SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants slugger Barry Bonds is considering donating some personal items like his batting helmet and wristbands to the National Baseball Hall of Fame from the at-bats when he hits homers 755 and 756 to tie and pass Hank Aaron on Major League Baseball's all-time list.
In addition, Bonds said, he has "boxes and boxes" of artifacts from his 22-year career that he will donate to the baseball shrine nestled in Cooperstown, N.Y., when he quits the game, although right now there's no timetable for his retirement.
"All I want is the shoes, the bat, the jersey and the pants, and they can have everything else," Bonds told MLB.com about the historic blasts. "But I don't want to jump the gun about something that hasn't happened yet. It's something that will be considered. There's nothing that won't be considered. This is not a big issue. The Hall of Fame has never made it a big issue. They've always been respectful and there's no reason for them not to be now. We haven't even talked face-to-face about it yet."
That should change this week. An official of the Hall of Fame is expected at AT&T Park to meet with Bonds during the remainder of this nine-game homestand, perhaps as early as Tuesday. Bonds is currently sitting on 749 homers, six behind the Hammer. He has 15 on the season.
Officials of the Hall have been hoping to talk directly with Bonds for weeks, particularly before the crush of national media descends on the chase. The Giants said the media contingent will greatly balloon when Bonds reaches 752.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization that isn't directly affiliated with Major League Baseball, although Commissioner Bud Selig is a member of its board of directors. Part of the Hall's charge is to safeguard the traditions and great moments that make the sport as cherished as it is within the walls of its red-brick museum.
There are 280 players, managers, umpires, owners, commissioners and front-office personnel enshrined in the Hall, which will induct the latest honorees -- Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. -- on July 29.
As far as Bonds is concerned, the Hall is anxious to "preserve and present" his accomplishments, said Jeff Idelson, the Hall's vice president of communications and education.
"Barry's a guy who is very cognizant of his place in baseball history and the significant impact he has had on the game," he said. "Over the course of his career he's been generous to us in Cooperstown, which in turn gives fans everywhere a glimpse into how he fits into the landscape of baseball history. We always work closely and collectively with players to be sure they feel the items they donate properly represent the milestone they have achieved, not only today, but 10, 20, 50 and 100 years from now."
There was some consternation among officials about Bonds' latest milestone because the Hall didn't receive any personal items from the left fielder last year when he tied and passed Babe Ruth to go into second place on the all-time list. Instead, the Hall has put on display home plate from Oakland's McAfee Coliseum when Bonds hit No. 714 on May 20, 2006, plus first base and the lineup card from the game at AT&T Park when he blasted No. 715 eight days later.
According to Bonds, there's good reason for that. Many of the personal items from his career are on display in his Beverly Hills, Calif., home, where he has a wall honoring each of his landmark homers.
"They're in cubicle things along the wall," Bonds said. "From each home run -- the shoes, the bats, the jersey and the pants -- they just go down the row. There's spaces right there for 755 and 756. I'll look at it for a while and I'll get tired of it. Eventually they're going to probably get all that, too. I'll just tell them to paint the wall and everything can go."
As far as what else he plans to donate in the future, Bonds said he has already told officials from the Hall that he intends to turn over much of the items in his personal archives, which are stored in a local warehouse. Idelson said that he had a videotape of Bonds on file making that statement.
"I've got a ton of stuff from my career that's going to go to the Hall of Fame when it's time," Bonds said. "I've got a ton of stuff that I know my kids don't want anyway -- great stuff like home run bats that are going to go. They're all [authenticated] by MLB. So there should be no problem there. Everything's legit."
MLB.com