PHOENIX — Commissioner Bud Selig withheld commenting Saturday night on the latest news regarding Barry Bonds, saying he would keep to himself any personal feelings he has about the sluggers' quest for the career home run record.
Selig, who has a home in nearby Scottsdale, met with reporters at the Houston-Arizona game and was asked about reports this week that a grand jury is investigating whether Bonds lied when he testified to a grand jury in the BALCO case in 2003 that he never knowingly used steroids.
"It's inappropriate for me to comment," Selig said, "and frankly there is nothing for me to comment on right now. Obviously grand jury testimony is supposed to be secret. It will be what it will be. I'm sure Sen. Mitchell and his staff are monitoring everything very closely."
Selig has appointed former Sen. George Mitchell to lead an investigation of steroid use in baseball in recent years. The commissioner emphasized that the probe was not solely about Bonds.
"As I said the day we announced it, and I say it again today, (Mitchell) was told he can go anywhere he wants wherever things take him, and he will," Selig said. "It will be a very wide-ranging, comprehensive investigation."
Selig was asked if he believed Bonds' drive for the career home run record was tainted by all the steroids talk.
"I have my own feelings on the subject," he said, "but I think I'll let people make their own judgments."