MILWAUKEE (AP) -Commissioner Bud Selig didn’t even have to leave his own backyard to catch Barry Bonds’ chase for the home run record.
The San Francisco slugger was two home runs from tying Hank Aaron’s career mark of 755 on Friday, the 31st anniversary of the Hammer’s final career shot – and Selig said he plans to attend all three of the Giants’ upcoming games in Milwaukee unless Bonds is not in the Giants’ starting lineup.
“It’s here, and I felt that it was the right thing for the commissioner to do,” Selig said.
The Giants opened their three-game weekend series against the Brewers at Miller Park on Friday, a short drive from the commissioner’s downtown office.
Bonds is in the lineup for Friday’s game. He will likely sit out Saturday afternoon’s contest following a night game and play on Sunday.
The Selig family relinquished control of the Brewers before the 2005 season when Los Angeles-based investor Mark Attanasio became the principal owner of the ballclub in a $223 million deal. But Selig still has a luxury box at Miller Park and was present during the Giants’ last visit to the ballpark in June.
Until Friday, Selig hadn’t said publicly whether he planned to be in the stands as Bonds approached the 33-year-old record belonging to Aaron, a close friend of the commissioner who began and ended his career in Milwaukee. Selig and Aaron spoke by telephone on Friday.
Bonds hit two homers Thursday against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, saying afterward that it wouldn’t make any difference if he tied or broke the record in the city where Aaron hit the majority of his homers.
“It doesn’t mean anything different than anywhere else,” Bonds said Thursday. “Right now, I just feel good. My body feels great. I feel rejuvenated a little bit. Maybe I’m going to take three more days off and come back.”
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AP freelance writer Mark Kass contributed to this story.
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