Baseball won't bother to certify Bonds ball

[Eric]

Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Baseball won't bother to certify Bonds ball
By Darren Rovell
ESPN.com

When Barry Bonds hits home run No. 715 and moves into second place on the all-time list behind Hank Aaron, the lucky fan who catches the ball might have a hard time proving it's the real thing.
That's because Major League Baseball won't authenticate any of the baseballs the Giants are using.
"He's not approaching the record," said league spokesman Pat Courtney by way of explanation, reiterating baseball's stance that the passing of Babe Ruth's milestone of 714 career home runs is not a valid cause for celebration. "We will revisit doing the ball authenticating when he approaches the record."
In 1998, as Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa approached Roger Maris' single-season record of 61 home runs, league officials made sure the baseballs being used in Cardinals and Cubs games were numbered and included holograms to eliminate any doubt that the record-breaking ball could be identified. They did it again in the final week of that season so McGwire's final home run could be authenticated.
And the league marked and authenticated the balls being used in Giants games three years later as Bonds was passing McGwire's single-season record of 70 home runs.
Courtney said that the league isn't expecting as much of a fight for the ball in the stands this time around, at least compared with what took place during the McGwire, Bonds and Sosa single-season home run assaults. But others disagree.
Michael Barnes, the broker who assisted the families of those who caught the key Sosa, McGwire and Bonds home run balls, says Bonds' home run No. 715 baseball likely will be worth between $25,000 and $50,000.
"This could be a nightmare in the stands," Barnes said. "Unless a fan catches the ball cleanly and it's caught on tape, finding out who has the real ball is going to be a problem."
Barnes says that if Bonds' balls aren't authenticated by Major League Baseball, collectors and auction houses will have to go back to the old way of determining ownership -- making those selling the ball sign an affidavit and prove seat location through ticket stubs.
"We had a handful of people come to us and say they had the home run balls of 1998, when they did not," Barnes said. "A year after we sold Sosa's 66th home run [ball] for $175,000, some guy had another ball claiming to be that ball on eBay. It's easy for baseball to do this, and it comes with such little expense."
Bonds currently is two home runs from tying Ruth's record. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Wednesday that Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, who used to own the Brewers, is not expected to attend the team's two-game series against the Giants, which begins tonight.
Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at Darren.rovell@espn3.com.

[trsent]

When does Bud Selig step down already?

He messed up when he could have avoided the Steroid situation ten years ago and now he is trying to cover his rear, but he will find it is too late.

He could have started testing like The NFL did, but he turned his back to high attendance. This ordeal over the baseballs and baseball not honoring Bonds hitting 714 or 715 is just bad press for Baseball and Bud.

I am spending the weekend in Milwaukee, maybe I'll run into His Holiness up there.

[Yankwood]

Is there a precedent for baseball saluting greatest runner-up records?

[allstarsplus]

I just left the groundbreaking for the Nationals new stadium and the new ownership group was there with the Mayor and other dignitaries and Selig was not there. The MLB rep was someone from the CFO's office.

By the way, it was a great event!!!

[mr.miracle]

A great point was raised on Mike and Mike in the morning yesterday about baseball with Bonds passing Ruth and MLB's refusal to acknowlege this is some type of pomp and circumstance event. If and when someone passes Lou Gerhig for second place on the consecutive games played list would we expect a hugh celebration? Probably not. Considering there has been little or no fanfare when Bonds passed any of the other players on the homer list, it would seem to figure that they would continue with the same type of treatment once Bonds passes the Babe. Although Ruth may be the greatest baseball player that ever lived, it still seems kind of odd to celebrate Bonds passing Ruth when Aaron is the record holder. That note aside, it would be good if Selig stepped down since he seems to be a moron

[EurekaDave]

I don't get the big deal about the Bonds ball, and, apparently, neither do a lot of fans.

Watching geriatric Bonds is painful this year. Watching the train-wreck offense around him even more so. Sadly, in San Francisco, his home-run landmark may be the only high point of the summer--and promoters, dealers, auctioneers and other opportunists have taken away the fun of that too. So has Barry, Bud Selig, Victor Conte, the congressmen who made steroid inquiry a sideshow and a host of others.

I still love the game. It is the sweet smell of a summer day. And the jerseys and gloves I collect -- low-budget game jerseys of no-name players -- make me just as happy as would a Barry Bonds gamer.

That's the great thing about baseball and collecting -- they both transcend its numbers, its landmarks and its people.

[allstarsplus]

Baseball marking balls for Bonds' pursuit of Ruth

Associated Press
Major League Baseball News Wire (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?sportId=10)


PHILADELPHIA -- Baseball is using specially marked balls for Barry Bonds (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=3918)' at-bats now that he is closing in on Babe Ruth.

Bonds has 712 home runs, two shy of tying Ruth for second place on the career list. The marked balls were first put into play during the San Francisco slugger's at-bats Friday night, when he and the Giants lost 8-3 to the Philadelphia Phillies (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=phi).

Originally, the commissioner's office did not plan to mark any balls while Bonds is chasing Ruth. But Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, decided late Thursday it was best to authenticate any potentially historic home run balls hit by Bonds, spokesman Pat Courtney said.

That way, the fans who might catch No. 713, No. 714 and No. 715 will be able to prove they have the real thing, avoiding multiple claims of ownership.

Baseball's decision was first reported by ESPN.com.

[allstarsplus]

A great point was raised on Mike and Mike in the morning yesterday about baseball with Bonds passing Ruth and MLB's refusal to acknowlege this is some type of pomp and circumstance event. If and when someone passes Lou Gerhig for second place on the consecutive games played list would we expect a hugh celebration? Probably not. Considering there has been little or no fanfare when Bonds passed any of the other players on the homer list, it would seem to figure that they would continue with the same type of treatment once Bonds passes the Babe. Although Ruth may be the greatest baseball player that ever lived, it still seems kind of odd to celebrate Bonds passing Ruth when Aaron is the record holder. That note aside, it would be good if Selig stepped down since he seems to be a moron

Well Mike & Mike on ESPN have their "take" on the Bonds passing Ruth hype but last night Stephen A. Smith on his "Quite Frankly" show also covered it and hinted at black/white issues as the underlying reason MLB is snubbing Bonds. Selig did say that if Bonds passes Aaron then MLB will celebrate that accomplishment.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espntv/espnMicrosite?showID=qf

[Eric]

Fearing confusion, DuPuy says balls will be marked
By Jayson Stark
ESPN.com

PHILADELPHIA -- Major League Baseball has decided to mark those Barry Bonds baseballs after all, Bob DuPuy said Friday.

Baseball's chief operating officer said the matter had not been brought to his attention until he saw an ESPN.com story, written this week by sports business reporter Darren Rovell, in which MLB spokesman Pat Courtney was quoted as saying there was no reason to mark the balls because Babe Ruth's 714 home runs were no longer "the record."

"I was surprised when I saw Darren's [story], to be honest with you," DuPuy said. "And I was surprised we weren't doing it. I asked why. Nobody had a reason. So I said, 'We should be doing it.' "

Asked how he would respond to critics who accused MLB of flip-flopping on this decision because of public pressure, DuPuy replied: "You can tell them they're full of crap, and you can quote me on that."

"I think some people just confused it the other day with what Bud said [about not celebrating players who move into the No. 2 spot all-time], which I agree with," DuPuy said. "A few years ago, Bonds went by Roger Maris (when he was chasing the single-season home run record) and nobody cared, because somebody had already gone by Maris. So what Bud said was, 'We don't celebrate when people move into second place,' and I agree.

"On the other hand, we do have milestones and achievements in this sport. ... So the idea is just to mark the ball so we won't have somebody say, 'I caught No. 714 or No. 715,' and then somebody else comes forward with a fraudulent ball and says he caught it, and we can say, 'No, you didn't.' So I said these balls ought to be marked, so there's no confusion, just so we don't have a lawsuit."

DuPuy said a shipment of marked balls arrived in Philadelphia before the Giants' game with the Phillies on Friday night, and "the umpires will put them in play whenever Bonds comes up."

Senior writer Jayson Stark covers Major League Baseball for ESPN.com.

[Swoboda4]

How much you want to bet Bonds will not hit 714* or 715* on the road. And it will have little to do with how the pitchers avoid giving him something good to hit. He knows what will happen,the boos,the horror of someone throwing it back on to the field(The greatest thing,by the way,that could happen),etc-that he will purposely hit it only in S.F.