"I didn't tell anyone," he said.

The 24-year-old from Boulder, Colo., quickly moved the baseball into a safety deposit box after the season was finished, realizing its potential worth. And with Bonds still looking for a place to play this season, Sutton decided to come forward with the ball.

Sutton has hired SCP Auctions to run an online auction that starts March 31.

"I thought it would be cool to give it to my grandkids, but it's too important of a ball for me to have it in my house laying around," Sutton said yesterday.

Sutton grabbed Bonds' final homer of last season on Sept. 5 at Coors Field when he extended his arm over the fence. He thought he had it cleanly and then was crunched by two other fans.

"I did what was a weird splits, and saw the ball rolling in front of me," he said.

Sutton already had a batting-practice baseball in one hand that he was given by a member of the Rockies' maintenance crew before the game. He let go of that one and snatched the home-run ball.

Sutton has already pledged at least half of the ball's proceeds to his parents because his father is back in the hospital battling cancer. "I just want to help my family," he said. "I'll pay his medical bills, for their house, whatever. I gladly will."

The auction house also handled the sale of Bonds' record-breaking home-run ball No. 756, which went for $752,467.

David Kohler, the president of SCP Auctions, said he already has had people offer up to $1 million for Sutton's baseball. *