Here we go again

[db44]

SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco Giants fan who caught Barry Bonds' 700th homer is being sued by another man who says he was the rightful owner of the prized ball, which he maintains was stolen from him during a mad scramble.

According to a restraining order to be filed in state court Tuesday, Timothy Murphy said Steve Williams stole the historic blast from him during a melee in the left-center bleachers at SBC Park on Sept. 17.

"Immediately after the 700 home run ball fell to the area of plaintiff's feet, plaintiff established possession, dominion and control over the ball by sitting on it and securing it with his right leg," according to the suit.

Murphy apparently is holding a 5 p.m. ET news conference Tuesday to discuss his plight.

Williams said in an interview that he did not steal the ball but found it at the bottom of the heap of people.

"We all got in this pile. There were people everywhere," the 26-year-old Pacifica man said. He said he did not kick, punch or accost anybody to obtain the baseball.

"I didn't do any of that," he said.

Murphy could not be immediately located for comment. A message left with his San Jose attorneys Monday night was not immediately returned.

Bonds became the first new member of the 700 club in 31 years, joining Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. He now has 703 career home runs and is closing in on the mark's held by Ruth (714) and Aaron (755).

It's not the first time fans headed to court over the fate of a Bonds homer. In October, 2001, Bonds' record-setting 73rd homer of the season sparked litigation that ended when a judge ordered both men to split the $450,000 the ball fetched.

That case included experts in baseball and ownership discussing the rightful owner of baseballs hit into the stands.

With no legal precedent to determine the outcome, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Kevin McCarthy said that both Alex Popov and Patrick Hayashi each have a legitimate claim and neither should get the ball outright.

Both sides agreed a videotape showed the ball in Popov's glove. They couldn't agree on what defines possession -- Popov's split-second catch or Hayashi's final grab.

Comic book icon Todd McFarlane paid $3.2 million for Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball in 1999.

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Here's an idea: Let's just take the ball from both these morons and ship it to Cooperstown.

I will say this though: Sitting on the ball does not mean posession to me. The guy filing the suit should be banned from the ballpark (actually, banned from society, but I'll settle for MLB ;)).

[*nsyncablemom]

I think they should give it to Bonds and let him decide where it should go! :D

[*rockstar54*]

It's so ridiculous. I don't think either guy should get the ball....it should be given back to Bonds, or the Giants or something. What would be really nice is if it was sold, and the money was donated to the memorial fund of the young man murdered in the parking lot the night Bonds hit it. But I know that won't ever happen.
The guy who has the ball now isn't even a Giants fan....he said that he didn't care about the game, all he wanted was Bonds' 700th home run ball :rolleyes: I wondered if something like this (the lawsuit) was gonna happen cuz right after Bonds hit the home run, I saw a whole bunch of police officers talking to a guy with a little kid who was sobbing in the bleachers. I can't tell if it's the same guy who's suing, but I assume it is.
The defense attorney for the case is a wacko. Daniel Horowitz is defending the guy with the ball. He's been on Nancy Grace's CourtTV show claiming that Scott Peterson's parents conspired to kill Laci, a reporter from the SF Chron that I know basically called him a media whore, and he has kinda the sleazy defense attorney look. I talked to him at the Peterson trial once, and he seems into himself. I bet he only took on this case because of the publicity he'll receive.

[*rockstar54*]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A California judge has declared Steve Williams -- the Giants fan who ended up with Barry Bonds' 700th homerun ball -- the lawful owner, freeing him to sale the souvenir immediately.

San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Ronald Quidachay's decision Friday came after a 90-minute hearing, which included six lawyers repeatedly replaying footage of the historic homer and the 80-second melee at SBC Park for the ball, valued by analysts at more than $100,000.

"I'm going to sell it as soon as possible," Williams, a 26-year-old mortgage-broker assistant from Pacifica, told reporters after the hearing.

Timothy Murphy, a 40-year-old Giants fan from San Mateo, sued Williams this week, saying he rightfully owned the ball because he had it locked behind his knees while at the bottom of a scrum before Williams swiped it.

Murphy declined comment afterward.

"You just haven't had sufficient evidence," the judge said.

Murphy was trying to get the judge to block Williams from selling the ball. That would allow a trial in a bid by Murphy to win the ball outright and sell it himself.

Although the judge said he didn't think there was enough evidence for Murphy to prevail at trial, Murphy's attorney, David Kornbluh, said he may still continue with the lawsuit and sue Williams for the ball's proceeds.

"This doesn't conclude the litigation," Kornbluh said after the hearing.

Bonds on Sept. 17 became the first new member of the 700-homer club in 31 years, joining Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron, when he blasted a pitch to the left-center bleachers. He now has 703 career home runs and is closing in on Ruth (714) and Aaron (755).

Williams' attorney, Daniel Horowitz, said he and three other lawyers were representing Williams for free. As they stood by an army of news cameras outside the courtroom, Horowitz quipped, "We call ourselves the pro-bono all-stars."

It's not the first time fans headed to court over the fate of a Bonds homer. In October, 2001, Bonds' record-setting 73rd homer of the season sparked litigation that ended when a judge here ordered two men to split the $450,000 the ball fetched, a year after the homer.

That case included experts in baseball and ownership rights regarding balls hit into the stands.

A second man who said he was the rightful owner of Bonds' No. 700, Alex Patino, 37 of San Francisco, said Wednesday he was going to sue Williams as well. No such suit has been filed.

The case is Murphy v. Williams, 434972.

[Venisenvy]

they should do the right thing and give it to bonds but that should not be a rule. Also in the end the person to have the ball in their hand at the end of the scramble etc... gets the ball.

[db44]

In the Maris days, one person got the ball, and gave it to Maris in exchange for a signed ball or two.