Dorcich, a member of the storied family that ran one of the city's oldest orchards until 2001, lives in Frankfurt, where he is a musician, but still visits Saratoga every year.

"A month ago, I was walking in the area reminiscing about my past when suddenly I find this baseball lying on the street," said Dorcich. The ball was sealed in an airtight plastic packet.

When Dorcich picked it up, he quickly realized that it was no ordinary baseball.

He could see what appeared to be a Mickey Mantle signature on one side of the ball. When he turned the ball around, he spotted someone else's autograph. It said, "Willie Mays."

"My heart was in my mouth," said Dorcich.

Dorcich wanted to find out if the autographs were real so he stopped in to see Matt McCrae, the director of sales for Sports Gallery, a sports and collectible chain with stores in Palo Alto, Carmel and Los Gatos.

"His story does sound a little strange," said McCrae. "I would say that I am 90 percent sure that the autographs are authentic, but I would still like him to send the ball to a professional authenticating company."

In the weeks since, Dorcich has told his story to radio hosts and newspaper reporters. "Almost no one believes me," he said.

Dorcich says that his appearance might have something to do with it. He wears his hair long and likes to wear colorful shirts.

"He's a character. Richard is a free-spirited kindred soul," said his sister, Donna Dorcich, who works as an image consultant in San Francisco. "If I had my way, I would trim his hair. I think he gets discriminated against because of his rock & roll image."

She said that Dorcich was a little like Dennis the Menace when he was a boy and was always getting into trouble.

"Even now he beats to a different drummer," she said.

Dorcich has also met with Los Gatos Mayor Mike Wasserman, who owned a sports collectible store in the town for many years.

"I think the ball might have been sold through a home shopping network. I say that because of the plastic packaging it's wrapped in," Wasserman said.

"Very often balls with dual signatures signify some sort of a common theme. Both Mays and Mantle were rookies in 1951," he said.

Wasserman estimated that the ball would be worth anywhere between $700 and $1,300 if it could be authenticated.

"The odds might be that the autographs are real. But there are a lot of fakes out there," he said.

Wasserman has given Dorcich the same advice that McCrae gave him: Send the ball to an authenticator.

Dorcich now plans to mail the ball to an authenticating company in Los Angeles. It will be several weeks before he finds out if the autographs are real.

David Kohler, president of SportsCards Plus, the largest sports memorabilia auctioneer in the country, said that a ball signed by Mantle and Mays isn't extremely rare.

"These players signed a lot of baseballs. Mays is still alive," Kohler said. "I would estimate that the ball would be worth a few hundred dollars."

Kohler said that his company is getting ready for an auction of sports memorabilia in June by Sotheby's in New York, the international auction house. "We are the experts that Sotheby's employs for their sports collectible auctions," he said.

At the auction, a baseball signed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig is expected to fetch somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000.

Dorcich, however, says he doesn't want to sell the ball or auction it off.

"All I want to do is return the ball to its owner. I'm willing to take a lie-detector test," Dorcich said. "Can you actually believe that I found a ball signed by these two legends?"

Suddenly Dorcich gets a faraway look in his eyes.

"If you're a baseball fan, it's very hard not to like Willie Mays. I remember hearing stories about him playing in Candlestick Park in the 1960s. He would give 100 percent in every game," said Dorcich.

"There aren't players like that anymore."

Anyone with information about the baseball should email kbasu@community-newspapers.com.