Ruth’s daughter prepared for Bonds
Julia Ruth Stevens sits in her favorite chair in her tiny, pale pink living room in Sun City, Ariz., and happily shares details about more than a dozen pictures of her famous father hanging on every wall.
Lately, Stevens hears his name – she simply refers to Babe Ruth as “Daddy” – mentioned almost daily on the news, now that San Francisco slugger Barry Bonds is closing in on Ruth’s home run mark.
“It doesn’t matter what the record is, I don’t think there is anybody who is going to take Daddy’s place,” she said. “He was special. Daddy said records were made to be broken. It’s the first person who people remember. …
“As long as there is baseball, Daddy’s name is always going to be mentioned. He was one of a kind.”
Bonds entered Wednesday’s game at San Diego with 708 home runs, seven shy of passing Ruth. Even though Hank Aaron holds the all-time record of 755 home runs, there is still something magical about the Babe’s 714.
“If you ask the average person, the average person probably knows 714 more than 755 – 714 kind of rhymes I guess,” said Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker, Bonds’ former skipper in San Francisco. “But 755 is the record.”
Stevens, 88 and legally blind for 30 years, respectfully doesn’t want to be part of celebrating Bonds’ achievement whenever it might happen. She hasn’t spoken directly to the team.
“I would say ‘Thank you for the invitation. I just don’t feel I could do it,’ ” she said. “That is not a negative thing and that’s not taking anything from Barry Bonds. I do not want them to think, ‘She’s a poor sport,’ because it’s OK with me.”
Griffey passes Mantle
Ken Griffey Jr. passed Mickey Mantle with his 537th career homer, taking over sole possession of 12th place on the career list.
The Cincinnati Reds star led off the fifth inning with his first homer of the season. His drive off Jerome Williams was the third of the day off the Cubs’ staff – Bronson Arroyo and Rich Aurilia already had homered.
The homer also gave Griffey 1,538 career RBIs, breaking his tie with Joe DiMaggio for 31st on the career list.
Klesko ponders surgery
San Diego Padres first baseman Ryan Klesko is debating whether to have surgery on his strained left shoulder, which forced him to start the season on the disabled list.
“This early in the season, you don’t want to panic,” Klesko said before a night’s game against the San Francisco Giants. “I’m doing some soul searching, trying to figure out what I’m going to do. Do I want to play healthy for three months or ride this out?”
Klesko said he’ll talk with the team’s medical staff, his family and manager Bruce Bochy before deciding if he should have surgery, which could sideline him for two to four months.
Pavano resumes throwing
New York Yankees right-hander Carl Pavano threw at the club’s Tampa training complex for the first time since he bruised his buttocks last week during an exhibition game.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Dr. Robert Watkins, the back specialist who conducted tests on Pavano, saw nothing seriously wrong with the injury-plagued pitcher’s results. If Pavano’s physical therapy continues successfully, he could rejoin the Yankees for further rehabilitation next week.
Wells set for minor league start
David Wells, Boston’s 42-year-old left-hander back from off-season knee surgery, will join the Pawtucket Red Sox for a start Friday night. His first outing for Boston is scheduled for Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park, the first time the Red Sox need a fifth starter.
Stadium plan clears hurdle
Plans for a new ballpark for the Yankees moved forward when the City Council approved several key aspects of the planned $800 million stadium.
The 45-2 vote cleared the way for some of the team’s land-use plans, including a takeover of two public parks as a site for the 53,000-seat stadium, which would be built adjacent to the current ballpark in the Bronx.