Catch 22 (or 715) : watching No. 715 on the secondary market

Can you idenify the object pictured at right and what does it have to do with Barry Bonds? Is it a bird, a plane? Did the robotic Bonds happen to lose a lugnut while swinging for the fences or is it just  another Bonds HR ball screaming towards centerfield? Read below and learn about the connection between Barry and a certain superhero artist/creator and what he is willing to pay for No. 715.

--------------------

While the holiday weekend seemed to be dominated by X-men.... X marked the spot for Andrew Morbitzer, the fan who happened to catch Barry's Ball homerun number 715 ball.

One has to wonder if the HR ball which landed in the beer line will turn to gold for Morbitzer. Considering no. 714 was caught by a professed "Barry Hater" one has to wonder with the current anti-Barry climate what the secondary market might bring fro the ball.

There was an interesting piece posted on the value of No. 715 by an AP writer last week. It appears the special HR by the Supersized Barry won't even fetch superbucks from superhero creator and avid baseball collector Todd McFarlane who is only willing to shell out 70K for HR no 715.

(excerpt) The No. 715 ball is expected to fetch around $100,000 at auction — if it goes that rout — far less than the $500,000 some experts say it could have commanded without the controversy surrounding Bonds.

The estimate is based on the sale of Bonds' 700th home run ball, which went for just over $100,000, coupled with the temerity of some collectors concerned their investment will lose value if Bonds is proven to have used steroids, auctioneers said.

Comic book icon Todd McFarlane, who paid $3 million for Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball in 1999 and just over $500,000 for Bonds' 73rd home run ball of the 2001 season, said he'll probably bid on No. 715, but he's lukewarm about the milestone.

McFarlane said the most he'd pay would be $70,000.

"Most of the stuff that I chase, I want number one," McFarlane said. "What happens when I walk into a room and say I have the second-best ball? The first question is, 'Well, where's the best one?'"

McFarlane is quite an interesting guy as he not only owns a boxful of record breaking baseballs but he also the owner of the Edmonton's Oilers. The guy actually tried his hand at becoming a pro baseball player before becoming an artist/ turned pro sports owner.

McFarlane recently spawned a new logo for the Edmonton Oilers featured on the team's Third Jersey (check it out- it is pretty hip and it has pretty well thought out backstory). Todd has to be gushing over his Oiler's recent run from the no. 8 seed to the Stanley Cup finals and who knows if they win maybe he will reward himself with another trophy... Barry's no. 715.

As we stay tuned to the Todd McFarlane / No. 715 HR run ball watch also keep an eye on Albert Pujols as he is currently on pace to hit 79, shattering Barry's single season HR record season mark of 73.

Make your predictions below and win a special Bonds T-shirt from our friends at NoMas. We're accepting guesses for Bonds  (his end of season career total... 727, etc. ), Pujols (single season total.. 67, etc.), and the person closest to how much the No. 715 ball will go for at auction.  Each of the 3 winners will take home the iconic and ironic bonds  "Say No to Drugs" shirt.