USA: Barry Bonds historic home run baseball ball will be auctioned by the man who caught it

The man who caught Barry Bonds historic home run ball will auction it off rather than pay the taxes that the U.S. Government plans to access for his find. Matt Murphy, who caught Barry Bonds's record-breaking 756th home run on August 7th said on Thursday (August 21) he'll sell the ball that might be worth $500,000. SCP Auctions Inc. will sell the ball along with Bonds's record-tying 755th home run during an Internet auction that begins Aug. 28, according to a press release from the auction house. The 21-year-old New Yorker, caught the ball at AT&T Park in San Francisco and was whisked out of the stands by security guards.Bonds of the San Francisco Giants passed Hank Aaron to become Major League Baseball's career home run leader with that home run. "When it was happening all that kept goping through my mind was "Hold on. Don't let go" People were asking me to give them the ball and I replied no. Other than that nothing else was really going through my mind," Murphy said Tuesday. He held a press conference at a San Francisco restaurant to announce his decision and had declined to talk with reporters after the historic night and went ahead with plans to go to Australia to visit a friend. The ball might be worth up to $500,000, sports memorabilia experts have said. It's value has been lessened due to steroid allegations surrounding Bonds, they said. Murphy declined to estimate what the ball could be worth, and said his only thought while being escorted to safety was protecting his new acquisition. Had Murphy kept the ball, the United States Internal Revenue Service would have required an estimated tax bill of up to $200,000 based on the estimated price the ball will fetch. Murphy said will split the proceeds with his friend Amir Kamal who was with him that night and helped protect him when he found himself in a violent scrum after grabbing the ball. Murphy will get 51 percent and Kamal will get 49 percent.

ITN Source | August 23, 2007

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