For the Record, Selig Approves

SAN FRANCISCO —  Commissioner Bud Selig said Sunday that he isn’t concerned about baseball’s ongoing offensive onslaught, and that the fact Barry Bonds is on the verge of a new home run record just three years after Mark McGwire shattered the 37-year-old record that Roger Maris set shouldn’t detract from Bonds’ feat.

“Whether these on-the-field accomplishments are occurring too frequently in some people’s guesstimation is the least of my concerns,” Selig said at Pacific Bell Park, where he was prepared to honor Bonds if the San Francisco left fielder had hit two home runs to break McGwire’s 1998 record of 70. Bonds, however, went hitless as the San Diego Padres defeated the Giants, 5-4. Selig now plans to be in Houston Tuesday night, when Bonds resumes the pursuit.

“What Barry is doing is stunningly remarkable,” Selig said. “And if it’s so easy, why is only Barry doing it? And that’s to his credit.”

Selig said he doesn’t necessarily subscribe to the theory that the players of this era are better, but acknowledged that they’re obviously “bigger and stronger,” and that so many conditions surrounding the game have changed that it’s impossible to make comparisons or allow those changes to detract from what current players are doing.

“The exploits of the players of this generation are truly remarkable and they should be given all the credit in the world,” he said. “I see in Barry the same grace and quiet resolve that Mark and Sammy [Sosa] displayed, and that’s added to the drama.”