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What are the chances? Matt Murphy, a Queens-native and Mets fan, was on his way to Australia when he bought a ticket to last night's Giants-Nationals game at AT&T Park in San Francisco for a chance to watch history. He didn't just watch history, he happened to catch it. Or grab it, at least. Murphy, wearing a Mets jersey and t-shirt, and a buddy (wearing Yankees gear) bought a pair of tickets from a scalper before yesterday's game while on their one-day layover to Australia. As an aside: we've never understood the allure of attending a game wearing apparel of a team that isn't actually playing in that game.
In the 5th inning Barry Bonds passed Hank Aaron's Major League home run record with a shot to right center, his 756th career home run. The 22 year-old Murphy came out of the pile bloodied, but with ball ball in hand. He high-fived fans and put the ball into his shorts before being escorted out by members of the San Francisco Police Department. Frankly, we're surprised people didn't rip his shorts off for the ball.
With all the rumors of steroid use around Bonds, a lot is being said, but like how George Vecsey put it in his Times select article today:
Nobody — and certainly not some chemist in a white smock — swung the bat for Bonds against objects moving 80 or 90 or 100 miles an hour. He had to do that himself, with the superb reflexes he had as a cocky stripling, and the craft he acquired as a smug and enlarged elder.Besides, you can always buy this t-shirt.No matter what anybody thinks about Bonds as a person, he walked out to home plate with a bat in his hand and some new-wave padding on his arms, and goodness knows what in his system, and he propelled baseballs into the briny deep.
Estimates for home run ball #756 put the value at around $400,000-500,000, well below the $3.3 million paid for Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball in 1998.
Photo of Matt Murphy by Brant Ward/AP
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hell yes!
Throw a New Yorker into a dog pile and they WILL take care of business. SF fans never had a chance...
Only a mere $400,000 - 500,000 for the ball, eh? Poor guy.
Another sign of America's impending doom - $500,000 for a baseball.
Great.
Quote of the Day: "we're surprised people didn't rip his shorts off for the ball."
I saw some kid getting elbowed and guys jumping on top of others with no chance of getting the ball, but the real horror happened when I saw a guy get his beer knocked out of his hand. I blame you Mr. Bonds. The horror... the horror...
Why is the AP reporting that they were both wearing Yankees gear? Are they blind or just stupid?
5, that is the real tragedy here.
Great picture up there, that's one for the portfolio.
i just can't believe that the ball is only going for $400-500k considering the cost of mcguire's ball. in my mind, he's as bad as bonds is when it comes to performance enhancers.
here is a similarly-themed t-shirt design
As a few on other websites have pointed out (this is not a criticism of Gothamist, I just don't want to take credit for the thought) - McGuire's home run ball sold in 1998, before the public awareness of the prevalence of steroids in baseball. Without the controversy, that ball would be projected higher.
It's just racism hiding behind self-righteousness, nothing new. Whoever buys the ball for $500K would be a very very smart investor, as the value will go up. All these assholes acting indignant about Bonds are just hypocrites and bigots.
mcguires ball is pretty much worthless now, at the time it fetched that ridiculous price, the steroid scandal had not yet erupted
It's McGwire
I agree that McGuire's ball would go for much less now. Personally, at the time McGuire broke the record I wasn't thinking steroids. Now, of course, I feel much different about what he did.
I'm not a fan of Bonds, but with or without steroids the guy is/was a complete player and a 1st ballot Hall of Famer. McGuire wasn't half the player Bonds is.
whatever you do, do not give the ball back to Bonds until he admits his use of steroids.....#44 forever....
Its not racism SP, its ethics....using racism as an excuse is weak.
I raise my hypodermic to you Mr. Bonds, congratulations!*
Maybe now the kid can afford a good haircut.
[8] is right, that's a great picture.
it's crazy how a baseball can go from being valued at $3 to $500,000 in a matter of seconds
If I were Murphy I would auction the ball off to the highest bidder then give most of the profit to drug rehab/treatment programs.
Poetic justice, no?
[23]
if bonds was using junk, where's the signs of withdrawal? the timeline has been years, you're telling me he's still doing it after the book release?
Have you seen the size of some pitchers, they're huge. the game has changed, plain and simple.
No more racists allowed in the MLB, Ty cobb, that means you. Your days are over, we have a new sheriff in town and his name is Bonds.
what do baseball writers know about getting out in the field or in the batter's box?
Hank Aaron endured racist threats because he was breaking Ruth's record. People are now defending the Aaron's record and the man himself because his record has been taken away by a cheater. Playing the race card is total bullshit.
And Vecsey is a moron. While timing your swing is critical to hitting a baseball, plenty of guys can make contact and drive the ball to the warning track. If steroids gave bonds a 10% boost in distance then he hit 50 to 60 extra home runs over the last decade. Take those away and he's back below 700 home runs and rapidly aging hence the record would be safe from him. And baseball has moved in the fences considerably since Aaron's day.
the days of orel hersheiser are over.
Strength training is key to longevity. it's a different game now.
[23]
No. Just self-righteousness and one really lame idea.
I'd simply present the ball to Bonds and shake his hand. Provide some contrast to the ridiculous sideshow that is the steroids hysteria.
steroids hysteria and hypocrisy is right.
don't ever trust George Mitchell to do anything right.
Bonds was gracious and full of class last night. He thanked the fans, his teammates, the Nationals and more. It was the reporters, well 2 or 3 of them who showed vile and venom that surfaces so easily from some people.
God Bless You Barry L. Bonds.
I wouldn't give Bonds the ball and I would give A-Rod his 500th either. Those guys make their money on our backs. Salaries didn't really take off until cable TV took off in the 1970s. Whether you watch ESPN or YES or any of the other sports channels that are part of basic cable and satellite packages you are forced to subsidize professional sports. Pile on the subsidies to the new stadiums and we are getting screwed twice over. If baseball was such a great business they could pay for the stadiums themselves and the would make their TV channels subscription. They know if they did 95% wouldn't sign up.
re: #18: this is exactly the self righteous hypocrisy I'm talking bout. If this was McGuire, everyone would be more more tempered in their judgements.
re: #26: Aaron is retired, therefore it's easy for you to claim your allegiance to him. And you have to, in order to keep fooling yourself into believing this is about anything other than race.
Anyone who didn't think McGuire was juicing is a complete idiot and so supremely naïve it's laughable.
The fact of the matter is, all athletes take advantage of whatever medical science has available at the moment to give themselves a competitive edge, and they have done this since the beginning of competitive sports.
Amphetamines were invented in the 20s, and have been in the sport ever since. I bet Babe Ruth could down a whole handful of those without skipping a beat. The whole "he did it on beer and hot dogs" meme is romantic, but completely delusional.
Anabolic steroids have been in wide use since the '70s. Call Bonds a cheater and revile him, then by the same standards you must indict them all.
MLB profited enormously from this, and we are responsible too, because we all want to see HRs and Ks. This witch hunt is purely a PR move to cover their own asses. And you are all suckers for buying into it.
I normally don't like to use such language but #31, SP, FUCK YOU. Don't you dare presume to know what I am thinking. I am not a racist. Bonds is a cheater. Sosa is a cheater. McGwire is a cheater.
Furthermore you logic doesn't even make sense. I must be a racist because I'm mad a black guy is taking a record from another black guy. Imagine my anger when A-Rod takes the record in about six or seven years.
Yes, that's exactly why you're a racist. If it was a white guy, you wouldnt be as angry. You dipshit.
Congratulations Barry L. Bonds. You've worked hard and now you did it, you're number one in the HR record.
Now all the other ball park owners are crying because their attendance will be back to nothing. You've sold out every ball park, they should kiss your black ass.
Was watching TV last night and it appeared that the guy who caught (or whatever) the ball was having trouble walking? The cops were basically dragging him from the park. What gives?
Matt Murphy is my neighbor. Needless to say, it's a madhouse outside.
[30]
Something else took off in the 1970s, besides cable television...
Do you know what it was? Think hard because it mattered a lot more than what you cited.
They formed a players union, so that players could receive fair value for their services. Same your venom for the owners, not for the sport. They operate baseball as a cartel. Fans and the general public both lose. But it's silly to take it out on the players.
People were trying to get to the ball in his crotch. he got the lucky lottery ticket.
If I were Murphy I would auction the ball off to the highest bidder then give most of the profit to drug rehab/treatment programs.
No... you wouldn't.
And, as someone mentioned elsewhere: the guy's probably been through worse trying to get on a 2 during rush hour... or a Q today.
To SP,
Saying Bonds is a cheater is not racist. You are embarrassing.
Even Bonds has not denied using steroids. he has denied "knowingly" using steroids. He (and his lawyer) have laso said he has "never tested positive for steroids". This is not a misstatement. It is an important distinction. "Book of shadows" accuses Bonds of using a particluar type of steroid that cannot be discovered by MLB's tests.
Also, he is on Human Growth Hormone, which there is still NO test for. The union's stance is that they don't trust the current testing methods yet, so they refuse to allow the tests out of fear of false positives. that is why you do not see shrinkage, withdrawal, etc... BECAUSE HE IS STILL DOING IT, JACKASS.
Why is Greg Anderson still in jail? Because he refuses to testify as to what his buddy Bonds is doing. If Bonds was clean, he would have no problem coming forward, no?
Even apart from the steroid/HGH issues, let's look at the body armor.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003621797
The obvious (and valid) complaint has been that he cannot be hurt by and inside pitch, so he has no compunction about leaning halfway across the plate and eliminating the outside pitch. On top of that, he has what amounts to a swing tutor on his arm at all times. he cannot go into a slump b/c he doesn't develop bad habits like hitching. His elbow is kept tight so he doesn't get too far out in front or overextend. He is quicker on the inside fastball because his arm is kept tight and close to his ribs. This equipment has been outlawed for everyone exception Bonds, ortiz and a few others (I think frank Thomas wears it, but has a legitimate elbow injury). Bonds apologists dispute the body armor issues. I assume this is because...SCIENCE IS RACIST.
With the steroids/HGH and the body armor, Bonds has taken the yhuman element entirely out of the equation. He is a medical built robot designed to hit homers. He is IVAN FUCKING DRAGO.
Would there be this much vitriol about Aaron's record falling if it fell to Ken Griffey, Jr.? No. Because he is classy, doesn't cheat, plays the game right, and isn't a self-pitying, self-serving douchebag..
oh, you know who else is a huge racist? hank aaron. And Frank Robinson.
One more thing. Go fuck yourself.
[warning: bad gay joke ahead]
He was in San Francisco, maybe they were just trying to get to his crotch.
So you think it's more "alluring" to spend $100-$400 on the jersey of the team you happen to be visiting once?
I don't think you meant it that way, but I think the sentence is kind of silly. If you're a baseball fan in a strange town, you wear baseball-themed clothing. It's that simple!
#37, yeah free agency changed the game but you can't collectively demand more salary from a business that doesn't have the money. No cable TV means less money to divide up. No tax subsidies for stadiums means fewer skyboxes in a new stadium which means, wait for it, less money. If the players were only earning 10% of total revenue of MLB before free agency and the union allowed them take home 50% they would today be earning 50% of a much smaller pie. Fair value is a relative term. It's fair only to the extent that they are earning a larger portion of MLB's ill gotten revenue. Why are you condoning massive tax subsidies for stadium construction and monopolies for cable TV? How is that a "fair market"?
bonds and mcguire are both shameful and deserve to be expelled from baseball, and all their records voided. good catch for the ny guy, if I had a zillion or two i would buy it just so i could take a sharpie and plant a big astersik on it, and then donate it to the hall of fame, never letting bonds touch it.
matukonyc - i was thinking more along the lines of wearing a regular non-baseball related shirt? if you're not watching your team play (checking the scoreboard or your phone for updates doesn't count), don't wear the gear to a game.
If I were Murphy I would auction the ball off to the highest bidder then give most of the profit to drug rehab/treatment programs.
"No... you wouldn't."
Yeah, I would.
If the ball is to be sold (for better or for worse)then why not do something useful with the money. Giving the proceeds to drug rehab/treatment programs would be helpful.
--[23]
i second the body armor insight. we can debate steroid / performance-enhancers for the rest of eternity but in plain sight he's using a piece of technology that gives him a significant (and unfair) advantage. why do you think he doesn't clean up at the home run derbys? there's no need for the guard because there's no pitcher... time to focus on what's there in plain sight.
mfib FTW!! MFIB FTW!!!!!
Aaron played in bandboxes in both Milwaukee and Atlanta (where the field was nicknamed the Launching Pad). Not to mention Aaron's many more career AB's. Bonds has played his entire career in difficult hitters parks - particularly in both SF stadiums, where hitters on all other teams dread playing.
Yeah, Barry may be a surly jerk. But which one of us here has actually met him in person and spent personal time with him? Nobody. Barry conducted himself with class last night in his thank-you speech.
There have been few players in baseball history as exciting as Barry Bonds. Baseball fans should feel privileged to watch him perform.
If I would have caught the ball I would have publicly destroyed it, as it is as worthless as the arrogant pharmacological-human hybrid mutant that hit it.
The arrogant pharmacological-human hybrid mutant that replaced the baseball player known as Barry Bonds several years ago isn't even worthy enough to hold Hank Aaron's jock strap.
This whole nonsense is all Bud Selig's fault, as he staged a coup to take over the sport and basically ruined it. Interleague play, wild cards, the Washington Nationals, ignoring steroids, etc.
Then what do you expect from someone who has no qualms about stealing teams and moving them.
The it was another pharmacological-human hybrid mutant, Mark McGuire, that seemed to show that you can break both rules and records and nobody cares, as long as you don't bet on baseball, since betting on baseball is oh so evil.
So what if Pete Rose bet on the Reds to win when he was managing them. That sounds like a good motivational technique. If only the arrogant pharmacological-human hybrid mutant had bet on baseball. . .
Anyone who truly cares about the game would find the following stats true:
All time home run leader: Hank Aaron 755
Most home runs in a single season: Roger Maris 61 in 1961.
Barry Bonds Career Home Runs: 0
Anyone who goes defending the arrogant pharmacological-human hybrid mutant is either under the influence of some sort of pharmacological substance or is a complete and total fool like Bud Selig.
such hatred, amazing. you would think you're the one's oppressed.
Yes, you are right.
Barry Bonds is oppressed.
I see now.
oh for chrissakes, now you're saying it's a bionic armband, notice the article mentions it's a commentary.
I don't suppose anyone ever gotten a brace from a hospital supply store, those are hinged, too.
the venom and vile that comes out of white people's mouthes so easily is amazing. you guys sure take the cake.
God Bless you Barry L. Bonds, you're in the record books. You had class last night. I enjoyed watching your accomplishment.
hey, mfib,
your mother's a whore.
You've obviously never played the game there, chief.
What there saying is absolutely true about the simplistic things (his plate coverage, etc.).
The extra element is that it locks like a drawbrdige or a jigsaw puzzle, making it damn close to physically impossible for his swing to break down.
it would be like going up to the plate with a stride tutor between your ankles to prevent overstriding.
Try to learn something about the sport you are posting about before posting ill-informed racial diatribes.
If it is not a competitive advantage, why is the body armor now banned?
any answer?
it must be racism.
Jackass.
#54. Good argument.
You obviously are a student of baseball.
I agree,
mfib's mother IS a whore. look at his mother, she is a whore's whore. if there was a HOF for whores,
mfib's mother would be in it.
What the heck is a student of baseball?
you mean a professional baseball player who plays the game?
any degrees when this student graduates?
nope, guess not,
unless there is a degree for being a whore,
then mfib's mother would get a degree for that.
Toby, what's your beef with the Seattle Pilots moving? Who gives a crap. Your daily rants on this topic are tiresome.
Interleague play was fun for a few years but it's getting old. They should either give it a rest for a few years or at least eliminate the annual local rivalry games. I don't need to see Yankees-Mets every year. It's better to rotate the divisions home and away so that you only see each team from the other league once every three years - and only once every six at home.
Expansion had already wrecked the purity of the pennant so the Wild Card is hardly any more damaging.
The whole thing with the Seattle Pilots and Bud Selig is it showed very early in his career his warped view of what is right for baseball.
Not terribly convincing there Toby. More than half dozen franchise moves came before the Pilots. Selig didn't invent the idea.
Off the top of my head:
Boston Braves to Milwaukee
Philadelphia A's to KC
St. Louis Browns to Baltimore Orioles
KC A's to Oakland
Milwaukee Braves to Atlanta
Washington Senators to Minneapolis Twins
Dodger to LA
Giants to SF
New Washington Senators to Texas Rangers
And frankly getting Montreal to DC was brilliance.