Barry Bonds pulled out of the World Baseball Classic on Monday, saying he didn’t want to risk an injury that could jeopardize what might be his final season with the San Francisco Giants.
He announced in late November that he planned to play for the United States and was included on the preliminary U.S. roster for the inaugural 16-nation tournament, scheduled for March 3-20.
“When my name was first announced for the WBC, my gut reaction was that I wanted to play. After much thought and discussion with my family I have decided to remove myself from the upcoming World Baseball Classic roster,” Bonds wrote on his Web site, http://www.barrybonds.com.
“After the announcement I received a lot of criticism as well as concern from fans and my family and friends. The obvious objections were about my health and whether or not I would be ready to play,” Bonds said. “In the end, I decided that I can’t take any chances that might jeopardize my season.”
The 41-year-old Bonds has 708 home runs, seven shy of topping Babe Ruth for second on the all-time home run list behind Henry Aaron’s 755.
