared to Picasso. Rodriguez said he's been
friends with Bonds since the two were teammates on a Major League
Baseball tour of Japan in 1996.
Rodriguez downplayed any talk that he could be the next player
most likely to break the career home run record or that he could
break the season mark of 73 that Bonds set in 2001. Rodriguez has
27 home runs, which puts him on a pace for 62 this season.
He also has 491 career home runs and does not turn 32 until July
27 -- the fastest pace of any player in history. Bonds is now just
six homers shy of tying Hank Aaron's mark of 755.
"I'm not worried about that," Rodriguez said. "I'm concerned
about winning a game tonight. It's hard to think about individual
things when you desperately want to win. The other thing is I got
to this point by not thinking about myself and thinking about the
team. This is Barry's time, not my time."
Even though this is Bonds' time, his place in the All-Star game
to be held in his home park is not certain. He was fourth in the
latest vote totals among NL outfielders, about 120,000 votes behind
Alfonso Soriano for the final starting spot.
The other players will vote for some of the backups and manager
Tony La Russa will select the rest. Bonds has four homers in his
last 100 at-bats after hitting 11 in his first 76.
His accomplishments have also been clouded by allegations of
steroid use, but Rodriguez said that does not change his opinion of
him.
"His numbers are mind boggling," Rodriguez said. "If you see
some of those numbers he had going back five, six, seven years ago,
those numbers are Babe Ruth-like, if not better. There's no one
comparable in the game. The game has never seen such a unique
talent, such a disciplined hitter with power."
Rodriguez's place in the All-Star game July 10 is all but
assured. He leads players in votes and admits it would be
meaningful to win that race after all the questions about his
personal life and his ability to cope in New York.
"I won't lie to you, it would be pretty cool," he said. "With
all the scrutiny and stuff it would be a very humbling thing. ...
I've been close a few times. To be No. 1 would be special.
Rodriguez said he won't be in the Home Run Derby on July 9, even
though he leads the majors in home runs. He said he looks forward
to watching the other sluggers participate and is willing to help
out as analyst but not as a hitter.
"I've never been good at it for one," Rodriguez said. "I'm
going to enjoy watching it this year. I'll have a good seat. I've
worked hard on my swing and I definitely don't want anything to get
in the way of that."
Rodriguez could choose to opt out of the final three years of
his contract after the season and many Giants fans are hoping he
does and comes to San Francisco and replace Bonds as the face of
the franchise.
Questions about that are still a long way away but Rodriguez did
talk glowingly about the city.
"I love the stadium, I love where it is in the city and I love
the vibe in the city," he said. "It's like a West Coast New York,
except with better weather in the summer time."