Selig handling Bonds clumsily
Posted: Sunday, August 05, 2007 10:29 PM
I’ll give Bud Selig credit for being in the park when Barry Bonds tied Hank Aaron, and I’ll double that for saying that either he or someone from his office will attempt to be on hand when the BALCO Bomber breaks the record.
But after spending most of his life in the game, can’t he deliver a simple statement in public?
After Bonds hit No. 755 in San Diego, Selig didn’t address either the media or Bonds. He sat and watched and then sent out a press release. This is how it began:
“Congratulations to Barry Bonds as he ties Major League Baseball’s home run record. No matter what anybody thinks of the controversy surrounding this event, Mr. Bonds’ achievement is noteworthy and remarkable.”
Not satisfied with that numbing display or lawyerly pap, he added: “As I said previously, out of respect for the tradition of the game, the magnitude of the record and the fact that all citizens in this country are innocent until proven guilty, either I or a representative of my office will attend the next few games and make every attempt to observe the breaking of the all-time home run record.”
If anyone – including Selig – thinks for a moment these are his actual words, I’ve got some ocean-front property to sell you in Kansas. I’d call it lame, except it’s not even that good.
It’s not even accurate. The statement says he or a representative will “make every attempt,” but it says that right after saying someone from baseball would attend the “next few games.”
So if it takes eight or 10 games, which qualifies as a “few” only if you’re telling your wife how many beers you had with the guys or how many dollars you lost playing poker, he’s saying there may be no one there. And that’s hardly making every effort.
I don’t blame Selig for not wanting to schlep around the country watching a guy you think cheated against the game for the next two weeks, if that’s what it takes. But he committed to doing what I think is the right thing – recognizing a milestone. And it’s hardly a matter of extraordinary effort to either be there himself or have someone from his office there, even if it takes the rest of the summer.
Selig is not a bad person; those who know him well speak of him as a fine man with the best interests of the game at heart. I’ve never seen him do anything to suggest he doesn’t love baseball. He may be ham-handed at times, and he may lack the public relations skills of a barnacle, but he does care about the game.
But caring about the game doesn’t always equate to doing the right thing. To witness a milestone and then send a press release to the man who achieved it is as bad as not witnessing it at all. And to throw in that innocent until proven guilty line is just clumsy. If he means “we think Barry cheated, but we can’t prove it, so he gets the benefit of the doubt,” then that’s what he should say. Using the language he does suggests Bonds is guilty of something that wasn’t even against baseball’s rules when he supposedly did it.
When is Selig going to admit that? When is he going to say, “I’ve got to hand it to Mr. Bonds” – Mr. Bonds???? – “he took advantage of the fact we neglected to outlaw steroids in the game, and was gracious enough to allow us to fawn over him when he hit 73 home runs and we said it was a great thing he did. He may have had more juice in him than a Minute Maid factory, but so did everyone else. And even if he did, we allowed it.
“The fault, fans, is with this office – and the players association. No one else.”
