Up for Grabs

First, being an avid S. F. Giants fan who had the wonderful fortune to be present when Barry Bonds hit his 73rd home run in 2001, this was a must see for me. To have so much focus on such a major sports event and its repercussions was nice just for the memories it brought back. Plenty worthwhile just for this reason alone.

Beyond that this film is just plain funny, with its exposure of the humanity - greed, stupidity, arrogance, confusion, etc. - of those involved in the dispute surrounding the ownership of the 73rd home run baseball. There is even a dreaded Dodger fan in all his intellectual wonder, commenting in his inimitable way upon the events and dispute.

I didn't reach any personal conclusions on the individuals disputing the ball ownership, as a result of the film. I was quite impressed with the comments from the Judge who handled the trial of the case and decided what would happen to the ball.

From a purely "documentary film" critical point of view, the documentary was fine, but not great. It was definitely the story here which has center stage in this one and how it was told did not interfere with the pleasure in it at all. I am sorry so few people will likely get the opportunity to see this one.

For all of the future self-serving idiots that look to grab a stake of history, watch this movie. Granted, Up for Grabs is a pretty basic documentary in the straightest sense, but it's the human drama that is involved that makes it such a comedic experience.

Popov and Hayashi were both idiots, let's make that clear. But Popov's overwhelming sense of self worth seemed to provide just what he wanted. He was a loathing, idiot that was purely out to make money, just like Hayashi. But you couldn't turn away from Popov. His idiocy is what truly makes the story, and let's face it, his greed ultimately cost him a lot of money and debt.

What I also found so compelling about this movie is how times have changed. People only care about the money making aspect rather than the thrill of the game. People don't go to a game to see someone like Barry Bonds (or these days, Albert Pujols), they're just waiting for the day he sets some record so they could grab a potential meal ticket. It's a pretty startling assessment when Bonds is the sensible and well-meaning conscience that neither Hayashi or Popov seemed to have.

This documentary was very well done. It followed the case between the two guys that said they should have the 73rd home run ball. While watching it I was thinking the one that caught it should have the ball but after watching it I'm thinking the one that ended up with the ball should have had it. In a free-for-all situation like that, the one that walks out with the ball should keep it. It had me wondering how it would turn out in the end and I wasn't very surprised really. The only real surprise was what the lawyers for the guy that "found" the ball did at the end. Don't want to spoil it for you. Well worth a watch. And I'm not even a baseball fan.

Side note: The person that ended up buying the ball at the auction was once a very popular comic book artist for Marvel Comics. He later worked for Image Comics and created SPAWN. He owns a company now that puts out high quality collector figures. McFarland Toys.

This quirky little documentary is ample proof that people are stupid...and a bit crazy...and greedy. While I am sure some die-hard sports fans would disagree, the film shows that there is something wrong with how people react to sports. And, you wonder, have we changed all that much since the times of the Roman Coliseum....other than the introduction of lawyers into the mix?!

The film is about the controversy that surrounds the person who claimed to have caught the 73rd home run ball hit by Barry Bonds after he broke the single-season record in 2001. But, before going there, the film shows a nice little history of record-breaking home run balls--starting with the 61st ball hit by Roger Maris. It was interesting how the previous record-breaking balls were CLEARLY caught by one person and how times changed. The Maris ball was apparently bought for $5000--and the Mark McGwire ball went for $2.7 million four decades later! Insane? You betcha!

The 73rd ball knocked out by Barry Bonds in 2001 is a bit of a different story. Although it seemed like a certain guy caught the ball, further review of film footage show that there was a mêlée--folks practically stomping on each other to get that #%$@ ball. Two guys claimed they caught the ball and, not surprisingly, lawyers and a legal battle ensued. Then, witnesses supporting BOTH sides began to speak out and it was a huge news story as well. Yes, this truly story is about the worst aspects of human nature--and as the film progressed, I grew to strongly dislike BOTH these fellows and I wanted to see them get nothing!

So is the film worth seeing? Yup. It was well constructed, fascinating throughout and would make great viewing by a psychology or sociology class. However, I hope that this film is never viewed by folks from other planets (if they even exist). If this does happen, they'll no doubt have a very, very low opinion of our species. And, who knows, perhaps we'll all face liquidation thanks to these idiots.

By the way, I loved the comments by the reporter Wayne Freedman when he tried to put the whole case into perspective! Also, after all the MANY legal fees, I wondered how much these folks actually made on that stupid ball as the film progressed. I was strongly rooting for them to get nothing...or perhaps STILL owe their lawyers after all was said and done. See this film to find out exactly how it all turned out when the auction ended...but rest assured, sometimes Karma really does seem possible!