Selig Offers No Guarantee of Attending Bonds's Record-Setter

SAN FRANCISCO, July 24 -- A special guest flew in from Milwaukee in time for Barry Bonds's 43rd birthday Tuesday night, though apparently Bud Selig, in a blatant flouting of proper manners, arrived without a gift for the host of honor. Given all the speculation and angst over whether he would show his face at any San Francisco Giants games this week, it would be understandable if Selig felt as if his mere presence were enough to carry the day.

However, unlike the fans in AT&T Park's left field bleachers who serenaded Bonds with a rousing version of "Happy Birthday" before the top of the first inning Tuesday night, or the majority of fans who rose and cheered before his first at-bat -- drawing a doff of the batting helmet from Bonds -- Selig was in no celebratory mood. In an impromptu mid-game news conference, Selig made clear that his presence was more perfunctory than personal.

"I don't let my personal feelings enter [into] what I think is in the best interest of baseball," Selig said. "If those interests transcend my personal feelings, that's what I'll do."

Still, Selig's lack of party spirit threw no more cold water on Bonds's birthday than did several other developments Tuesday, among them: The Giants' 7-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves, which took 13 innings to complete -- with Bonds in left field and Selig in the box of Giants owner Peter Magowan for all 13; Bonds's 1-for-6, homerless night, which left the slugger stuck at 753 home runs, two shy of Hank Aaron's all-time record; the revelation that Kimberly Bell, Bonds's alleged former mistress, was telling her story to Playboy; and the news that HBO is airing an interview with a chemist who says Bonds used steroids.

Nor did Selig's trip to San Francisco completely resolve the question of whether the commissioner will be in attendance when Bonds breaks Aaron's record, since Selig is committed to departing Saturday for Cooperstown, N.Y. to attend Sunday's induction of Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn into the Hall of Fame -- and there are absolutely no indications Bonds will hit numbers 754, 755 and 756 before then.

In a statement Tuesday afternoon explaining his decision, Selig vowed to attend "out of respect for the tradition of this game, the magnitude of the record, and the fact that all citizens in this country are innocent until proven guilty" -- the last phrase a noteworthy one, since Bonds has not been formally charged with anything.

As for the birthday boy himself, Bonds arrived at the Giants' clubhouse at 4:40 p.m., as his teammates were already on the field stretching. He was carrying a blue gift bag of unknown origins, and was accompanied by son Nikolai, who was carrying a bouquet of metallic "Happy Birthday" balloons.

Though Bonds once again ignored the swelling media pack that charts, films and photographs his every move, he told MLB.com in a telephone interview Tuesday that Selig's presence is "a nice birthday present. . . .This just supports my respect for [Selig]. It's nice to be recognized by Major League Baseball for this."

But if Bonds believes Selig's presence is a full endorsement of the legitimacy of his record, he has not been paying close enough attention. In both his actions and his words, Selig has done his best to distance himself from Bonds the man, while recognizing -- grudgingly--the impact of the moment.

Selig has danced around the question of legitimacy and the question of whether he would participate in an on-field ceremony for Bonds after 756. He also said he has no plans to try to speak to Bonds during his four days in San Francisco, and he brushed off a question of whether 756 would be good for baseball.

"I don't want to get into that," he said Tuesday night." . . . Everybody has to make their own judgments, and they?ll come to whatever judgments they want to make."

No one threw any furniture in the swimming pool, the honoree kept all his clothes on and the cops didn't show up, but in every other way it may have been the worst birthday party ever.