A California man who claims he caught Barry Bonds' final home run of the season was granted a temporary injunction Wednesday that prevents the sale or concealment of the ball held by the man who walked away with the ball after fans scuffled for it at Pacific Bell Park on Oct. 7.

	Barry Bonds is greeted at home plate by Nikolai, his son and the Giants' batboy, after extending his home run record with No. 73.

Alex Popov, the Berkeley, Calif., restaurateur who contends he caught Bonds' final home run of the season, filed for the injunction in California Superior Court in San Francisco on Tuesday against Patrick Hayashi. By granting the order, Judge David Garcia ruled that until ownership of the ball can be clarified further, the ball will be placed in a safe-deposit box at a San Francisco bank, with the court holding the keys. The ball will remain in safekeeping until Nov. 13, though its stay could be extended if Garcia believes a separate civil suit is likely to be heard.

Popov claims he caught the valuable ball -- which memorabilia experts say could bring more than $1 million at auction -- while standing in the arcade behind the right-field stands. Popov alleges that the ball was stolen from him when a swarm of fans knocked him to the ground, leaving him with broken glasses and numerous bruises.

"As a society, we cannot condone behavior that allows fans to get mugged at sporting events," Popov said. "If we say this type of behavior is OK, what will happen in the future when Barry approaches Hank Aaron's all-time record of 755? Will fans need brass knuckles and body armor to go the game?"

KNTV-TV cameraman Josh Keppel caught the sequence on tape, though it is unclear how Hayashi came to possess the ball. Moments after Hayashi emerged with the ball, he was escorted away by Major League Baseball security.

"I've seen the tape and I don't think any of the visuals support what they are saying," said Hayashi's lawyer, Don Tamaki. "(Popov) says he clearly caught the ball. Well, you see the ball striking the glove and he's got a snowcone, but beyond that the ball just disappears.

"This is America and it's a free country," Tamaki said. "Anyone's free to sue if they want to, but with that freedom comes a responsibility to exercise good judgement and common sense and the question we are asking the court is: Are we going to turn every foul ball and home run into a lawsuit?"

Popov entered into evidence affidavits from Keppel, two witnesses who claim that Hayashi allegedly bit a young boy during the melee in the stands and University of Tulsa law professor Paul Finkelman, who wrote a paper on the legality of ownership of foul balls. Finkelman recently told ESPN.com he believes the ball belongs to the person who initially caught it.

"I do think there is more legal leeway for both sides, since my video doesn't appear to show the possession of the ball being transferred from one person to another," Keppel said. "I think that the video used in conjunction with eyewitness testimony could, however, be helpful for one side to prove a particular point."

Hayashi only made one public comment to the media, after refusing a news conference at Pac Bell Park on Oct. 7. Tamaki said Hayashi is "very media shy and he was worried that with this event he would lose his privacy." Hayashi will make another public statement next week to tell his side of the story, Tamaki said.

"Quibbling over a used baseball used to be a pretty unimportant issue," said David Carter, a California-based sports consultant who has served as an expert witness in sports business cases. "Now, since some balls like this one are worth six figures and possibly more, it's tantamount to a custody battle where you will have bitter parents fighting over their cherished possession."

Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at darren.rovell@espn.com.