When Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's all-time record for home runs, it ignited a debate: How much was the historic baseball worth, and how much would it sell for? BloggingStocks writer Tom Barlow asked the question, "What is it really worth?"
To Barlow, it's worth nothing. Bonds is a cheater. But I have another take on it, and one that ties into the way I look at stocks. When investing, I want to buy a company with some kind of moat: If the moat surrounding the value of the Bonds ball is however many homers Bonds will finish his career with, how wide is that moat? Not too wide. Here are some people who have a shot at breaking the record:
- Alex Rodriguez
- Albert Pujols
- Ken Griffey, Jr. (This is a long shot but would be the feel-good story of all-time)
I am willing to make a bet: Whoever pays $400K+ for the Bonds ball will, in 10 years at the most, own a home run ball hit by a steroid-tainted baseball player who, in addition to being among the most hated people in all of sports, is also number two on the all-time list for home runs.
Whether you're buying a baseball or a stock, you want to look for a durable moat. I don't think the Bonds ball has that, and I'd be shorting it here.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-12-2007 @ 12:57PM
John Holman said...
The level of hate, which is way over the top, may actually end up making his stuff more collectible.
He has been very careful about saving the items he takes back to the dugout. I'd kill for the bat he used to break the record.