Aaron absent from Bonds ceremony

ATLANTA -- Hank Aaron’s team paid tribute to baseball’s new home-run king Tuesday night, but Aaron wasn’t at Turner Field to congratulate Barry Bonds in person.

Before the opener of a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants, the Atlanta Braves replayed the videotaped message from Aaron that was shown in San Francisco last week after Bonds hit his 756th homer.

Aaron, a senior vice president with the Braves, was not at the game. The team said he headed out of town Tuesday and would not return to Atlanta until after the series.

Bonds watched Aaron’s tribute from the dugout and waved to the crowd when he was shown on the giant video board in center field.

But the new record holder got a mixed reception from Braves fans, many of whom still consider Aaron’s 755 homers to be the legitimate mark because of allegations that Bonds used performance-enhancing drugs.

The Braves rallied to win, 5-4.