SAN FRANCISCO -- If possession truly is nine-tenths of the law, then Alex Popov and Patrick Hayashi both struck out Wednesday.

Judge Kevin McCarthy ruled that neither Popov nor Hayashi could claim ownership of Barry Bonds' record 73rd home run ball.

Questions remain

Judge Kevin McCarthy stipulated that the two split the proceeds in a public auction, but many questions remain. "Assuming there's no appeal, they have to determine when they would sell it, where they would sell it, what the commission rate would be, what the reserve price would be and what the description of the item would say," said Michael Barnes, a sports marketing agent who worked with the owners of most of the Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa record-breaking home run balls and has served as an advisor to Patrick Hayashi. "These two guys have been at each other's throats for the past year and three months and the vague nature of the decision makes it very hard to determine what should happen going forward." Barnes said the split will encourage more people to go to court in the future. "When Sammy Sosa hits his first home run next season it will be his 500th," Barnes said. "That ball is going to go bouncing down Waveland Avenue and any party that gets its hands on it is going to file suit." -- Darren Rovell, ESPN.com sports business writer

In a meandering 20-minute ruling that appeared to favor one litigant and then the other, McCarthy finally ordered the two men to sell the ball and split the proceeds -- estimated by one sports memorabilia auctioneer at up to $2 million.

Bonds hit the ball into the record books, and into a long court battle, on the last day of the regular season in October 2001 to set the season record for homers. Since then, the ball has been locked in legal limbo and a safe deposit box.

Both Popov, who initially gloved the ball for an instant, and Hayashi, who emerged from a mob on the pavement with the ball, have a legitimate claim, said McCarthy. And so neither should get the ball outright.

"Their legal claims are of equal quality and they are equally entitled to the ball," McCarthy ruled. "The ball must be sold and divided equally between the parties."

Lou Constanzo, vice president of sales for sports memorabilia auctioneers Real Legends, said the court battle increased the value of the ball.

"In the market condition right now, I think it will sell for more than $1 million," Constanzo said. "It could very well reach $1.5 million or $2 million."

McCarthy's ruling, a lengthy exploration of the meaning of possession, came after a trial in which legal scholars and former umpires debated what constitutes a catch. The case left many baseball fans around the nation exasperated, and some cited the trial as an example of what's wrong with America today.

The judge made a point of saying that if he awarded the ball solely to Hayashi, it could send the wrong message to fans about civility in the stands.

"This case demands vindication of an important principle," he said. "We are a nation governed by law, not by brute force."

The case grabbed headlines, and much of McCarthy's ruling aired live nationally. More than three dozen reporters crammed the superior court room in San Francisco. Indeed, the case became something of a media spectacle, with McCarthy's bailiff asking the press corps to sign a copy of a photograph of the judge as a gift.

It was a ruling of twisting, turning and countering findings that pitted one legal precedent against another.

But, even though the judge acknowledged Popov had been "set upon by a gang of bandits who dislodged the ball," McCarthy said Popov never demonstrated full possession and could not be awarded sole ownership.

The judge made it clear Hayashi had done nothing wrong and was not part of that gang, and Hayashi said outside court that clearing his name was the most satisfying part of the ruling.

"All along, this whole process from Day One, I have been accused of doing some wrongdoing, that I was the person out there attacking people. And that's not true, that was not true. I was out there just like everybody else. I got pushed to the ground," said Hayashi, who has estimated his legal bills will far exceed $100,000.

Popov was less satisfied with the ruling, maintaining he was robbed of the ball and saying the judge's decision "just shows that mob rule and violence can prevail."

Stanford University Law School professor Robert Weisberg, however, said the rules that govern conduct in a sports arena are not the same as those that apply in day-to-day life.

"What do you expose yourself to in a grandstand?'' he said. ``There has to be some assumption of risk."

Much of the case turned on a matter of fractions of seconds caught on television videotape.

TV news video showed the ball in Popov's glove for at least six-tenths of a second before he was enveloped by a crowd. Both sides agreed the videotape showed the ball in Popov's glove. They did not agree on what defines possession -- Popov's split-second catch, or Hayashi's final grab.

Popov contends he held the ball longer than a split second before it was taken from his glove. Hayashi said Popov dropped it before hitting the pavement.

McCarthy deliberated for a month after hearing closing arguments in late November. The case was heard only by McCarthy, without a jury.