Fans Are So Obsessed With Them by Jim Williams

After yet another extended vacation, Seeing Eye Singles is back to celebrate a week of baseball milestones. An old guy won his 300th game, a young guy hit his 500th home run, and someone else did some other thing.

Over the weekend, Adam "Mario" Hughes, a 33 year old plumber from San Diego, caught home run ball #755 in Petco Park. Selling the ball is an option that Hughes is looking into. "I've inquired into how many gold coins it will bring in," stated Hughes. "My girlfriend, Peach, is missing and the extra money would really help in the search."

Jim's Barry Bonds watch: *

Mike Bacsik and his father are the only father-son tandem to ever pitch to a hitter with 755 home runs. The elder Bacsik was able to hold Hank Aaron at 755 while the junior Bacsik will now go down in history as the man who destroyed baseball.

While denying that he felt any resentment towards Bonds, Hank Aaron refused to comment on his feelings towards David Aardsma.

Jim's video of the week: A fan captured the chaos in the right field stands just a few seats from where Bond's 756th home run landed.

After getting beat up, what does 21 year old Matt Murphy have to show for it? A higher tax bill, even if he decides to keep the 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 one tax expert. This could amount to over $200,000 in taxes, just because he caught a baseball.

Did Bonds' body armor play a large role in breaking the record? Personally, I won't believe it until I read about it in a Jose Canseco book.

Many fans are waiting patiently for the day that Alex Rodriguez breaks Bond's record, but even that's far from a sure thing. No infielder has ever hit 275 home runs after their 32nd birthday. Will he be the next Hank Aaron or the next Ken Griffey Jr.? Or maybe baseball will cease to exist due the upcoming bat shortage. Please, Al Gore, save our game!

Jim's link of the week: Barry Bonds vs. Darth Vader

And now for a non-Barry Bonds story: St. Bonaventure baseball coach Larry Sudbrook was recently fined $1,000 and lost his weapon after he pleaded guilty to trying to carry a handgun onto a commercial airplane. "This negative press is unfortunate," stated catcher Bonnie McBonnerson. "This just proves that, once again, Coach has our backs. Who else would go to those lengths to protect his team from mothafuckin' snakes?"

"The triple is the most exciting play in baseball. Home runs win a lot of games, but I never understood why fans are so obsessed with them."

--Hank Aaron

Previous Seeing Eye Singles
June 22, 2007: Theismann Was Pretty Manly
May 7, 2007: A Simpler And More Ordered Place
April 23, 2007: It Keeps The Parents Off The Streets
April 16, 2007: In All These Little Towns
April 9, 2007: Last Two Words of the National Anthem

Comments

Ford Fricks Asterisk : August 9, 2007 07:45 PM

I suspect a few Tribe fans are the only ones who will remember Mike Bacsik for something else... he made his major league debut in 2001 in long relief of Dave Burba (and gave up 7 runs) the night the Indians overcame a 12-run defecit to beat the Mariners 15-14 in extra-innings.

Well, except for a feeble-minded Mets fan who will remember him as Shawn Estes (nevermind, inside joke for VLM).

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