From William C. Rhoden in The New York Times:
[Bonds] was intentionally walked in the seventh inning in his last at-bat and finished the game with 201 [walks for the season]. There was nothing strategic about the decision. It had nothing to do with winning the game. [Diamondback’s manager] Pedrique’s primary objective was saving face.
Bonds walked. And walked. And walked. After the game, Pedrique told reporters that he didn’t want Nos. 699 and 700 to happen on his watch.
“I’m going to be honest; I don’t want him to do it here at home,” Pedrique said. “I’m sorry for the fans. I’m sorry for baseball. But that’s the way it is.
“In this game, you have to have a lot of pride. And the way this year has gone for us, this would be the last thing that we need.”
Selig was as stunned by those remarks as I was. “That comment deserves further scrutiny,” he said.
On Sunday, Bonds hit his 699th homer, but only after reliever Mike Koplove shook off Pedrique, who ordered him not to throw Bonds a strike. Koplove threw a fastball that Bonds hit off the center-field scoreboard.
And guess what? The franchise is still standing, Pedrique is still the manager. Did Pedrique think he’d be run out of town because Bonds hit a home run “here at home”?
I’d be more inclined to fire him because he was timid. He insinuates that his team is fragile, but striking out Bonds would do more to lift the Diamondbacks’ confidence than a Bonds home run would do to ruin it.
Pitching around Bonds is smart in certain situations. Everyone knows that. But Arizona walked him six times in the series. At one point, the Diamondbacks walked him while trailing by six runs.
Whatever Bonds is taking or was taking, I want some. The home run mentioned above hit the scoreboard 460 feet from home plate and bounced back onto center-field.