San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds claimed Monday that he could care less whether commissioner Bud Selig sees him break baseball's all-time home run record.
Bonds, 42, needs five homers to surpass Henry Aaron's mark of 755, which has stood since 1976.
Barry Bonds chats Monday with Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland.
(Eric Risberg/Associated Press)
But Aaron and Selig have distanced themselves from Bonds's pursuit of baseball's most cherished record, perhaps because he is alleged to have used performance-enhancing drugs.
"Does it matter to me?" Bonds asked reporters during batting practice for Tuesday's MLB all-star game at San Francisco's AT&T Park.
"I think it's just terrible the way it's gone down, that's all. That's up to Bud, it's not up to me.
"I'm going to do my thing anyway. I have to go out and play for my teammates.
"Bud is his own man and I respect him. Whether Bud shows up or doesn't show up, I'm going to still play."
Bonds's pursuit of Aaron's record is tainted because he remains the target of a U.S. federal grand jury investigating whether he committed perjury in 2003, when he reportedly testified that he never knowingly used steroids.
"I feel disappointed in some of those fans that were influenced by a third-party judgment and haven't [taken] the opportunity just to know me," Bonds said. "To judge me based on a third party, that's what disappoints me ... when, actually, I have done nothing wrong to you."
"I don't think it's fair," Minnesota Twins outfielder Torii Hunter said. "He hasn't been found guilty of anything.
"If you find something on him, then I'll be right there with you guys. But you haven't found anything.
"Hank Aaron should be there. Bud Selig should be there.
"This is big. They should celebrate it."
Doesn't blame Aaron
Whereas Selig is being harshly criticized for his silence on the matter, Aaron publicly stated that he will not follow Bonds. And Bonds doesn't blame the 74-year-old Hall of Famer one bit.
"Hank has a life, too," Bonds said. "You could go weeks.
"You expect this man to just travel all over this continent for weeks? It's just not fair to him. That's just all it's about.
"If you can predict what you're going to do and he can get there and, like, OK, bam, it's going to be this day and this time, that's a different scenario. Hank, if you want to stay home, stay home, brother."
Bonds will start in left field for the National League in Tuesday's all-star game, his 14th since breaking into the majors in 1986.
"I have pretty much had the opportunity to experience almost everything you can actually experience in the game of baseball," he said. "And I've also had the opportunity to experience it with one of the greatest baseball players to ever live in Willie Mays [his godfather] … I've lived a dream my whole entire life regardless of what anybody says."
Bonds, who set the single-season mark of 73 homers in 2001, is hitting .295 with 17 homers, 42 runs batted in, 46 runs scored and five stolen bases in 78 games this season.
The most prolific slugger of his generation, he is a lifetime .299 hitter with 751 HRs, 1,972 RBIs, 2,198 runs and 514 steals in 2,938 games over 22 MLB seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Giants.
He also tops all major leaguers with 2,517 career walks and has earned an unprecedented seven NL Most Valuable Player awards.
Asked the key to his success, Bonds replied: "Talent. I have it.
"I've always had it. I feel good and I feel happy."
With files from the Associated Press
