Spoken like the true jerk you are Balco Boy...
=====================================
Bonds might not donate prized items to Hall of Fame
Associated Press
Updated: May 29, 2007, 8:55 AM ET
NEW YORK -- As Barry Bonds nears his record 756th home run, he's stockpiling quite a collection of souvenirs -- bats, balls, helmets and spikes, pieces of baseball history perfectly suited for the Hall of Fame.
While it's not surprising that Barry Bonds doesn't want to share his mementos with the Hall of Fame, hopefully someone close to Bonds will convince him to change his mind, Buster Olney writes.
Whether he'll donate any of them to Cooperstown, however, is in doubt.
"I'm not worried about the Hall," the San Francisco slugger said during a recent homer drought. "I take care of me."
No wonder those at the museum are getting concerned, especially with Bonds only 10 homers shy of breaking Hank Aaron's career mark.
"There's uncertainty," Hall vice president Jeff Idelson acknowledged.
Around 35,000 artifacts are shown and stored at the shrine, and about a dozen pertain to Bonds.
There is a bat from his rookie year and cleats from him becoming the first player in the 400-homer/400-steal club. Unsolicited, he sent the bat and ball from his 2,000th hit. A batting practice bat from the 2002 World Series was the last thing Bonds provided.
"Doesn't everybody have the right to decide to do it or not do it?" he said last week.
The most prized items, the ones that fans would really want to see, are missing.
Nothing directly from Bonds to highlight his 500th home run. Ditto for homers 714 and 715, when he tied and passed Babe Ruth. Same for anything tied to him topping Mark McGwire's single-season total of 70.
Hall president Dale Petroskey went to visit Bonds at spring training last year, and instead walked smack into his reality show. The Giants talked to Bonds this year, and hope he'll be in a giving mood as the big moment comes and goes.
So far, Bonds has not indicated he intends to share any Aaron-related memorabilia.
A Hall representative plans to follow Bonds once he gets within a few home runs of Aaron's 755. Idelson has collected treasures for Cooperstown for more than a dozen years.
"Barry is very cognizant of his place in baseball history and we'll try to work closely with him to assure him that how this milestone is represented meets his expectations and ours," Idelson said.
"You need artifacts from the player to do that," he said. "A cap, bat or jersey, anything can tie a visitor to a specific event."
Aaron, who has said he will not attend the record-breaker, is well-documented at the Hall. There are 40 assorted items from his career; Ruth is remembered with more than 30.
The Hall does have the home plate from Bonds' 714th homer and first base and the lineup card from No. 715 -- those came from ballparks, not him.
Bonds has been generous with teammates and opponents. He recently signed a guitar that Giants pitcher Barry Zito gave to charity and autographed a bat for Houston's Craig Biggio. He's also given some of his own things to charity.
Bonds is careful with personal items related to his home run pursuit. He makes certain that hats, jerseys and other things he wears are authenticated, and he keeps them in a warehouse.
He marks them, he said, "so people don't steal my stuff." By his count, he's already able to take care of his next three-plus generations.
Whether that memorabilia shows up on his personal Web site or in Cooperstown remains to be seen. He opted out of Major League Baseball's licensing agreement before the 2004 season, and some of his gear is auctioned off on MLB's Web site -- on Monday, bidding topped $10,000 for a Bonds-signed Giants jersey.
Also to be determined is whether Bonds himself is inducted into the Hall. If he does make it, that could be his first trip to the red-bricked building on Main Street.
Bonds becomes eligible for election five years after his final game, and there's no telling how steroid allegations will affect his vote total.
The Hall is independent of MLB and the word "steroid" does not appear inside the shrine.
"There's not a lot you can say about it," Idelson said. "As the story plays out, we'll address it."
