ATLANTA -- Hank Aaron's team paid tribute to baseball's new
home run king Tuesday night, though the Hammer wasn't at Turner
Field to congratulate Barry Bonds in person.
Before the opener of a three-game series against the Giants, the
Braves replayed the videotaped message from Aaron that was shown in
San Francisco last week after Bonds hit his 756th homer.
Aaron, a senior vice president with the Braves, was not at the
game. The team said he headed out of town Tuesday and would not
return to Atlanta until after the series.
Bonds watched Aaron's tribute from the dugout and waved to the
crowd when he was shown on the giant video board in center field.
But the new record holder got a mixed reception from Braves'
fans, many of whom still consider Aaron's 755 homers to be the
legitimate mark because of allegations that Bonds used
performance-enhancing drugs.
As Bonds trotted out to left field in the bottom half of the
first, several fans held up signs deriding his accomplishment.
"Bonds who?" one of them said.
"I guess cheats do win," said another.
But some fans gave Bonds a standing ovation, and he acknowledged
the smattering of cheers by tipping his cap.
One man brought out a sign that said simply, "Thank you
Barry."
The 43-year-old Bonds came into the game with 758 homers and
said he hopes to play at least one more season. That would give him
a shot at 3,000 hits and a chance to put a little distance on home
run pursuers such as Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees, who
recently hit the 500th of his career and is far ahead of Bonds'
pace at the same age.
Before the game, Bonds stretched out on a leather couch in the
visiting clubhouse, seemingly oblivious to a television show
playing right in front of him. The subject: Where will he be
playing in 2008?
Bonds declined to speak with reporters, sending word through a
Giants spokesman that he was tired of talking after doing
interviews before and after a doubleheader in Pittsburgh the
previous day.