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Barry Bond's Record Setting Baseball Auctioned

Aired June 25, 2003 - 15:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, last check, bidding was up to $200,000 in the auction of a famous baseball. It's the one that Barry Bonds clobbered for his record-setting 73rd home run. We can't forget that.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. The baseball finally landed on the auction block after some unfortunate events, a trial. A judge ruled that the two men -- there's that 73rd homer back in 2001. And the two men in the stands there, who equally grabbed said ball, will now share the proceeds in their dispute over its ownership. One caught and dropped the ball and the other picked it up.

You probably remember the story. Co-owners Alex Popov and Patrick Hayashi are in New York, as the bids are about to begin. Gentlemen, good to have you with us.

ALEX POPOV, BONDS BASEBALL CO-OWNER: Good to be with you.

O'BRIEN: All right.

PHILLIPS: I want to know if they get along. That's what I want to know. Are you guys friends now?

POPOV: Yes. I think we're cordial. You know Patrick and I caught part of the Giants game on May 27th, when we announced the auction house (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We had lunch today.

You know there's no more dispute. Patrick and I -- either one of us could have appealed this decision. But we came together, we said this is the 73rd home run, it's great to be a part of it. And let's just enjoy it. Let's see what happens.

O'BRIEN: Patrick, do you have the same feelings? Patrick, are you there? He can't hear.

Well, we'll continue on with Alex. We're only getting 50 percent of this story. So Alex, now is your opportunity to say whatever you really feel about Patrick because he can't hear you.

POPOV: Well, you know, the thing is, the opportunity to sit down with Patrick and talk to him about this and really say, you know, it's great to be a part of baseball history, Bonds has done wonderful things. Let's get back to what this is about.

It was about the 73rd homerun that happened in San Francisco. We were both a part of it. And let's just go forward with that.

You know Bonds has done some really wonderful stuff. You know he just set the 500 record two nights ago.

O'BRIEN: All right. But the trial was to determine the ownership of the ball, is that -- what was the issue?

POPOV: Yes. There was a little bit of a dispute. When Patrick left the stadium that day, he felt he was the rightful owner, as did I. I caught the ball; he ended up with it. That was basically the issue.

And it was put forward before a judge and he heard all the evidence and all the testimony. He said, you know what, we have claims of equal dignity here. They should be co-owners and the ball should be sold and the proceeds split.

And we could have easily -- either one of us, again, appealed it. But we decided not to and we wanted to get back to what it is. And another thing, you know tonight we're meeting Sal Durante (ph). He's the gentleman that caught Roger Marris' 61st homerun ball. He's going to be at the auction tonight.

And you know you had mentioned earlier that the bidding was up to $200,000. That's exactly where Mark McGuire's ball was before it went to the live part of the auction. So we're seeing a lot of similarities. It should be interesting.

PHILLIPS: Patrick can hear us now. Patrick, we got you tuned in?

PATRICK HAYASHI, BONDS BASEBALL CO-OWNER: Oh, yes. I can hear you.

PHILLIPS: OK, good. We're kind of letting Alex -- you should have heard the things that he said about you. You were going for all the money and you stole the ball out of his hands. I can't believe -- you better fire back.

O'BRIEN: Something about your mother. I don't know what it was. It was on and on. No, seriously, Patrick, have you buried the hatchet now after the trial and the fight and all that?

HAYASHI: Yes. As Alex was saying, the decision was made and right now we're just moving forward. I mean this was actually a very nice event, and we want to enjoy it.

And early on there was a lot of disputes about ownership and that's done now. That's in the past. You know, I'm a person that doesn't think about the past too much, I want to look to the future. Today is going to be exciting. It will be just as exciting or more than that day.

PHILLIPS: You're not going to lose here. You're both going to come out with a big wad of cash.

HAYASHI: I think it is going to be a positive thing. This is really, only half of the story. The other half is going to be the person that buys the baseball. What is he going to do with it? I think a lot of people are going to want to know. I mean, when Todd McFarden (ph) bought it he toured around the nation, a lot of people were able to see it and I hopefully that happens again. This is what we are looking forward to.

O'BRIEN: All right. Presumably, whoever buys it won't play pepper games with it and, guys, we wish you well.

PHILLIPS: We're glad you kissed and made up.

O'BRIEN: Could go for a million dollars.

POPOV: We've heard higher.

HAYASHI: Wow.

O'BRIEN: Well, it was certainly a Solomon like decision by the judge and we're glad you guys can walk away with smiles on your faces jointly.

HAYASHI: Thank you very much.

O'BRIEN: Good luck tonight.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired June 25, 2003 - 15:37   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, last check, bidding was up to $200,000 in the auction of a famous baseball. It's the one that Barry Bonds clobbered for his record-setting 73rd home run. We can't forget that.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. The baseball finally landed on the auction block after some unfortunate events, a trial. A judge ruled that the two men -- there's that 73rd homer back in 2001. And the two men in the stands there, who equally grabbed said ball, will now share the proceeds in their dispute over its ownership. One caught and dropped the ball and the other picked it up.

You probably remember the story. Co-owners Alex Popov and Patrick Hayashi are in New York, as the bids are about to begin. Gentlemen, good to have you with us.

ALEX POPOV, BONDS BASEBALL CO-OWNER: Good to be with you.

O'BRIEN: All right.

PHILLIPS: I want to know if they get along. That's what I want to know. Are you guys friends now?

POPOV: Yes. I think we're cordial. You know Patrick and I caught part of the Giants game on May 27th, when we announced the auction house (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We had lunch today.

You know there's no more dispute. Patrick and I -- either one of us could have appealed this decision. But we came together, we said this is the 73rd home run, it's great to be a part of it. And let's just enjoy it. Let's see what happens.

O'BRIEN: Patrick, do you have the same feelings? Patrick, are you there? He can't hear.

Well, we'll continue on with Alex. We're only getting 50 percent of this story. So Alex, now is your opportunity to say whatever you really feel about Patrick because he can't hear you.

POPOV: Well, you know, the thing is, the opportunity to sit down with Patrick and talk to him about this and really say, you know, it's great to be a part of baseball history, Bonds has done wonderful things. Let's get back to what this is about.

It was about the 73rd homerun that happened in San Francisco. We were both a part of it. And let's just go forward with that.

You know Bonds has done some really wonderful stuff. You know he just set the 500 record two nights ago.

O'BRIEN: All right. But the trial was to determine the ownership of the ball, is that -- what was the issue?

POPOV: Yes. There was a little bit of a dispute. When Patrick left the stadium that day, he felt he was the rightful owner, as did I. I caught the ball; he ended up with it. That was basically the issue.

And it was put forward before a judge and he heard all the evidence and all the testimony. He said, you know what, we have claims of equal dignity here. They should be co-owners and the ball should be sold and the proceeds split.

And we could have easily -- either one of us, again, appealed it. But we decided not to and we wanted to get back to what it is. And another thing, you know tonight we're meeting Sal Durante (ph). He's the gentleman that caught Roger Marris' 61st homerun ball. He's going to be at the auction tonight.

And you know you had mentioned earlier that the bidding was up to $200,000. That's exactly where Mark McGuire's ball was before it went to the live part of the auction. So we're seeing a lot of similarities. It should be interesting.

PHILLIPS: Patrick can hear us now. Patrick, we got you tuned in?

PATRICK HAYASHI, BONDS BASEBALL CO-OWNER: Oh, yes. I can hear you.

PHILLIPS: OK, good. We're kind of letting Alex -- you should have heard the things that he said about you. You were going for all the money and you stole the ball out of his hands. I can't believe -- you better fire back.

O'BRIEN: Something about your mother. I don't know what it was. It was on and on. No, seriously, Patrick, have you buried the hatchet now after the trial and the fight and all that?

HAYASHI: Yes. As Alex was saying, the decision was made and right now we're just moving forward. I mean this was actually a very nice event, and we want to enjoy it.

And early on there was a lot of disputes about ownership and that's done now. That's in the past. You know, I'm a person that doesn't think about the past too much, I want to look to the future. Today is going to be exciting. It will be just as exciting or more than that day.

PHILLIPS: You're not going to lose here. You're both going to come out with a big wad of cash.

HAYASHI: I think it is going to be a positive thing. This is really, only half of the story. The other half is going to be the person that buys the baseball. What is he going to do with it? I think a lot of people are going to want to know. I mean, when Todd McFarden (ph) bought it he toured around the nation, a lot of people were able to see it and I hopefully that happens again. This is what we are looking forward to.

O'BRIEN: All right. Presumably, whoever buys it won't play pepper games with it and, guys, we wish you well.

PHILLIPS: We're glad you kissed and made up.

O'BRIEN: Could go for a million dollars.

POPOV: We've heard higher.

HAYASHI: Wow.

O'BRIEN: Well, it was certainly a Solomon like decision by the judge and we're glad you guys can walk away with smiles on your faces jointly.

HAYASHI: Thank you very much.

O'BRIEN: Good luck tonight.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com