Court Enjoins Sale of Bonds HR Ball

Court Enjoin the Sale of Bonds HR Baseball

Hearing scheduled as to who is rightful owner

San Francisco, October 24, 2001 -- Want to buy a baseball for over one million dollars? It may not be as easy as you think. According to the San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Superior Court Judge David A. Garcia granted a temporary injunction that prevents anyone from selling the ball Barry Bonds hit for his 73rd home run, until the dispute over who legally owns it is settled. Until a Nov. 13 hearing, the ball will be placed in a safe deposit box with the court having custody of the keys.

According to the report, the this injunction being granted is the culmination of a series of "bizarre" events that occurred when Bonds hit his home run and is a result of the melee that soon followed. Reportedly, the facts are as follows: There is a videotape that shows a man named Alex Popov catching the ball in his mitt. However, he was not who ultimately walked away with the now infamous ball. Another man, Patrick Hayashi, emerged with the ball after "an extended scuffle" and was immediately whisked away by security. The question is what happened in between. After his catch, Popov then disappears into a pile of fans on the right field arcade. Hayashi is not caught on camera until about halfway through the two-and-a-half-minute tape when he bends down, then is shown holding the ball up to the camera and grinning. Popov retained a lawyer to try and get the ball "returned" to him.

Popov’s lawyer has said that this injunction is "a great victory for baseball history. I want kids to be able to go to the ballpark with a baseball mitt in their hand. If a ball's hit, I want them to be able to look for it, grab it and not have to look over their shoulder." Hayashi's lawyer, had a different point of view, and said: "What Popov is asking the court to do is to get involved in something that happens at every baseball game in the country. Does this mean that people going to enjoy the national pastime can suddenly find themselves as defendants in a lawsuit?''

According to the Mercury News report, Major League Baseball and the San Francisco Giants have maintained since day one that Hayashi is the legal owner of the ball. However, the filing by Popov's attorney notes that, "within seconds after catching the ball, Popov was attacked, assaulted and battered by no less than six and as many as 15 individuals, including defendant Hayashi." Popov's "dream was to catch the ball. The nightmare started when everyone piled on top of him."

Source: San Jose Mercury News

Matthew Roberts