No wonder no one likes Bonds

[turbostud]

Before the flight home, Bonds even met his public. On his way out of the press room he encountered Carlos Oliveras, the proud owner of home run ball No. 713. Oliveras, a 25-year-old Puerto Rico native, is serving at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey. He nabbed the Bonds ball after it ricocheted off the McDonalds sign, and held it between his legs until the frenzy abated.

Oliveras asked Bonds to autograph the baseball. Bonds declined, but consented to a photograph. Then representatives for the ESPN series "Bonds on Bonds" asked Oliveras to sign a waiver consenting to allow the clip of their encounter to air on the show. It was a classic case of modern commerce and image-making run amuck.

On the positive side, maybe Oliveras can make a few bucks off the ball if he so chooses. Bonds has similar plans for the soon-to-be-owners of homers No. 714 and 715.

"I look forward to giving somebody the opportunity to better their lifestyle," Bonds said, smiling.

link (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=2437117)

[pirate44]

im torn on this one. he doesnt owe anyone an autograph, but i would have thought higher of him if he did. that show is a horrible idea.

[turbostud]

Originally posted by pirate44
im torn on this one. he doesnt owe anyone an autograph, but i would have thought higher of him if he did. that show is a horrible idea.
Your right he doesnt owe anyone an autograph but what would Cal Ripken Jr., Tony Gwynn, Nolan Ryan, or players of that caliber do in that situation. They would have signed the ball. Thats the difference in the those players and Bonds.

[pirate44]

Originally posted by turbostud
Your right he doesnt owe anyone an autograph but what would Cal Ripken Jr., Tony Gwynn, Nolan Ryan, or players of that caliber do in that situation. They would have signed the ball. Thats the difference in the those players and Bonds.
even had he autographed it, i still wouldnt include him in that list. those guys were classy throughout their careers.

[AggieJohn]

well alot of people are going to claim to have the ball, MLB isn't doing anything to mark the ball

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by AggieJohn
well alot of people are going to claim to have the ball, MLB isn't doing anything to mark the ball

yes they are...they announced (very quietly) on Friday that they are marking the balls.

[turbostud]

Originally posted by AggieJohn
well alot of people are going to claim to have the ball, MLB isn't doing anything to mark the ball
I am sure someone is on hand to authenticate the balls he is hitting and issue a certificate of authenticity even though MLB is not marking the ball. There are people who do this as business. When I got Tim Duncan and other spurs autographs there was someone there offering to issue certificates for a fee.

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by pirate44
even had he autographed it, i still wouldnt include him in that list. those guys were classy throughout their careers.

Two of the three guys mentioned would charge for an autograph. I know this personally as it happened to me when I was a little kid. The list of players that wanted money from me or others when I was a kid for an autograph is quite a lengthy one. Here are some of the ones that come to mind:

Cal Ripken Jr.
Billy Ripken (just wanted to be like his brother I guess)
Don Mattingly
Rickey Henderson
Jose Canseco
Nolan Ryan
Wade Boggs
Dennis Eckersley
Julio Franco

There were a few others but I don't want to include names that I'm not 100% sure of. Obviously there are two sides to the story. One being, "well if somebody is potentially going to profit off of my name then why shouldn't I get some of the money" and the other being "well these guys make enough money...why do they need an extra $20-50???"

I don't disagree with either point of view to be honest. You can make a solid argument for both...the 2nd one more so than the first. However, to consider the first one, you would really have to be "in their shoes" and that's hard to do because none of us have been a celebrity of the same magnitude that they are.

[raider red 2000]

the guy should have said that he wouldnt sign the ESPN thing.

blay hard ball :)

[AggieJohn]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
yes they are...they announced (very quietly) on Friday that they are marking the balls. IMAGINE THAT, MLB IS CHANGING FROM THEIR ORIGIANL STANCE...

[Gobbla2001]

I think it's smart to charge someone 20 bucks if you're in a hurry or something... sign one you gotta sign 'em all I guess...

But the dude will be on national T.V. showing he has the ball, so it'd be easy to tell someone "I caught the ball" if it's on T.V...

[Phil C]

I bet Babe and Aaron would have signed it too. For free too.

[pirate44]

Originally posted by Phil C
I bet Babe and Aaron would have signed it too. For free too.
maybe not if there was ebay back then.