Posted at 1:31 a.m., Sunday, July 22, 2007
Baseball: Like it or not, Selig must acknowledge Bonds
By Larry Stone
The Seattle Times
Namely, no one knows precisely when Bonds will connect for his epic homer. This is not like Cal Ripken's consecutive-games record, where the magic moment could be pinpointed on the calendar.
No, anyone signing on for Bonds' chase — media included — runs the risk of being held hostage, possibly for weeks, as poor Lou Brock was when he gamely followed Rickey Henderson around the league as he (slowly) pursued his stolen-base record in 1991.
Consider that Bonds hit his 10th homer this year on May 5, and his 11th on May 27 — a span of more than three weeks. No. 12 didn't come until June 11, another 15-day wait.
It would be unseemly, it seems to me, for the commissioner to possibly traipse around the country waiting for 756. As he told the Baseball Writers' Association of America during their All-Star Game meeting, "I do have a day job."
Yes, the Giants begin a seven-game homestand on Monday, but what if Selig attends every game, and Bonds is still short of Aaron?
A more pertinent question was asked at that BBWAA meeting by a San Francisco Chronicle reporter; namely, whether Selig would commit to attending a special ceremony honoring Bonds in San Francisco after the record had been achieved.
Selig evaded the question, but I think we're onto something. That would be a more dignified way for Selig to recognize a record he clearly dreads — but which is "the most hallowed record in all of American sports," to use the commissioner's own words. And like it or not, it's going in the record books. Selig needs to grit his teeth and shake Bonds' hand.
