After Barry Bonds smacked his 73rd home run off Chan Ho Park, Alex Popov ended up with the ball in his glove. However, a fracas broke out, and in the ensuing melee, Patrick Hayashi ended up with the ball. This is where stories diverge. Popov said the ball was ripped out of his glove, though not necessarily by Hayashi, and other ballseekers said that Hayashi bit someone trying to get the ball. Hayashi said the ball just landed at his feet, and he picked it up. A legal dispute resulted. Now, the judge has ruled that Popov and Hayashi must sell the ball, and split the proceeds. I think that Popov has the better claim to the ball, but considering the circumstances now, this is probably the fairest solution. However, Popov is not satisfied by this. He doesn't want the cash, he wants to keep the ball. He has offered to buy out Hayashi's share of the ball. Obviously, this presents a new problem, because it is left up to an appraiser, and there will inevitably be a dispute over the value of the ball (estimated at about $1 million.) It is curious that Mark McGwire's 70th ball in 1998 sold for $3 million, while Bonds' ball is only worth $1 million.