Bonds won’t be back with Giants in ’08

SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds is finished in San Francisco.

The Giants told Bonds they will not bring him back next season, ending a 15-year run in which he set the single-season and all-time home run records and became a lightning rod for the steroids debate in baseball.

“It’s always difficult to say goodbye,” Giants owner Peter Magowan said Friday. “It’s an emotional time for me. We’ve been through a lot together these 15 years. A lot of good things have happened. Unfortunately a lot of bad things have happened. But there comes a time when you have to go in a different direction.”

On his website, Bonds said he wasn’t done.

“There is more baseball in me and I plan on continuing my career. My quest for a World Series ring continues,” he said.

The 43-year-old Bonds did not join Magowan and General Manager Brian Sabean at the news conference. Asked whether he had anything to add, Bonds said, “I already made my statement.”

Bonds hasn’t played since Sept. 15 because of a sprained right big toe and was out of the lineup again. Manager Bruce Bochy said he thought Bonds could play this weekend. The Giants’ final homestand ends Wednesday night and their season ends next weekend in Dodger Stadium.

Magowan said he and Sabean recently decided about Bonds’ future. Magowan personally told Bonds in a 90-minute meeting during Thursday night’s game against Cincinnati.

“I think he knew the decision was coming,” Magowan said. “I don’t think it was surprising to him. I think, naturally, he was disappointed, maybe somewhat saddened. But he was really very respectful.”

Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s record with his 756th home run on Aug. 7. Bonds helped revitalize a struggling franchise that nearly moved to Florida before he signed with the Giants as a free agent in December 1992.

Bonds has spent the past 15 seasons of his 22-year big league career with the Giants.