Guest bob_barron Report post Posted December 18, 2002 SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - In a King Solomon-like ruling, a San Francisco judge ruled on Wednesday that the two men fighting over ownership of Barry Bonds' historic 73rd home-run ball must sell it and split the proceeds equally. "Their legal claims are of equal quality and they are equally entitled to the ball," San Francisco Superior Court Judge Kevin McCarthy said in court of the two men, Alex Popov and Patrick Hayashi. Both men claimed possession of the ball hit by Bonds on Oct. 7, 2001, breaking the previous professional baseball home run record of 70 set by Mark McGwire in 1998. "The ball must be sold and the proceeds divided equally between the parties," the judge said, adding that until then the ball remains in the court's custody. Popov, a Berkeley restaurateur, caught the ball hit by Bonds in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers (news) but then lost it when he fell to the ground and was punched, kicked and grabbed by a mob of fans scrambling for the ball as well. Hayashi came up with the ball after a violent scrum and claimed to be the sole owner. The ball could fetch more than $1 million at auction, experts said. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MD2020 Report post Posted December 18, 2002 Now all we need is for one of these guys to say something like "No, if he wants it that bad, he can have it" to find out who the real owner is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest oldschoolwrestling Report post Posted December 18, 2002 They said that the first guy didn't have possession long enough and even brought in some umpires to explain what is considered a catch. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Bosstones Fan Report post Posted December 19, 2002 They said that the first guy didn't have possession long enough and even brought in some umpires to explain what is considered a catch. Come on...you've got to be kidding about that, right? Right?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest dreamer420 Report post Posted December 19, 2002 Lawsuits are getting dumber and dumber these days. You can sue anyone for anything these days and I fucking hate what this world is turning in to. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob E Dangerously 0 Report post Posted December 19, 2002 next lawsuit: they sue each other over who the ball is sold to Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest alkeiper Report post Posted December 19, 2002 The real problem is that this may encourage fans the next time a ball comes into their vicinity. "Hey, if I get a piece of this, I can claim ownership." Sad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DrTom Report post Posted December 19, 2002 Come on...you've got to be kidding about that, right? Sadly. he's not. Other sports experts associated with baseball testified, both about what constitutes a catch and what constitutes possession of the ball. I thought the whole thing was simple: Person A had the ball briefly, lost it in a scuffle, and person B ended up with it. Since "possession is 9/10 of the law," the original chap should have expected nothing more than 10%. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted December 19, 2002 I'm picturing a guy on the witness stand in full umpire garb. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
