Paul Daugherty: Bonds' 756 ball

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Bonds' 756 ball

What would you do with it? A Dallas auction house already has said it will pay $1 million for it... the comic book mogul Todd MacFarlane paid 3 mil for McGwire's #70... what would you do? You could give it to Bonds for a signed bat or something...that'd be the nice thing to do, but Bonds isn't nice... do you throw it back on the field, the ultimate sign of fanly disdain for his chemically enhanced achievement? That would be just be a very strong thing to do.

Me, I'm taking that ball, following my police escort out of the park, driving straight to the bank, putting that ball in a safety deposit box and waiting for the offers. The only person getting that ball from me is a thief or a millionaire.

Turn it around: If Bonds had something you wanted, do you think he'd give it to you?

16 Comments:

at 7:52 AM

Anonymous said...

If I could get 1/2 hour of primetime network TV, I would host a sports version of American Idol. The ball would be hoisted onto a platform. If American voted one way the ball would fall down a chute and get sent to Bonds, if they voted the other way the ball would drop through an industrial strength shredder and the remains would be sent to Bonds.

at 8:36 AM

Anonymous said...

I'm thinking it should be used for some sort of photography piece. Perhaps get a well known photographer to take pictures of it with a little cream and clear on it. Maybe a hypodermic needle sticking out of it. Or super-impose it on to the figure of Bonds himself as an over sized head. Of course, after the pictures went to print and then sold for a nice profit, maybe it should be sent, piece-by-piece to either Bud Selig or Bonds himself.

Of course that being said, I'd actually be embarrassed to pay money to even go to the game, knowing that the reason baseball has turned a blind eye to this and many other things is that they know it would hurt profits.

at 11:11 AM

Anonymous said...

Paul--
How about a few "stories" from the during Sports Talk...One of the things (I've always thought) that makes ST-type shows enjoyable is when the host has the ability to talk about specific moments they remember-fondly or not. Like, "there was the time I was covering the Super Bowl in ----- and I run into tennis great John McEnroe at this Irish bar and he was about to fight this patron, when suddenly..." etc. Just sports tidbits that we love...trivial pursuit is a hit game for a reason...we love inconsequential stories...and in this case, it'd still be related to sports! What think you?

at 11:16 AM

Anonymous said...

Why would anyone give that ball to Bonds? I think he would probably end up selling it himself. I don't know the guy but that's how I see him, greedy and attention seeking.
I could only imagine the scene on the field if the person who caught that ball threw it back. People would be everywhere. You'd need riot police to line the field or else some woman or child would end up dying, and then all the news would talk about for the next two weeks would be "are people really so concerned about money that they would trample someone to death?" the answer....some of them, yes.
-Josh

at 12:08 PM

Anonymous said...

After thinking long and hard, I believe I may combine all previously posted ideas or at least edit each a tad.

First, as Doc suggested, it is immediately going into a safety deposit box. I then wait for the offers of either straight-up purchase or those that just want to photograph it.

On the other hand, maybe I'll take a picture of it myself and allow someone (for a price of course) to do a little Photoshop job. What they do to the photo(s) and then with those pictures is purely their decision.

Now, I don't know that I'm for the "American Idol" type television contest. What right-minded American baseball fan would get involed? If they do agree, their reputation as a fan would immediately go down the toilet. Anyone that does only wants their hands on it so it can be the feature of the week on eBay.

If Bonds wants it, he can buy it. Lord knows he has the dough and then some if he would like it. I don't believe there is any kind of physical object he owns that I would want for a trade. omething also tells me he couldn't give a damn.

at 2:49 PM

Anonymous said...

If I wanted some steroids, Bonds might give them to me.

at 6:16 PM

Anonymous said...

Chris,
Listening to your show. Bonds rookie card has him listed at 6'1, 185 pounds...Not sure what that guy is smoking. Even if his card says 143, you know thats a misprint...Ironic, however.

at 6:17 PM

Anonymous said...

Sorry, Paul....Brain Fart got you mixed up the singer;)

at 6:51 PM

Anonymous said...

I have nothing against Barry Bonds, steroids don't help put the bat on the ball. That being said, this is the person who withdrew his name from the MLBPA liscensing agreement because he felt he could make more money on the use of his name if he was dealt with directly.

In the spirit of capitalism, I would keep the ball, and then hire his former agent Scott Boras (or the anti-christ as Marty calls him) to negotiate the sale of this ball to the highest bidder.

at 7:33 PM

Anonymous said...

Paul,

I would sell the ball, and anyone who says differently, isn't thinking rationally!

Bonds record should be recognized the same as any other sports record, without an asterik! Bonds has accomplished his record during a different era in baseball.

During the majority of Aarons career, he did'nt have to face a "fresh pitcher in the last three innings of games, nor did he endure the number of walks, both intentional and un-intentional-intentional that Bonds has.

Also, I doubt Aaron ever faced a pitcher on "steroids".

No matter how Bonds has conditioned himself, he still has to execute the swing in order to hit a home run.

at 7:52 AM

J N Myers said...

I would donate the ball for display at the Lloyd Library and Museum (Cincinnati), where it would take its place to "... enhance our understanding of current pharmaceutical practice, methods, drug development, and medicinal botany."

at 2:44 PM

Anonymous said...

I'd piss everyone off...I would keep it for myself. I would never donate it to a museum and give any tangible glory to him. I might even destroy it.

at 10:11 PM

Anonymous said...

I would go to the stadium with a black permanent marker and if I caught the ball I would immediately mark it with an asterisk. Then I would sell it to the highest bidder and soak my fifteen minutes of fame for everything it was worth and make as much money from any supplemental sources I could based on the notoriety. Then I would give a ton of the money to Bonds (U.S. Treasury that is).

at 9:44 AM

Anonymous said...

I would definitely keep the ball and sell it to an auction house or put it up on eBay, etc. I don’t like Barry Bonds and I believe that he is clearly a cheater. In my mind, Hammerin’ Hank will still be the record holder. Now, if it was someone that I believe to be clean such as Griffey Jr. that broke the record, I would probably give them the ball.

please disregard my previous post

at 4:53 PM

Anonymous said...

I'd give the ball to Hank Aaron, the real home run king,so he could blow it up. Despite my feelings that Bonds record is tainted, as a longtime Cincinnatian now living in Las Vegas, I am still considering a trip to SF if Bonds breaks the record there. I saw Aaron tie Ruth at Riverfront and I think it would be cool to see the record tied or broken again in person. Even if it's a tainted record, it's still a part of MLB history.

at 4:40 PM

Anonymous said...

I would ask Hank what I should do with the ball.

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Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Bonds' 756 ball

16 Comments: