Up for Grabs - The Story of Barry Bonds' Record Homerun Ball

I'm a huge sports fan. So I was pretty aware of the controversy that surrounded the record homerun ball that Barry Bonds hit in October of '01.

Even though it was major news on TV and print - for the uninitiated out there, Bonds hit a major league record 73 homers that season which broke the previous record on 70.

When Mark McGuire set the record 3 years before the ball sold for 2.7 million dollars. So, the fans who waited in the bleachers were hoping for a similar "lottery ticket" to fall in their hands.

The hullabaloo started as soon as the ball landed in the outfield. A scrum surrounded the ball as everyone and their dog was crawling over each other to get it.

A news cameraman by the name of Keppel got a clear shot of the whole thing. The amusing footage shows grown men acting like grade schoolers as the mob fought for the little sphere.

On closer review the ball was obviously caught by Alex Popov before the mass of humanity took him down. Patrick Hayashi came up with the ball and was whisked away by MLB officials and security.

Popov and witnesses made a fuss a complaint was launched. In the early going it's natural to side with Popov as he pleads for justice. Hayashi says little if anything instead hiring a lawyer and media handler.

The tape also seems to show Hayashi biting the leg of a boy to get a better angle at grabbing the ball. As the plot thickens Popov reveals himself to be a real jerk.

It's also not so cut and dry as to who deserves the ball as a few witnesses claim Popov wasn't as beat up as he claimed. It's hard to really side with either of them as the case over the baseball goes to court. In one hilarious sequence both guys are asked by the media to just sit down and talk about it, but both have dug in their heels.

The film has lots of interviews from all the key participants in addition to sportswriters and the debating public. The film is fascinating and hysterical as it just presents the information and lets the audience make up its own mind.

By the time the judgment finally comes the decision is so obvious it brings to mind King Solomon. Popov and Hayashi end up having to sell the ball and split the proceeds down the middle. Since the dispute over the ball lasted well over a year by the time the auction finally happened alot of collectors were very turned off by the whole thing, and as a result the ball went for way lower than first imagined.

Up for Grabs is an extremely well made film, all the more impressive because it's Director Michael Wranovics debut film. The last several years, we've entered a documentary Renaissance of sorts, and this one is among the best during that period.

3.5 out of 4