That’s Bud as in Bud Selig.
The Commissioner of baseball was missing in action when Barry Bonds broke Henry Aaron’s long standing career home run record.
The entire home run chase was a PR mess for Major League Baseball. Earlier the Commissioner had attended a few games and was on-hand to witness Bonds tieing the record. Unfortunately Selig appeared almost disinterested as cameras were fixed upon him and his reaction.
Selig could have at least clapped, smiled or something.
Too bad this had to be replayed on various media outlets, adding more controversy to the growing steroid mess and rift between MLB and the Giants’ slugger.
Sure Selig has a close relationship with Aaron. Of course most people realize Bonds used some kind of performance enhancing drugs. Still if Selig is going to attend a few games why not be on-hand for all of them until Barry breaks the record.
The anointment of a new home run king is still a major achievement. From what I’ve read injecting steroids in and of itself doesn’t help you improve your coordination, improve your coverage of the strike zone or adjust to off-speed pitches. It does give you the apparent energy to make yourself bigger and stronger. Enough to turn 385 foot track-dying fly balls into 420 foot majestic home runs? Probably.
Still Bonds is a great hitter, one of the best if not the best of all time. In a period when pitchers were attempting to walk him or throw him a bunch of “junk” in nearly every at bat, the slugger was still able to make solid contact, hit for a high average, achieve a remarkable on-base percentage, and eventually break the all time home run record.
Major League Baseball is making money by selling Bonds related record breaking home run merchandise. Couldn’t its chief executive at least be on-hand to witness and applaud the event?
