San Diego Padre announcer Ted Leitner may be in a jam. Barry Bonds, stuck at home run #754 or one behind Hank Aaron, invade the Padres home park for a 3 game series this weekend. Leitner wants nothing to do with Bonds record home run(s), should they exit the Padres stadium. The North County Times caught up with Leitner:
"I say, 'Please, God. Not here. Not me,' " said Leitner, who is in his 28th season as a radio play-by-play voice of the Padres. "I don't want this guy to break the record on my watch."
Ouch. But Leitner adds perhaps the strongest words to date form a professional concerning Bonds:
"I have no enthusiasm, no desire whatsoever for this because I have eyes. No one does what he does in his 40s without some help," Leitner said in reference to persistent rumors that Bonds' late-career home-run binge has been fueled by steroid use. "Give me a break. This is a bastardization of history.
"Everybody hates this guy. He's booed everywhere he goes. And how dare he say the fans boo him because he's talented. The commissioner of baseball (Bud Selig) said the only reason he'll follow Barry is because in this country you're innocent until proven guilty. The writers who cover him hate him. Even his mistress turned on him.
"Vin Scully, the ultra-professional Dodgers announcer, said last year that he didn't want to be the one to call the record breaker."
How will Leitner call the famous Bonds home run, should it be hammered against San Diego?
Still, if fate puts Leitner behind the microphone for the call, he plans to be professional...
"I will be straight and factual. I'll be as professional as I can, but I don't know about voice inflection."...
"The writers ---- and I know you guys hate him, too ---- can write the facts," Leitner said. "Your writing doesn't have voice inflection. You write and record the facts, and your readers don't see a like or dislike. Broadcasting is different.
"My call will be different if he hits it with no one out and no one on in the third as opposed to ---- God forbid ---- a game-winning grand slam in the ninth. I don't want to throw my partners under the bus, but I hope they're on duty if he hits it here this weekend."
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