Bonds' 756 home run plaque missing at AT&T Park

[April 24, 2013]  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The commemorative plaque honoring home run king Barry Bonds' record 756th clout has gone missing from AT&T Park.

San Francisco Giants spokeswoman Staci Slaughter said Tuesday night that the reigning World Series champions are in the process of replacing the plaque, which hung on the brick facade inside the ballpark beneath the flag court area in right-center field until a few days ago. The team is investigating where the missing hardware might be, Slaughter said.

"We're in the process of replacing it," Slaughter said. "We're not sure what happened. We're reviewing video, but haven't found anything yet."

There is still white glue on the brick wall where the plaque used to be.

Bonds, the seven-time NL MVP, broke Hank Aaron's home run record on Aug. 7, 2007, at home in San Francisco. The slugger hasn't played since that season, finishing his 22-year major league career with 762 total home runs. He has been back to the ballpark as a fan in recent seasons, receiving standing ovations from the crowd that still cheers him despite allegations he used performance-enhancing drugs to fuel his pursuit of Aaron's mark.

Bonds has long denied ever knowingly using steroids or performance-enhancing drugs and the 48-year-old slugger appealed his obstruction of justice conviction from April 2011 on one count of giving an evasive answer to a 2003 grand jury investigating illegal steroids distribution. In February, a lawyer for Bonds urged a federal appeals court to toss out the slugger's obstruction of justice conviction, saying a rambling answer he gave while testifying before a grand jury in December 2003 was not a crime.

[Associated Press; By JANIE McCAULEY]

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