Is it really going to be this Valuable?

[Archive]

Posted By: Steve Murray

$1 Million Bounty for Barry Bonds' Record Breaking 756th Home Run Baseball!
Heritage Auction Galleries, the World's Largest Collectibles Auctioneer, has offered to purchase the baseball that Barry Bonds hits to assume the career home run record of 756 for $1 million, announced Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Auctions for the Dallas, Texas-headquartered auction house.

The San Francisco Giants slugger is expected to crush his 756th home run to top legendary Hall of Fame slugger Hank Aaron's total some time in the late spring or early summer. The lucky owner who delivers the historic sphere, as verified by MLB, is invited to redeem the baseball for the million-dollar bounty at a Dallas press conference within fifteen days of the record-breaking homer.

"The career home run record is arguably the most significant in American sport," explained Ivy. "It's an individual achievement that illustrates consummate skill, power and durability in our National Pastime. The baseball that sets the mark could truly be considered 'priceless,' but we expect that one million dollars will be very tempting to the fan who catches the ball."

However, if the fan that secures the baseball believes it to be worth well in excess of one million dollars, Heritage will offer an alternative option. "We will waive our standard seller's fee should the owner decide to let the market determine the price tag at auction," explained Ivy. "With Heritage Auctions' ability to market this historic item to interested buyers worldwide, there is a very strong chance that this baseball will see heavy bidding at auction."

[Archive]

Posted By: Corey R. Shanus

Now that a one million dollar floor has been put on the value of the ball, can you imagine the stampede of people going after it? Reminds me of that scene in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" when the suitcase full of money opens up and slowly flutters down to the waiting throng below.

[Archive]

Posted By: barrysloate

Imagine if the ball lands in some team's bleachers, filled with a lot of very burly and very drunk fans. And each of them knows he will become a millionaire if he can take full possession of the ball. A riot is likely to break out, with big guys punching smaller guys in the face. It could get very ugly.

[Archive]

Posted By: Mike

There will be plenty of security when he is about to tie the record and even more when he is about to break it. I doubt there will be much fighting at all. Not the same, but the evening of the so called Y2K disasters, according to world news services, actually turned out to be one the calmest new years eve nights in recorded history. Every one sat around at waited, and nothing happened.

[Archive]

Posted By: Dylan

Lets take away the whole steroid debacle for a moment. Remember all the money that was spent on Mcgwire's 70th homerun ball, just to have Bonds topple that record, and any investment in that baseball, a few later. I wouldnt be surprised if an Arod or a Pujols stayed healthy and played long enough that we could see Bonds topped before too many years past. So id hold off before i invested my millions in his homerun ball just yet! And oh yeah, back to reality, there's the whole steroids issue which makes most people feel like most of his homeruns shouldnt even count in the recordbooks

[Archive]

Posted By: davidcycleback

As with any big event or record-breaking memorabilia, the sales of the item is determined several years after the even, not right after. Typically, with the hype and new bidders and short attention spans, many will overbid. The later, lower prices aren't that the value went down, but the sales prices corrected to match real value. Even though someone paid that much, the Mark McGwire ball was never worth $3 million-- or, at least, no one would argue it would sell for anything close to that much if it were auctioned today or tomorrow.

I am skeptical that the Bonds 756 ball is worth $1 million. I'm not saying that someone doesn't want to pay $1 million today, as someone evidently does, but one person willing to pay $500 for a bolgna sandwhich doesn't make a bologna sandwhich worth $500.

Also realize that verified game used balls from the 1970s and earlier are substantially rarer than today. These days, pick the first three digits in your phone number and you could probably a player's ball, bat, left sock, undershirt, hankie and corn pad from that game-- each autographed and with laminated COA and hologram. 1970s game used balls (Aaron's era) will always be rare, and 2000s game used balls will always be common. When there's a overall plentitude, or $9.99 all you can eat buffet selection, of a type of memorabilia, that will always lower the value of the item long term ... Greg Maddux is a better and more popular pitcher than Jack Chesbro was, but a Chesbro game used glove will always be more valuable than a Maddux glove. It's not just than Chesbro gloves are rarer than Maddux gloves, but MLB game used gloves in general from Chesbro's are substantially rarer than game used gloves for today's players. It's likely you can obtain more Maddux (or Roger Clements or Tom Glavine or Curt Schilling) game used gloves than you can obtain game used gloves for all HOF pitcher who played before WWI combined. This type population enviroment greatly effects valuation of a single glove.