Fans Getting a Piece of the Action
By Corey Lyons
Contra Costa Newspapers
Sept. 11, 2001
Once dismissed as a selfish brute with a violent swing, Barry Bonds is now an endeared national figure with the sweet stroke that saved baseball in 2001.
The San Francisco Giants slugger, whose statistics bulge like his biceps, is closing in on the single-season home run record with religious intensity.
But his homer barrage and humble post-game interviews have sparked another phenomenon: Barry Bonds memorabilia mania.
Fans and collectors coast-to-coast are going batty for all things Bonds, including authentic jerseys, signed baseballs and mint-condition rookie trading cards.
These days, a pair of his soiled stirrup socks could probably fetch three digits at auction.
"He's doing and saying everything right to help his image," said Carla Michener, owner of Diamond Sports Cards in Concord. "It's good for the Bay Area and the Giants."
Indeed, Bonds' personal stock is soaring like a line drive over the right-field wall at Pacific Bell Park.
His rookie baseball card has tripled in value since the beginning of the year.
And grown men waited in long lines to nab a Bonds bobble-head action figure that sold out in one day at selected Carl's Jr. restaurants.
"Some of our restaurants reported that people were willing to wait overnight to get them," said Narina Singh, a spokeswoman for Carl's Jr.
On Monday, frenzied junk Bonds collectors created an online traffic jam on eBay to price bats and cards of their left-handed icon.
Folks were hocking everything from an authentic Barry Bonds game jersey ($52) to a rare, high-graded 1987 Fleer rookie card of the slugger for $1,725.
Baseballs with Bonds' autograph have been selling for $140 at Talkin' Baseball, a card dealer in Danville. A year ago, the same balls would have fetched half that amount, said owner Kenneth Brison.
"It's not like I'm getting slammed," Brison said. "I mean, he's been hot for a good part of the year. But I'm getting a lot of calls today because he hit three dingers (Sunday)."
Indeed, the 10-time All-Star clubbed three home runs Nos. 61, 62 and 63 during a victory over the Colorado Rockies.
That effort put Bonds on pace to hit 71 homers, which would eclipse the record St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire set in 1998.
Of course, the fervor over the historic sphere would only add to Bonds' growing legend and improving reputation.
The fan who caught McGwire's 70th home run ball, Phil Ozersky of St. Louis, sold it to Spawn comic book creator Todd McFarlane for $3 million.
And that begs the question: How much would Bonds' record-breaking ball command on the open market?
"I'd say about $1 million or so," said Al Neimann, owner of Antioch Sports Collectibles.
"It's hard to put a price on that one," Brison said. "If you had asked me to buy McGwire's for $3 million I would have thought you were crazy. But somebody owns it."
Experts, however, seemed to agree that the price for No. 71 would likely be lower than No. 70's. McGwire's smash came after broke a the magical home run record of 61 that stood for nearly four decades.
In any case, officials from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., have been building key relationships at Pac Bell Park.
While they would love the ball, they will take what they can get.
"The great thing is that, for any one single event, more than one artifact can help tell the story," said Jeff Idelson, vice president of communications at the Hall of Fame. "If we had our druthers we have the bat and ball of Babe Ruth's 60th and Roger Maris' 61st Barry's bat and ball would be our top priority."
Contra Costa Newspapers
Sept. 11, 2001
Once dismissed as a selfish brute with a violent swing, Barry Bonds is now an endeared national figure with the sweet stroke that saved baseball in 2001.
The San Francisco Giants slugger, whose statistics bulge like his biceps, is closing in on the single-season home run record with religious intensity.
But his homer barrage and humble post-game interviews have sparked another phenomenon: Barry Bonds memorabilia mania.
Fans and collectors coast-to-coast are going batty for all things Bonds, including authentic jerseys, signed baseballs and mint-condition rookie trading cards.
These days, a pair of his soiled stirrup socks could probably fetch three digits at auction.
"He's doing and saying everything right to help his image," said Carla Michener, owner of Diamond Sports Cards in Concord. "It's good for the Bay Area and the Giants."
Indeed, Bonds' personal stock is soaring like a line drive over the right-field wall at Pacific Bell Park.
His rookie baseball card has tripled in value since the beginning of the year.
And grown men waited in long lines to nab a Bonds bobble-head action figure that sold out in one day at selected Carl's Jr. restaurants.
"Some of our restaurants reported that people were willing to wait overnight to get them," said Narina Singh, a spokeswoman for Carl's Jr.
On Monday, frenzied junk Bonds collectors created an online traffic jam on eBay to price bats and cards of their left-handed icon.
Folks were hocking everything from an authentic Barry Bonds game jersey ($52) to a rare, high-graded 1987 Fleer rookie card of the slugger for $1,725.
Baseballs with Bonds' autograph have been selling for $140 at Talkin' Baseball, a card dealer in Danville. A year ago, the same balls would have fetched half that amount, said owner Kenneth Brison.
"It's not like I'm getting slammed," Brison said. "I mean, he's been hot for a good part of the year. But I'm getting a lot of calls today because he hit three dingers (Sunday)."
Indeed, the 10-time All-Star clubbed three home runs Nos. 61, 62 and 63 during a victory over the Colorado Rockies.
That effort put Bonds on pace to hit 71 homers, which would eclipse the record St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire set in 1998.
Of course, the fervor over the historic sphere would only add to Bonds' growing legend and improving reputation.
The fan who caught McGwire's 70th home run ball, Phil Ozersky of St. Louis, sold it to Spawn comic book creator Todd McFarlane for $3 million.
And that begs the question: How much would Bonds' record-breaking ball command on the open market?
"I'd say about $1 million or so," said Al Neimann, owner of Antioch Sports Collectibles.
"It's hard to put a price on that one," Brison said. "If you had asked me to buy McGwire's for $3 million I would have thought you were crazy. But somebody owns it."
Experts, however, seemed to agree that the price for No. 71 would likely be lower than No. 70's. McGwire's smash came after broke a the magical home run record of 61 that stood for nearly four decades.
In any case, officials from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., have been building key relationships at Pac Bell Park.
While they would love the ball, they will take what they can get.
"The great thing is that, for any one single event, more than one artifact can help tell the story," said Jeff Idelson, vice president of communications at the Hall of Fame. "If we had our druthers we have the bat and ball of Babe Ruth's 60th and Roger Maris' 61st Barry's bat and ball would be our top priority."
posted by Corey at 2:12 PM
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