In a June 2003 article about comic book mogul Todd McFarlane—the man who created Spawn, bought Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball for $3 million, and who surprisingly enjoys drawing attention to himself—this exchange between McFarlane and 2002 American League Cy Young winner and future $126 million Train vocalist Barry Zito was recorded:
Todd McFarlane, macabre comic book creator and toymaker, is busting the chops of Barry Zito, the flame-throwing ace of baseball's Oakland A's.
At the Tempe, Ariz., headquarters of McFarlane Cos., the man who paid $3 million for a souvenir baseball is giving Zito a lesson about the pitcher's new action figure.
"The better you are, the better it will sell," McFarlane says, while they chat on MLB.com Radio, one of his latest ventures. "But if you get shellacked in the next couple of games, that toy is going to get rusty."
A quick search of eBay shows that one could buy that Series 7 Barry Zito McFarlane action figure, mint-in-packaging together with the Troy Glaus figure, today for $6.99 plus shipping.
Thank you for reading
This is a free article. If you enjoyed it, consider subscribing to Baseball Prospectus. Subscriptions support ongoing public baseball research and analysis in an increasingly proprietary environment.
Subscribe now