Going, Going...sold!

When comic book impresario Todd McFarlane paid $3 million for Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball after the 1998 season, memorabilia cognoscenti around the country let out a collective gasp. "There was a sense that this was an out-of-whack price for a single baseball, regardless of how spectacular it was," says T.S. O'Connell of Sports Collectors Digest. Adds Lou Costanzo of the sports memorabilia auction house Real Legends, "I expected $1 million. But with new items, people often bid with their heart and not their head."

Last week, as Barry Bonds was poised to surpass McGwire's mark, McFarlane was the one holding his breath. "I'm getting a lot of ribbing," said McFarlane, who owns seven McGwire 1998 home run balls, "but if having my balls neutered brings joy to this country now, then I'm ready to do my patriotic duty."

Experts don't expect Bonds's record ball to fetch anywhere near $3 million. "I'd be interested to see if his goes for over a million," says Costanzo. "Maris's record stood for 37 years. McGwire's will have stood for only three. People will hesitate to pay a lot because they're afraid the record will be broken again soon."

Intriguingly, if 70 dingers becomes a common total, McGwire's number 70 might be more valuable than Bonds's record ball. " McGwire's will go down in value," says Costanzo, "but it will always be synonymous with a great moment in sports history." Adds McFarlane, "People who are saying, 'Ahh, your ball will be worth five bucks,' are looking at things too simplistically. That Maris beat Babe Ruth's record in 1961 didn't diminish what Ruth did."

For McFarlane there may be only one strategy. "He really has to buy the Bonds ball," says Costanzo. "If you hold both of them, you control the market." McFarlane says he may bid but won't go as high as he did in 1998. Maybe he's saving something for next year, when Sammy Sosa belts his 75th.

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