Barry Bonds' 73rd
August 8, 2007
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Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP
Patrick Hayashi, left, and Alex Popov hold Barry Bonds' record-setting 73rd home run during a press conference at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco, Tuesday, May 27, 2003. Both men claimed ownership of the ball.
Oct. 7, 2001
The San Francisco Giants’ Barry Bonds set a new record for most single-season home runs on the last day of the 2001 season in San Francisco’s PacBell Park when he hit his 73rd. Two fans claimed ownership of the ball — Alex Popov, who gloved the ball for an instant, and Patrick Hayashi, who ended up with the ball. The ownership battled went to court and lasted 14 months until a judge ruled they would sell the ball and split the profit. It sold for $517,500 to comic book artist Todd McFarlane, who collects baseball memorabilia. He also has Sammy Sosa’s 33rd, 61st and 66th home-run balls, and Mark McGwire’s first, 63rd, 67th, 68th, 69th and 70th.
Next: Alex Rodriguez's 500th
Alex Rodriguez's 500th
August 8, 2007
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John Angelillo / UPI / Landov
Alex Rodriguez hits his 500th career home run, August 4, 2007.
Aug. 4, 2007
Yankees infielder Alex Rodriguez hit a first-inning drive into left field off of Kansas City’s Kyle Davies in this game, becoming the youngest player in major league history to hit 500 home runs. The ball landed into the hands of Walter (Sonny) Kowalczyk, a lifelong Yankee fan who emptied his bank account to buy season tickets. Kowalczyk, a graduate student from Trenton, N.J., hasn’t decided what he’s going to do yet with the ball — which could be worth more than $100,000. Rodriguez has said that he would, of course, like it back. Kowalczyk’s brother Brian told the New York Daily News Aug. 6 that “If [Walter] was doing well in life, he would give [the ball] to the Hall of Fame.”
Next: Barry Bonds' 756th
