Bonds Record Balls on Block
The 756 ball could eventually sell in the range of a half million dollars.
Sept. 15, 2007— -- Sometimes controversy sells and sometimes it doesn't.
The question among sports memorabilia bidders is whether Barry Bonds' record-breaking home run baseballs will be dragged down under a cloud of steroid allegations.
"This is about the record more than what anybody thinks about Barry personally," says Dan Imler, managing director of SCP Auctions, the company handing the online auction of Bonds' home run balls 755 and 756.
Number 755 tied Hank Aarons career record while number 756 was the first in history to break it. "These balls represent the most prominent record in all of sports. That is where the interest is rooted here, not so much who Bonds is as a person."
If the bidding so far is any indication, the two Bonds balls aren't exactly hitting it out of the park. Bidders compete online and must place an initial bid in order to continue into extended bidding.
"For this stage, we're doing well. The bidding is at $273,000 on the 756 ball which including the 20 percent buyer's premium is well over $300,000," Imler says. "The real bidding war we're expecting later."
The 756 ball is estimated to eventually sell in the range of a half million dollars while the 755 ball is widely expected to go for $200,000 at the most. Officials at SCP Auctions shrug off the notion that the balls' values are a disappointment.
The man who is sitting back awaiting a big payday is Matt Murphy, the 21-year-old contractor supervisor who caught number 756 on August 7th. Murphy says he plans to split the proceeds from the auction 51 percent to 49 percent with a friend who came along to the game with him.
Bidding is expected to wrap up late Saturday. Regardless of the outcome, many sports memorabilia collectors believe Bonds final home run ball—the last he ever hits before retirement—will be the real money maker.
