Bonds' 756th home run ball going up for auction
Photo by Emmett Berg,
special to Fog City Journal
By Emmett Berg
August 22, 2007
The baseball that Giants' slugger Barry Bonds hit Aug. 7 to
break Hank Aaron's home run record was on view in San Francisco
yesterday for the first time since it disappeared into a maw of
fans behind center field at AT&T Park.
New York City resident Matt Murphy announced the pending sale
of the ball at a news conference near the ballpark this afternoon,
where he was flanked by executives from SCP Auctions, a sports
memorabilia house working in conjunction with the auctioneer Sotheby's.
"On August 7, history was made, and I was happy to be in-house
when it happened," Murphy said. "And I was lucky enough
to be the guy who caught the ball."
Mets fan Matt Murphy, 21, of Queens, N.Y., caught Barry Bonds'
record setting 756th homer at AT&T Park in San Francisco,
August 7.
Photo by Emmett
Berg, special to Fog City Journal
Now the historic ball will join Bonds' 755th and more than 1,000
other memorabilia items in an online auction starting Aug. 28
and concluding on Sept. 15.
The online auction will take place at www.scpauctions.com.
David Kohler, SCP's president, said that his firm estimates the
ball to be significantly more valuable than Bonds' 700th home
run ball, which was sold in 2005 for $102,000, or his 715th, which
sold for $220,100 about a year ago.
"We think this is a half million dollar baseball,"
Kohler said. "It will be interesting come Sept. 15 to see
what this is worth."
Murphy said as a student he simply could not afford to keep the
ball and was warned he might have to pay taxes even if he kept
the ball.
"It was simple math," he said of selling the ball.
"But I was upset by the decision I had to make."
Kohler said the ball's connection to a player, Bonds, who was
rumored to have used steroids, would not necessarily diminish
the ball's value.
"Negative overkill can make the price go the other way,"
Kohler said.
Murphy and his two friends, Amir Kamal and Ryan Margolis, cut
short their visit to Australia to meet with the media. Margolis
was headed back to New York tonight while Murphy and Kamal, who
owns part of the ball, will stay behind in San Francisco for a
few more days.
"We're going to stick around to get the word out,"
he said.
Murphy said he had not been contacted by Bonds personally, but
that he "has tremendous respect for the man."
"I hope whoever does buy it lends it or gives it to the
Hall (of Fame)," Murphy said, "because that's where
it belongs."
Copyright © 2007 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication,
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