First, thanks for all the great music ideas yesterday.
Secondly, take a look at this story:
NEW YORK — The ball Barry Bonds hit for his record-breaking 756th home run will be branded with an asterisk and sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame, its owner said Wednesday.
Fashion designer Marc Ecko, who bought the ball in an online auction, set up a Web site for fans to vote on the ball’s fate, and the decision to brand it won out over the other options, sending it to the museum unblemished or launching it into space. “We’re going to be working with the folks at the Hall of Fame,” Ecko said on NBC’s “Today” show. Ecko, whom Bonds called “an idiot” last week, had the winning bid Sept. 15 in the online auction for the ball that Bonds hit Aug. 7 to break Hank Aaron’s record of 755 home runs. The final selling price was $752,467, well above most predictions that assumed Bonds’ status as a lightning rod for the steroids debate in baseball would depress the value.
The asterisk suggests that Bonds’ record is tainted by alleged steroid use. The slugger has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs. Fans brought signs with asterisks on them to ballparks as he neared Aaron’s hallowed mark. Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey, also interviewed on the show, said accepting the ball did not mean the Hall endorses the viewpoint that Barry Bonds used drugs. “We’re happy to get it,” he said. “We’re a nonprofit history museum, so this ball wouldn’t be coming to Cooperstown without Marc Ecko buying it from the fan who caught it.” The Giants announced Friday they will part with Bonds after this season, the seven-time NL MVP’s 15th in San Francisco and 22nd in the majors.
So my question for you today is….what would your vote have been and why?
-Dan
Dan Patrick Online Blog 
My vote WAS an *.
my vote was also *. The ball, regardless of what people may think about Bonds, does deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, as it is from one of the most important event of baseball history. The “*” let’s the fans of the future get insight as to the state of baseball at the time, as well as the controversy surrounding it. Even if somehow Bonds is totally exonerrated one day, the “*” will show the doubt and intrigue that the nation had in Bonds during his playing career.
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And why? Because if the museum is truly about baseball history, then let it reflect history. Whether Barry was truly on the ‘roids or not, it doesn’t matter at this point. The ball deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, and the asterisk reflects the current reality of the steroid controversy that Bonds became the posterboy for.
I think Barrys reaction calling Mr. Ecko an idiot says it all. The fans have voted and told Barry they think his record is tainted. These are the same fans who make the sports salaries possible. That said I think the ball should go to the Hall of Fame and I have no problem with the asterik being on the ball.
4.7 million voters cannot be wrong! (well, probably not)
The ball should go to the Hall, asterisk and all. Finally, the ticket buying fans get to have a say in the mess baseball has created. We can’t control the players by shaming them; we certainly can’t control the owners, largely because of our insatiable appetite for the game; and we can’t control the record books. But, we can be heard, and the Hall will give us the forum. #756 will forever be displayed with a silent, but powerful, monogram of fan disgust and dissatisfaction with what baseball has allowed this game to become.
I too voted for the asterisk. What Scotty just said sums up my reasoning exactly – “the ticket buying fans get to have a say in the mess baseball has created”. It is the fan way of saying “we know how this ball got to be 756, and it wasn’t cleanly. Clean up baseball, now.”. I also liked your video where you mentioned that people will have to explain to their children for a very long time why there is an asterisk on the ball.
Ecko is a genius, Bonds is the idiot here.
I voted just to have it in as is, the way that he hit it. As a Dodgers fan of course I’m not a fan of his, but let those who come see the ball judge for themselves as to whether or not he did something to ruin the integrity of the game. Don’t have an opinion forced upon you with a * on the ball.
I voted to donate the ball without the asterisk. I don’t think the controversy surrounding Bonds’ record will be forgotten any time soon and I’d like to think people are capable of reaching their own conclusions.
My vote was an asterisk, not because of my loathing of Barry Bonds; but, because of the attention it calls to the state of the game. I think it gets lost that many of the players testing positive are relief pitchers. In the hall the asterisk will require an explanation. Let’s hope it is complete.
4.7 million voters can’t be wrong (at least not on this point). The ball should go to the hall, asterisk and all. Not because of Ecko’s publicity stunt, but because, finally, the fans will have a say. The ticket buying fans can’t control the players by shaming them; we can’t control the owners largely because of our insatiable appetite for the game; and we can’t control the record books. Thanks to Ecko and the Hall, however, the fans message of disgust and dissatisfaction with what baseball has become will be on permanent display.
My vote was send it to outer space. I didn’t think the Hall would accept it with an *. But I like this better!!!
Put an asterisk on it and launch it into space. Actually, just let it sit in a room (or courtroom) and see if it just launches itself into space because it may unknowingly have enough “juice” to get there on its own.
Bury the asterisk marked ball in a bullet proof glass case 756 feet, along with 756 steps, below the Hall of Fame’s entrance.
I voted for *. Maybe one day the HOF will actually make a “Steroids Era” section, maybe they won’t.
Putting the asterisk on the ball probably lets a lot of fans move on emotionially about Bonds. His ball is wearing the scarlet letter, er symbol. Now our focus can move away from him, and that’s a good thing for all of us.
In MLB’s eyes, fans putting the asterisk on the ball might take them off the hook when it comes to putting an asterisk into their record books.
And lastly, putting the asterisk on the record-breaking ball might even make it easier for folks to vote him into the HOF. Even if it’s just as a write-in “B*rry B*nds.”
I voted for the asterisk. Whether or not the Hall chooses to display the ball in such a way that will reveal the incriminating mark is the real debate.
I agree with the folks that say the Hall of Fame tells the story of baseball, and I don’t think you can tell the story of baseball completely if you leave out the controversies.
And besides, I think it’s going to be harder to explain to my kids what an asterisk IS than explaining BALCO.
Cheers.
Let Time and Perspective make the final decision, not from another ignorantly rich nut-job who has probably seen less than 9 innings of baseball the entire season if not his entire life.
At the time, all of you Assterisks out there were jumping up and down just as much while the Homers were flying out of the Ballparks as Bud and his Crew were while grabbing all of those fist-fulls of cash. Did you really think that all of those players bulked up overnight from extra Wheaties and Ovaltine?
Although I’m not condoning the actions of the players and the inactions of the owners, I do remember that those days were very exciting Baseball and I’m thankful I was able to see it.
Vanity-Branding the record-breaking baseball is simply wrong and History should be allowed the final say. And while I’m at it, bring back Fay Vincent!
Definitely the asterisk. An asterisk just denotes a footnote and people can and do skip footnotes as it suits them. It’s not like it goes on his criminal record or something.
As a Pirates fan, Bonds gets a double ** from me. He really turned his back on the ‘burgh.
Mr. Peabody, you really shouldn’t make such blanket statements about a large body of diverse people, few of whom you know. I was not “jumping up and down while Homers were flying out of Ballparks”, and neither were most of the serious baseball fans I know. I had problems with the hooplah surrounding McGwire and Sosa while their pursuit of Maris’ record was going on, because I was suspicious of their methods. The main difference between Bonds and McGwire is that Bonds was at least a great player before he starting engaging in “questionable” activities, while McGwire was always a one-dimensional player. That, however, does not make Bonds’ record legit.
Any asterisk should be on Bonds name and record, not the ball. Putting it on the ball takes the focus off who hit it and his unsportsmanlike career. Bonds is the AntiAaron.
For all those who say there should be an asterisk, and I’m not disagreeing with you, but aren’t we blowing this out of proportion???? Here’s my point. We have a World Series Champion in the record books that became the champion because the other team LOST ON PURPOSE !!!!! And there is NO asterisk in the Almanacs !!!! (1919 Black Sox) So give me a break. Anyone who thinks that the Bonds situation is worse than that apparently is only able to think what the media “wants” them to think.
PS. I’m not a Bonds fan…….just an “intelligent” fan.
I actually voted for exactly what is going to happen. I feel that the asterik is one thing the fans can actually get over on Bonds and have it bother him. His comments on what Ecko is doing was enough to make me smile. If Bonds wants to be arrogant and abrasive in his approach to both baseball and his responsibilites as a pro athlete, I am our fans can give him a taste of own medicine as the majority voted to scar his prized ball that will now carry many definitions and discussions on Bonds the person, the athlete, and his career. Kharma is a bitch!
That ball should have been pronounced dead, buried, and sent to hell where it belongs!
And why do I feel this way? Well, not to make this a race issue, but if a white man had broken Hank’s record and at the same time been accused of steroid use, riots would’ve broken out all across America. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and all these other drama starters who claim to be the voice of black people would’ve urged everyone to boycott baseball. But, oh, Barry is black. And so is Hank. So it’s ok for Barry to cheat and break the record. Right? Wrong. It parallels black-on-black crime; if a white man commits a crime against a black man, it’s an outrage, but if a black man commits the same crime against another black man, we all shake our heads and move on.
Being an African-American myself, I understand how tough it can be to achieve ANYTHING in this country. However, whether your black, white, green, or purple, what you do in your life should be done with honesty and integrity. Barry Bonds is an athlete who did not do this.
Well Dan,
I did not hear about the poll until after the voting was over. In this case I tend to agree with the results.
The * for so long was a bad thing. Roger Maris had to live with the * and it was just awful.
Hmmm…maybe I am thinking myself out of the * vote. everyone wanted the * to go away and finally it was stricken from the record book.
OK…changed my mind. Sigh… No *. Let things stand until someone PROVES that Barry cheated while passing the great Henry Aaron…The Hammer.
Dan,
Missed you. Glad you are back. Hope K.O. joins you.
The ball should be located in the “steriod” section of the hall. Can anyone tell me off the top of their heads what the homerun record is now?? I can’t tell you, to me that shows how irrelevant the record now is….
i vote for sending it sans the asterisk.
I would’ve voted for the asterisk. It’s a tough subject, being that we live in a land where your are innocent till proven guilty, but I think it’s obvious that he did it.
I voted to put an asterisk on it. But I think that Bud (I ignored the steroid problem from day one) Selig should half to brand it with the asterisk and present it to the hall of Fame. Barry did roids and anyone who pretends like he didn’t is the “idiot.”
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