DENVER (AP) -Going, going … but not quite gone.
With less than 24 hours remaining in an auction sale of the last baseball Barry Bonds hit out of a park, the highest bid stood at $259,375 as of Friday.
So far, home run ball No. 762 is a bargain – considering that Bond’s record-breaking No. 756 fetched $752,467.
“If Barry never plays again, this ball is worth a huge amount – seven figures, easily,” said David Kohler, president of SCP Auctions, which is handling the sale. “Right now, it’s sitting at a huge upside.”
The bidding officially closes Saturday at 4 p.m. EDT. However, there’s an extension period for those who’ve already submitted bids, which could last several hours.
Kohler said there have been 11 bids on the baseball that was caught by Jameson Sutton last Sept. 5 at Coors Field.
The 24-year-old from Boulder kept the ball in a safe deposit box before deciding to put it up for the highest bid this year after it appeared Bonds’ career might be finished. Bonds’ contract was not renewed by the San Francisco Giants this offseason and he’s found no takers on the free agent market.
At the time, Sutton said he would use some of the proceeds from the sale to help defray medical expenses of his stepfather, David Arguijo, who was battling lung cancer. Arguijo died Wednesday.
Bonds hit No. 762 over the left-field fence on a 99 mph fastball by Ubaldo Jimenez.
SCP said it authenticated Sutton’s ball by studying game films and interviewing fans, including Robert Harmon, who was scrambling for the historic ball along with Sutton. SCP also had Sutton take a polygraph test, and he passed.
“That result was absolutely 100 percent – Jameson has Barry Bonds’ 762nd home run ball,” Kohler said at the time.
Kohler said last month he thought the ball could bring close to $1 million. He still feels that way.
“Certainly,” Kohler said. “I can’t say it’s going to. But it could definitely happen – it’s the last one he hit. … The bottom line is that in all of sports, the home run record is one of the most important. It’s a mark that everyone understands and appreciates.”
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On the Net:
www.scpauctions.com
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