Bud Selig and Barry Bonds

Major League Baseball Comissionier Bud Selig has declared his intention to try to be present when Barry Bonds strips Hank Aaron of his record as the home run king.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Baseball commissioner Bud Selig will try to be there when Barry Bonds breaks Hank Aaron's career home run record, saying the San Francisco Giants star was "innocent until proven guilty."

"Throughout this season, I have watched Barry Bonds' pursuit of the home run record. Now that he is on the verge of tying the record, the time has come to announce that I will make every attempt to attend the record-setting moment," Selig said in a statement Tuesday.

"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, I will attend Barry Bonds' next games to observe his potential tying and breaking of the home run record, subject to my commitments to the Hall of Fame this weekend."

Selig will be in Cooperstown, N.Y., for Sunday's Hall of Fame induction ceremonies of Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr.

The Giants were happy to hear of the commissioner's plans.

"He should be here," Ray Durham said. "Hopefully Barry can put on a show for him."

I agree with Durham. Selig should be there when the monster he helped to create breaks baseball hero Hank Aaron's record.

Selig should be there to witness the disgrace that he allowed to swallow up the game.

He should be there to watch every wretched moment. He should be there to watch Bonds round the bases and render MLB's home run record worthless.

Selig should be there to take it all in.

In San Francisco, fans will be cheering; but elsewhere, some hearts will be breaking as Aaron's achievement is topped by the likes of Bonds.

Definitely. Selig must be there.

...As recently as last weekend, when Selig watched Bonds and the Giants play in Milwaukee, the commissioner said he remained undecided on whether to be in attendance when the record falls. Selig skipped the Giants' homestand opener on Monday against the Atlanta Braves.

The former owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, Selig has been friends for years with Aaron, who began his career in 1954 with the Milwaukee Braves and ended it in 1976 with the Brewers.

In 1974, commissioner Bowie Kuhn was criticized when he was not at the ballpark in Atlanta when Aaron hit his 715th home run to surpass Babe Ruth. Kuhn was at the game in Cincinnati when Aaron tied Ruth..

"Bottom line, Barry's good for the game," Barry Zito said. "People on the upper levels might not want to embrace that. But the way he draws people to the game is second to none."

Knowing what a class act Hank Aaron is, I doubt that he would criticize his friend Bud Selig for being there; but it has to be tough. It has to be tough because Bonds' record is a sham.

Innocent until proven guilty. Right. Blah, blah, blah.

Bonds hit at least a portion of his home runs while juiced. He chose his asterisk and the fans' wrath. He's no national treasure.

Had Bonds made different choices, I have no doubt that I would feel very differently about this. Even if Bonds is a jerk, he would have earned the record fairly.

When he chose to cheat, he determined his fate and his place in MLB history.

That said, I do have some sympathy for Bonds. Not much, just a little.

Bonds is not the only player to have cheated. In a way, Bonds is sort of a scapegoat for the fans' anger. Still, it was easier to dismiss the abuses of other cheaters because they didn't surpass Babe Ruth's record and weren't guaranteed to take the all-time home run record away from Hank Aaron.

I have no respect for Bonds or any of the others. Their stats are tainted and they have brought shame to themselves. That's bad enough.

The real problem is that Major League Baseball ALLOWED them to bring shame to the game, to tarnish its records, and worst of all, to diminish the accomplishments of the real heroes of baseball.

Robin Yount joined the 3,000 hits club because he was a great player, not because he was a cheater.

Hank Aaron hit 755 home runs in his career because of his talent and hard work and commitment, not because he relied on steroids.

There will always be cheaters, conscienceless people who don't care about playing by the rules.

But more than those losers, like Bonds, I'm angry with Bud Selig and others in authority. It was their responsibility to make sure that the cheaters were tossed out.

Instead, they betrayed the greats of the game. They betrayed the fans. By failing to put a stop to the abuse, in effect, they condoned it.

When Commissioner Fay Vincent resigned on September 7, 1992, Bud Selig was named Chairman of the Major League Executive Council, placing him in the position of overseeing the game. On July 9, 1998, Selig officially became the Commissioner.

While I think it should be noted that Selig deserves credit for the positive changes he brought to baseball during his tenure, he will be remembered as being the one who let Bonds and those of his ilk trample on the achievements of MLB's heroes.

That is not a proud legacy, Bud.