Bonds isn’t in Aaron’s plans
Hank Aaron doesn’t plan to be at the ballpark if and when Barry Bonds breaks his home run record.
“Uh-uh. No, no. I’m not going to be around,” Aaron was quoted as saying in Tuesday’s editions of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Bonds has 735 homers, 20 short of Aaron’s career record.
Aaron said he wouldn’t attend if Bonds were within reach of the record when the San Francisco Giants play at Atlanta from Aug. 14-16.
“I’d probably fly to West Palm Beach to play golf,” Aaron was quoted as saying. “Again, it has nothing to do with anybody, other than I had enough of it. I don’t want to be around that sort of thing anymore. I just want to be at peace with myself. I don’t want to answer questions. It’s going to be a no-win situation for me anyway. If I go, people are going to say, ‘Well, he went because of this.’ If I don’t go, they’ll say whatever. I’ll just let them make their own mind up.”
Aaron said baseball commissioner Bud Selig has told him that Bonds has asked several times why Aaron hasn’t contacted him as he approaches the homer record.
“I don’t talk to anybody, really, and I’ve never talked to Barry, outside of that commercial we did together a few years ago, and a few other short times,” Aaron was quoted as saying. “I’m 72 years old, and I’m not hopping on a plane and flying all the way to San Francisco for anybody.”
Speaking before Tuesday’s game in San Diego, Bonds said he wasn’t bothered by Aaron’s stance.
“He has every right to do what he wants to do. I respect that,” Bonds said. “There’s no reason for me to be disappointed. If he has other plans, I respect that. He’s his own man. He can do what he wants to do. No hard feelings.”
•A former Giants trainer testified in San Francisco before the federal grand jury investigating steroid use in sports, a sign the top prosecutor’s firing did not derail the probe of Bonds.
Mark Letendre, 50, told the AP that he testified for about an hour on Feb. 14.
“It was all pretty vanilla,” Letendre said. “I’m pretty far removed from it.”
Clearing the bases
The Boston Red Sox activated reliever Mike Timlin from the 15-day disabled list and optioned reliever Javier Lopez to Triple-A Pawtucket. … San Diego Padres pitcher Chris Young agreed to a $14.5 million, four-year contract. … New York Mets reliever Duaner Sanchez had shoulder surgery and is expected to begin his rehabilitation within two months. … The Baltimore Orioles placed outfielder Jay Payton on the 15-day DL with a strained left hamstring. … The Texas Rangers purchased the contract of right-handed pitcher Jamey Wright. … The Los Angeles Dodgers placed outfielder Matt Kemp on the 15-day DL because of an injured right shoulder and recalled reliever Chin-hui Tsao from Triple-A Las Vegas.