No. 70 Still Breaking Records

With not a “going, going, gone!” but a “once, twice, sold!” the baseball that Mark McGwire sent over the fence for his historic 70th home run set yet another record Tuesday--bringing a winning bid of $2.7 million, by far the most ever paid for a piece of sports memorabilia.

And that doesn’t count the sales commission, which brought the total price for the ball--auctioned at Madison Square Garden--to $3,005,000.

The new owner of the ball, who bid over the telephone, was not immediately identified. But auction officials said that he was “one heck of a baseball fan.”

The price obliterated the $126,500 paid at an auction in November for the first home run ball at Yankee Stadium, off the bat of Babe Ruth.

The Tuesday night sale--drawing applause time and again as the price rose in $100,000 increments--was conducted by Guernsey’s auction house, which last year sold off a slew of items from Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ estate. The baseball auction also saw Sammy Sosa’s 66th home run ball go to the same anonymous bidder for $172,500--including commission. The ball Hank Aaron struck for his record 755th homer drew a high bid of $800,000, but was not immediately sold because that price fell short of the minimum bid.

The biggest beneficiary of the evening, in addition to Guernsey’s, was Philip Ozersky, a research scientist who retrieved the ball that McGwire hit over the fence at St. Louis’ Busch Stadium on Sept. 27, in his last at-bat of the season.

“I went to a baseball game, and all of a sudden there’s millions of dollars in my hands,” Ozersky said. “Who would have thought a $10 baseball would go for $2.7 million?”

Asked whether the ball should not have been donated to the Baseball Hall of Fame instead, Ozersky replied: “No. This is America.” But he added that he expects the buyer “will put it on public display.”

Ozersky had turned down offers of $1 million from private collectors for the ball.

As the bidders left Madison Square Garden, Ozersky said he planned to go out celebrating with friends, adding: “I probably have a few more friends now.”