Congratulations Barry Bonds

[Jeremy]

Good shit. 

[Pete]

he's the record holder, for about 8 more years 

[Heather]

Go Barry!!

[BC]

Go A-rod...

[millamak]

I used to be a huge Barry Bonds fan, but over the last few years, that has been real tough with all of the alligations and what not going round.  I still respect him a lot as a ball player because even if he did juice, you still have to be a good ball player to get anything out of that.  I also bet he didn't really start doing anything til after McGwire broke the single season record so all of the work he had done up to that point was legit, which was plenty.  It will be interesting to see if his record gets broken.  I wonder what the final tally will be?  Congrats to Barry on a great accomplishment and here's to hoping that he didn't use illegal substances to get there so that it is looked back on as a legit accomplishment. 

[ELake]

I used to be a huge Barry Bonds fan, but over the last few years, that has been real tough with all of the alligations and what not going round.  I still respect him a lot as a ball player because even if he did juice, you still have to be a good ball player to get anything out of that.  I also bet he didn't really start doing anything til after McGwire broke the single season record so all of the work he had done up to that point was legit, which was plenty.  It will be interesting to see if his record gets broken.  I wonder what the final tally will be?  Congrats to Barry on a great accomplishment and here's to hoping that he didn't use illegal substances to get there so that it is looked back on as a legit accomplishment. 

X2

I just think its BS that a guy who is so far out of his prime makes a complete turn around and starts jacking them home....it's hard to believe.  It was hard to believe when McGwire & Sosa did it too....I gotta call BS on that.  I don't see many NHL guys who are out of their primes start lighting up goals and assist tallys...

[Pete]

McGwire admitted to using Andro, it wasn't illegal then.  Sosa and Bonds, yea they have skeletons in the closet, they'll come out eventually.

[millamak]

Barry's numbers never really fell off though til the last couple of years when his body has really started to age on him.  He was pretty consistent every year.  He just had the one season where he hit 73 or whatever it was.  It isn't like he went from hitting 10-15 to 60 for 5 straight years or something.  Look at his career numbers and just about every year he played the whole season, he hit 30+ homers.  He always hit for a high average and up until the last 5 years, he was also always a threat to steal.  He was actually a pretty good outfielder too for a long time. 

[Jeremy]

Hes hit 30 or more homers every year since 1992.  Remember, before 2005, steroids were not illegal and bonds has never tested positive for anything.  He just had the one big year like mcgwire and sosa did.  Sosa was CAUGHT cheating with his corked bats but nobody remembers that.  McGwire openly said he was taking andro, like pete said.

Just think how many HRs hed have without the intentional walks and BS.  I believe he has nearly 1000 more walks then hank aaron did. 

I think Barry will end up with 790 HRs if he plays next year.

Hank's message to Barry solidifies him as the record holder.

Whats funny is that nobody mentions the pitchers taking roids.  Clay hensley, who gave up #755 to Bonds was suspended in the minors for testing positive for roids.

[Jeremy]

Go A-rod...

Oh how you wish A rod was a mariner.

[CBerg]

I am NOT a fan of baseball but I cannot stand listening to all these morons bitching because he did this and used roids.   As far as I know, roids might help the ball go a few more feet but not help you hit that 100mph fastball...  Thats hand-eye co-ordination, not brute strength.     These same morons are the ones in the stands thinking  "If I catch this ball, it will be worth thousands!"  Instead of catching it and thinking, "I have Barry Bonds 756(?) homerun ball!"  which would be a huge piece of baseball history.
Guys on 93x made this point the morning after...  Thaught it was a good one.

[Heather]

The kid who caught it as on Today this morning. Says he wants to keep the ball because its such a huge part of baseball history. But well see...

[CBerg]

As soon as 21-year-old Matt Murphy snagged the valuable piece of sports history Tuesday night, his souvenir became taxable income in the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service, according to experts.

"It's an expensive catch," said John Barrie, a tax lawyer with Bryan Cave LLP in New York who grew up watching the Giants play at Candlestick Park. "Once he took possession of the ball and it was his ball, it was income to him based on its value as of yesterday,"


By most estimates, the ball that put Bonds atop the list of all-time home run hitters with 756 would sell in the half-million dollar range on the open market or at auction.

That would instantly put Murphy, a college student from Queens, in the highest tax bracket for individual income, where he would face a tax rate of about 35 percent, or about $210,000 on a $600,000 ball.

Even if he does not sell the ball, Murphy would still owe the taxes based on a reasonable estimate of its value, according to Barrie. Capital gains taxes also could be levied in the future as the ball gains value, he said.

On the other hand, he said, if the ongoing federal investigation into steroid abuse among professional athletes takes a criminal turn for Bonds, the ball's value could go down -- which would likely allow Murphy to claim a loss.

Not everyone concurs on Barrie's interpretation of the intersection between professional sports and the nation's tax code.

But for its part, the IRS seems reluctant to clear up the confusion. With six-figure treasures so rarely falling out of the sky, the agency declined to comment Wednesday on what regulations would apply and whether they would be enforced in the case of the Bonds ball.

History does not provide much of a guide since most fans who have been lucky enough to snag previous long balls have chosen to sell their mementos. And at least one ball was as much a source of embarrassment for the IRS as revenue.

As Mark McGwire chased the mark for most home runs in a season in 1998, IRS officials initially said the ball that broke Roger Maris' long-standing record could be subject to taxes even if it were returned to McGwire. The statements were ridiculed by politicians and quickly disavowed by the agency's top brass.

"All I know is that the fan who gives back the home run ball deserves a round of applause, not a big tax bill," then-IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti said at the time.

Ultimately, Tim Forneris, a member of the St. Louis Cardinals grounds crew, recovered McGwire's 62nd home run ball. He turned it over to the Cardinals and received a trip to Disney World and a minivan in return.

Phil Ozersky, a Cardinals season-ticket holder, caught McGwire's 70th homer later that season and sold it in 1999 to comic book artist Todd McFarlane for $3 million.

A spokeswoman for the Giants said that as with any ball that enters the stands at AT&T Park, Bonds' 435-foot drive into the right-center field stands belonged to the person who caught it, so the team wouldn't seek its return. Bonds said he also had no interest in retrieving it.

Murphy, who went to the game during a layover from a flight to Australia, grew up near Shea Stadium and was wearing a Mets jersey when he made the charmed grab.

He told the New York Daily News he planned to keep 51 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the ball and would give the rest to his friend, Amir Kamal, 21, of New York, who was also at the game.

"I won the lottery," he told the newspaper. "I'm going to be smart about what I do with it."

Updated on Wednesday, Aug 8, 2007 8:02 pm, EDT

Can you F&^%ING believe that... taxed for catching a god damn baseball! 

omg this makes me so mad im shaking....   

[Pete]

I think that Barry is undoubtedly one of the best hitters ever.  When it comes to strictly a baseball skills view, he's one of the top 3 players all time in my eyes. 

Now, from a fan standpoint...who are some of the most remembered and cherished baseball heroes?  Babe Ruth?  Great guy to the fans, always giving of his time, helping kids out etc.  Mickey Mantle, yea he was an alcoholic, but he was the same way.  DiMaggio?  yep, Hank Aaron, yep, Nolan Ryan, yep, see a pattern?

Now, you take guys like Ty Cobb, Reggie Jackson, and now Bonds.  Yes, they were great players, but they don't hold the same level of respect with the fans.  I'd even venture to throw Ted Williams in here, I think he caught a raw deal in Boston with their gay media, but if not for losing 5 years in the prime of his career to the military, his numbers would be amazing.

[Pete]

oh yea, and for the record, I would sell the ball and invest the profit after buying myself a new truck.  You'd be set for life if you do it right.