Scottsdale, Ariz. – It beats a handshake or a hug.
Barry Bonds reintroduced himself to baseball, his San Francisco Giants teammates and a battery of fans gathered at Scottsdale Stadium on Tuesday by smoking a home run off fireballer Matt Cain on his second swing of spring training. The ball landed approximately 450 feet away on the right-field grassy hill.
“A ridiculous feat,” center fielder Dave Roberts said.
After the blast, Bonds took his best shots from the media in a news conference that began remarkably upbeat regarding his pursuit of Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record before quickly turning sour following repeated questions about his off-field legal issues.
Bonds sits 22 home runs shy of eclipsing Aaron’s 755 home runs, a hallowed record easily within reach given his leaner physique – he’s around 240 pounds this spring – and stronger right knee.
“Whatever is going to happen is going to happen. I am going to go out there and play baseball like I always have. Hopefully everything works out for us to win a championship. If the record gets in the way, it gets in the way,” Bonds said. “I haven’t thought about it yet because it’s still a ways away.”
Bonds, who promised to play until he was 100 years old, seemed unconcerned about how baseball will celebrate the event, if it celebrates. Commissioner Bud Selig has said little about the matter and has not committed to attending.
“That’s the whole media conversation,” Bonds said. “I don’t get involved in that.”
Bonds’ appearance reflected his mood. He was dressed fashionably in jeans, a long-sleeve brown shirt and sunglasses. That was in stark contrast to last year, when he slumped in front of reporters wearing a black, hooded sweat shirt. Bonds, bothered by knee and elbow injuries a year ago, hit 26 home runs in 367 at-bats, including 12 over the final two months.
Bonds said he was encouraged this spring because he was able to run during the offseason. “The knee isn’t bothering me and I am not fighting something with my elbow,” he said.
Even though his new one-year contract with the Giants does not allow his personal trainers to be on the team payroll or in the clubhouse, Bonds admitted he still works with them off site.
Watching from the seats behind home plate, general manager Brian Sabean said Bonds appeared more fit than a year ago.
“He wants to be out there as much as possible and that’s something (manager Bruce Bochy) will juggle,” Sabean said. “It was tough last year because he basically used the first half of the season to get in shape (because of the injuries).”
Bonds talked light-heartedly about his quest for the home run record, at one point saying he would drag it out to create anticipation and hype to give reporters something to write about. When told that the most home runs hit by a 42-year-old player is 18, Bonds turned serious: “I am capable of doing more than that.”
His answers grew more defiant when he was asked about remaining the target of the federal government nearly 3 1/2 years since the BALCO case opened. He said he wasn’t following the case in the press, but issued a surprising challenge.
“It doesn’t weigh on me at all. At all. It’s just you guys talking. Let them investigate. Let’ em,” Bonds said. “They’ve been doing it this long.”
Bonds declined to discuss a report that he tested positive for amphetamines last season and at the time fingered teammate Mark Sweeney. He was asked, then, why he publicly apologized to Sweeney, a former Rockie.
“I didn’t blame Sweeney,” Bonds said. “I only said anything because you guys just started talking about it and I thought it was unfair for him to be accused of something that wasn’t true.”
Bonds offered a “no comment” regarding attorney Troy Ellerman’s admission that he leaked grand jury testimony in the BALCO case. Ellerman made a plea deal and is headed to jail. And Bonds offered no insight on former trainer Greg Anderson, who remains in jail because of his involvement in BALCO.
“Thank you very much, you guys keep going over the same things,” Bonds said as the questions about BALCO increased.
With that, Bonds was quickly gone, like so many of his home runs.
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
Numbers suggest Bonds’ quest to pass Aaron will be a summer-long odyssey
Barry Bonds sits 22 home runs shy of breaking Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record of 755. National baseball writer Troy E. Renck looks at when history could be made based on the numbers:
At bats per home run 1998-2005: 8.2.
AB/HR last season: 14.1.
AB/HR last two months: 11.33.
Projected AB/HR this season: 12.
Record projected to be broken: On Aug. 15 at Atlanta, where Aaron works and where he broke Babe Ruth’s mark.
Rockies’ fans alert: Bonds makes his final visit to Coors Field this season Sept. 3-5, when he could still be closing in.
Father Time
Barry Bonds has made a career of defying age. He will have to continue mocking his birth certificate. Here’s the list of the most home runs by players in their “age 42” season, according to baseball-reference.com:
Player (HR-Year)
Carlton Fisk (18-1990)
Carl Yastrzemski (16-1982)
Andres Galarraga (12-2003)
Stan Musial (12-1963)
Darrell Evans (11-1989)
Hank Aaron (10-1976)
Dave Winfield (10-1994)
