By The Heckler
Baseball Big Mouth
baseball blog     

Apparently, America’s pastime wants no part of one of the pillars of its “democratic” society: Barry Bonds has been found guilty without a trial. Just ask Bud Selig. Or better yet, go ask Hank Aaron – who has gone on record as saying he wants no part of being in attendance if – and when – Bonds shatters his now MLB-record 755 homeruns.

“Uh-uh. No, no. I’m not going to be around,” Aaron was quoted Tuesday in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’d probably fly to West Palm Beach to play golf. 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.”

Oh, don’t worry Hank, The Heckler already has: Hank Aaron should be ashamed of himself. Flat-out. No excuses. As torch-bearer to one of sports greatest records, he should be there when Bonds is set to break his record. It’s historic, and as holder of the record, he should be there to pass the torch – regardless of what has been said or rumored or insinuated about Bonds. Nothing has been proven.He is still playing the game. He is still hitting home runs. And for better or worse? He will (in all likelihood) break the record sometime this summer. Hank Aaron should be there to witness it.

Lest anyone have any sympathy for Aaron, let is also be added that he pointed out he wouldn’t even travel in his own city to see Bonds possibly break the record – the San Francisco Giants play the Braves in Atlanta between August 14-16 – and how arrogant is that? Bonds, for his part – after reportedly asking Selig a number of times why Aaron hasn’t contacted him as he nears the record (sitting just 20 shy) – has taken the high road. Aaron, however, couldn’t resist answering as to why he hasn’t talked with Barry.

“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. I’m 72 years old, and I’m not hopping on a plane and flying all the way to San Francisco for anybody.”

“He has every right to do what he wants to do. I respect that,” Bonds countered, showing remarkable restraint. “There’s no reason for me to be disappointed. If he has other plans, other things to do, I respect that. He’s his own man. He can do what he wants to do. I respect that. No hard feelings.”

Meanwhile, fans outside of San Francisco continue to dog Bonds about the steroid controversy, with Bonds simply taking it in stride. “Why? Why should it bother me?” said Bonds prior to his first road game of the year. ”People come to the game to have fun, you’ve got hecklers out there, you know, it’s been in baseball forever. It’s going to be out there long after I’m gone. So you know what, you can have fun with it, you can (let it) go in one ear and out the other, or you can get sensitive and let it affect you. It doesn’t. It doesn’t affect anything I do on that field. Because I’ve got a job to do no matter what.”

So does Hank Aaron. It involves most-likely a plane and a box seat. Baseball deserves it.

REMINDER: When clicking around the games tonight, don’t forget about the first MLB confrontation between Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Red Sox and Seattle’s Ichiro – arguably Japan’s two biggest stars. The two have not met since before the 2001 season in their home country (when Ichiro left for America) and the match-up is creating buzz clear across the Pacific. To add to the intrigue, Matsuzaka is making his Fenway Park debut. For those without the MLB Extra Innings package on their cable of satellite system, MLB.com is offering a free trial of their online service – where fans (out of market) can watch the game for free. Check out BaseballChannel.TV for more details.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 11th, 2007 at 9:23 am and is filed under Baseball News and Views, Heckles All Around. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.