Bonds homer No. 762: The ball is still in play
On a damp evening in September at Denver’s Coors Field, Barry Bonds, Major League Baseball’s career home run leader, hit No. 762 into the seats in left-center field.
If he never hits another, that ball could be worth $1 million, according to memorabilia experts.
Once it turns up.
No one has seen the historic ball since the unidentified fan who got it disappeared into the night. Presuming it resurfaces, it must be authenticated -- no automatic feat because Major League Baseball had stopped marking balls pitched to Bonds after he passed the previous record holder, Hank Aaron, earlier last season.
And, of course, Bonds -- who is currently out of baseball and under the cloud of federal indictments on perjury and obstruction of justice charges stemming from the BALCO steroid investigation -- must not add to his total. (The San Francisco Giants decided not to re-sign him after the season, and no other club has offered the 43-year-old outfielder a contract.)
Not much was made of the home run in Denver at the time.
It was only Sept. 5, more than three weeks before the end of the season and four weeks -- and six homers -- since Bonds had hit the all-time record-breaker.
No. 762 came on a 99-mph fastball from Colorado Rockies right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez, the ball barely clearing an outfield barrier. Colorado outfielder Matt Holliday contended the ball wouldn’t have been a home run without the aid of a fan who leaned over the barrier, a baseball glove on his outstretched hand, and snared it. Holliday lost that argument because he had pulled up short of the barrier, defeating his case for interference.
“Who would have thought he wouldn’t hit another one?” said David Kohler, president of SCP Auctions, a leading sports memorabilia firm. “I wasn’t as excited about No. 756 because, as soon as he hit another home run, that was the record. But now, this would be the record.”
Who ultimately wound up with the prize souvenir is unclear because a video of the homer shows another fan struggling with the person whose glove initially snared the ball.
Kohler, who predicts a $1-million selling price, is not just sitting around waiting for the ball to reappear. “We are trying to find it,” he said, refusing to elaborate on his search operation.
Kohler sold Bonds’ No. 700 ball for $102,000, No. 755 for $186,750, as well as No. 756. (Fashion designer Mark Ecko bought that ball at auction for $752,467, then conducted an Internet poll to decide its fate, drawing millions of votes. The public’s command: Mark the ball with an asterisk, meant to suggest a steroids-tainted record, and ship it to the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, N.Y. It has not been received, a Hall of Fame spokesman said.)
Todd McFarlane, an entertainment-industry figure who created the “Spawn” empire and a renowned collector, says he would spend up to $1 million to get No. 762.
“That seems to be the figure people are using, even though only one ball has gone for that much or more,” McFarlane said, referring to Mark McGwire’s then-season record 70th homer in 1998.
McFarlane purchased McGwire’s ball for $3 million, only to see Bonds surpass the mark three years later.
So when Bonds broke the season record in 2001, McFarlane purchased his 73rd home run ball for $517,500. He also spent $150,000 for Sammy Sosa’s 66th home run in 1998.
“When I bought McGwire’s 70th,” McFarlane said, “I thought I’d have a good 40-year run, as was the case with Roger Maris’ 61st home run [in 1961]. Three years later, I had to go after another ball. It’s not a great conversation opener when you tell people you’ve got the No. 2 all-time, single-season ball.”
McFarlane isn’t concerned that No. 762 might soon join McGwire’s ball in also-ran status.
“Eventually, A-Rod [Alex Rodriguez] or someone else will start closing in on it,” McFarlane said. “But for now, what 714 [Babe Ruth’s final home run] and 755 [Aaron] were to previous generations, 762 will be to this generation.”
So where is No. 762?
It is assumed the holder is waiting to see whether this is indeed Bonds’ final home run.
“I’m sure he, or she, is thinking, ‘Please, please, don’t sign with any club,’ ” McFarlane said. “This person has got gold in hand, which could easily turn to bronze or metal if Bonds hits another home run.
“McGwire hit two home runs that final day of 1998. No. 70 went for $3 million, his 69th for $75,000, a little bit of a precipitous drop. Imagine holding No. 69 that day and watching the rest of the game.”
Record-breaking home runs are easily chronicled.
The moment is obvious, the attention intense. The final home run of a superstar career can only be appreciated and valued in retrospect.
Ruth’s final home run was the last of three he hit on May 25, 1935, at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field. Forty years old, in his only season with the Boston Braves, his 22nd season in the big leagues, Ruth retired five days later.
The final home-run ball sailed over the right-field fence and, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, was last seen with a group of local kids in hot pursuit.
The ball was subsequently donated to the Hall of Fame by Henry “Wiggy” DeOrio, believed to be one of those youngsters.
Eleven years later, while on vacation in Mexico, Ruth was allegedly paid $10,000 to either put on a batting exhibition or for one at-bat for the Veracruz Blues in a Mexican League game, depending on who is telling the story.
The ball, supposedly hit into the seats by the 51-year-old Ruth, was subsequently signed by him and survived a flood before being auctioned last year for $7,170.
There is no question about Aaron’s final home run. No. 755 was hit on July 20, 1976, off the Angels’ Dick Drago at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. Aaron was in his second and final season as a Milwaukee Brewer, his 23rd in the majors.
The ball was retrieved by Richard Arndt, a groundskeeper who agreed to give up the ball if he could meet Aaron, but that didn’t happen. Arndt was fired for refusing to part with the ball. Aaron wanted it, telling the New York Times he felt Arndt “held me hostage.”
Arndt finally put the ball up for sale in 1999, and he got $650,000.
For the holder of Bonds’ No. 762 to get seven figures, he must first verify his prize.
That shouldn’t be a problem, according to McFarlane. “There’s video,” he said. “The person can show himself getting the ball.”
Kohler said a polygraph test could also be administered.
What if the seller tries to switch balls and keep No. 762 for a future transaction?
“He’s not going to get the money twice,” McFarlane said.
Until this person comes forward, this is baseball’s great uncashed lottery ticket, though still a ticket with no guarantee it bears the right number.
“The holder of this ball,” McFarlane said, “would rather see Bonds hit by a meteor than taking batting practice.”
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