Once, a baseball held value in my life. On May 23, 1987 (thanks to the amazing Retrosheet for nailing down the date), Lee Mazzilli pinch hit for Ron Darling in the eighth inning and, before striking out against Bob Welch, hit a foul ball straight back, into Shea Stadium's mezzanine level. Armed with a Robin Yount model glove, I caught that ball. My only live-action foul ball as a fan.
I took it with me to college, and that turned out to be a mistake. During my sophomore year, two of my roommates borrowed the ball for a catch. They somehow managed to lose it under a bush, or something stupid like that. I was really angry, for a long time.
So I can appreciate having an emotional attachment to inanimate objects. What I can't understand, however, is why people would pay huge amounts of money for one of Barry Bonds' milestone home run balls.
As this story details, electronic bidding began Tuesday for Bonds' 755th and 756th home run balls, with the price for the latter (which broke Hank Aaron's record) starting at $100,000.
Even if I were incredibly rich, I just can't envision having the desire to shell out six figures for such a baseball. Especially for the Bonds homer. Yes, I covered Bonds' 756th and didn't find it such an awful experience. I am at peace with what he accomplished, and how he did it. But that doesn't mean I'd want to own the ball that Queens' Matt Murphy commandeered at AT&T Park earlier this month.
So help me out. Am I crazy? Would you be willing to meet the expected price of $500,000, if money were no issue for you? Or are you with me on this one?
Comments (3)
Why would I want a ball that is going to be worthless in about 10 years when A-Rod shatters the Barry Bonds tainted record.
I wouldn't give you a plugged nickel for the ball...I would have thrown it back !
DID ANYONE SEE THE SIZE OF MATT MURPHY'S HEAD! I THINK A SPECIAL SECRET CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATIVE COMITEE SHOULD BE LAUNCHED TO DETERMINE IF MR. MURPHY WAS USING STEROIDS AT THE TIME OF HIS HISTORIC CATCH. WHY STOP THERE? I SAY, TEST THE BALL FOR PREFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUGS. FOR PETE'S SAKE! AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO CARES ABOUT THE INTEGRITY OF THE GAME?