Bonds Leaves Giants to Visit His Ill Father

Barry Bonds left the San Francisco Giants Thursday and headed back to the Bay Area to spend time with his ailing father. He was officially placed on baseball’s bereavement list.

The Giants hope their left fielder, who leads the majors with 37 home runs, can rejoin them Tuesday when they play Atlanta at Pacific Bell Park.

Former major leaguer Bobby Bonds has been ill with lung cancer and numerous other ailments. Last month, Barry Bonds missed a game to be with his father when he had open-heart surgery.

In early June, Bobby Bonds was receiving oxygen to fight pneumonia and spent some time in the hospital. He underwent surgery on a brain tumor in April.

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Commissioner Bud Selig acknowledged at the owner’s meetings in Boston that baseball is unlikely to repeat the experiment that had the Montreal Expos playing home games in both Montreal and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The Expos moved 22 of their home games to San Juan this season, a setup that had players complaining about the long road trips and the difficulty of getting settled in either place.

The player’s union said last month it would oppose plans to play another split home season. That opposition appears insurmountable.

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The All-Star game will return to Detroit in 2005 for the first time since 1971.

The announcement did not come as a surprise because Selig said last year that the Tigers were “a prime candidate” to host the game.

From Associated Press