The Fate of #756

[davebobn]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The fate of Barry Bonds' record-breaking home run ball is now in the public's hands after its buyer announced Monday he was taking votes on whether to give the ball to the Hall of Fame, brand it with an asterisk or blast it into space.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7235950

I laughed at first, but then I thought about it and it makes me kinda sad.

[kgbaseball]

I thought he already put it on an auction website. Guess not.

[whizkid]

This is the guy who bought it at auction.

[TooLiveBrew]

I wish I could vote for labeling with an asterisk and then giving it to the HOF.

[Patrick425]

I don't doubt his intentions to try honor the vote but A) I don't think the Hall is going to accept a ball with an asterisk branded on it and B) How does he plan on sending it into space?

Also, didn't someone else blow up some big home run ball that they caught or won in an auction...or did I just imagine that?

[Patrick425]

I wish I could vote for labeling with an asterisk and then giving it to the HOF

That is how option B is worded

 

http://www.vote756.com/marcecko/

 

 

....but I don't think the HOF would want it after that.

[TooLiveBrew]

ahhh....thanks. Laziness +1, TLB -1

[Brian the Automator]

Can he brand it and THEN shoot it into outer space?

[GAME05]

i wonder why Bonds himself wouldn't have paid for it at auction.

[Patrick425]

i wonder why Bonds himself wouldn't have paid for it at auction.

He's always stated that he doesn't have an interest in it.

How about put an asterisk on it and send it to Bonds?

[GAME05]

i wonder why Bonds himself wouldn't have paid for it at auction.

He's always stated that he doesn't have an interest in it.

boy, that's an odd comment for him to make. then what the heck did he take all the HGH for?'

 

(does that comment need an asterisk, too?)

[Patrick425]

He had an interest in hitting the ball, just not keeping it.

[adamb100]

I don't doubt his intentions to try honor the vote but A) I don't think the Hall is going to accept a ball with an asterisk branded on it and B) How does he plan on sending it into space?

 

Also, didn't someone else blow up some big home run ball that they caught or won in an auction...or did I just imagine that?

2003 NLCS game 5(I think), where the the steve bartmen incident occured. :p They blew the ball up and served it in spaghetti.

 

[tomwopat]

It's hard for me to view this as anything but a publicity stunt, granted, a potentially well-executed one.

[RU Rah Rah]

Shameless self-promotion on the part of Ecko, but so be it. I like the idea of putting it to a vote.

 

I'm going with B.

[IslandsAC]

Boy I sometimes wish I had such an obscene amount of money that I could blow it on pointless things like this.

[iluvlamp]

I was going to vote for B but could easily see the Hall just angling the ball differently. So C for me.

[Invader3K]

How exactly is it going to be launched into space anyway? I doubt NASA is going to do the guy a favor and take it up on their next Shuttle mission or something.

[JimH5]

This guy sounds like a selfish pud, trying to attach himself to something that's completely unrelated to him.

 

So the options are:

1) deface the ball and put your own mark on it, because you bought it and can pretty much do anything you want to the things you buy.

2) destroy it in a spectacular way, also designed to draw attention to yourself.

3) give it to the Hall of Fame.

 

The ball is an important piece of baseball history, just as it is, without any extra editorial statements. The Hall of Fame is full of artifacts that help tell the story and history of baseball. Some of those artifacts are associated with people who weren't good citizens. Cap Anson's stuff is there. Ty Cobb's stuff. The Black Sox are there. The whole exhibit on segregation and the Negro Leagues is loaded with the stories of exclusion.

 

And all of those items are there because people donated or loaned the pieces so baseball fans could see them.

 

That ball is important, and there's only one of them. So if he's not going to keep it as is, in his private collection, then he should send it to Cooperstown.

[stoutdude04]

It is his. I will let him do whatever he wants with it. I think its a good idea to get attention on yourself...if thats what your into. Go nuts. I voted. I wont tell what for though http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[RU Rah Rah]

Ecko is a Rutgers drop-out and apparently still a huge Scarlet Knights fan. So he must be awesome.

[Tbadder]

This guy sounds like a selfish pud, trying to attach himself to something that's completely unrelated to him.

 

So the options are:

1) deface the ball and put your own mark on it, because you bought it and can pretty much do anything you want to the things you buy.

2) destroy it in a spectacular way, also designed to draw attention to yourself.

3) give it to the Hall of Fame.

 

The ball is an important piece of baseball history, just as it is, without any extra editorial statements. The Hall of Fame is full of artifacts that help tell the story and history of baseball. Some of those artifacts are associated with people who weren't good citizens. Cap Anson's stuff is there. Ty Cobb's stuff. The Black Sox are there. The whole exhibit on segregation and the Negro Leagues is loaded with the stories of exclusion.

 

And all of those items are there because people donated or loaned the pieces so baseball fans could see them.

 

That ball is important, and there's only one of them. So if he's not going to keep it as is, in his private collection, then he should send it to Cooperstown.

 

Thank you for the cogent argument. I think people will vote for the defacing of a historical artifact, because people in general have been rational about the whole idea of Barry Bonds and his record breaking shot. It just goes to prove just because the mob is stupid we shouldn't necessarily act on that compunction. Thanks again JimH5

[JJ Hardy Har Har]

How exactly is it going to be launched into space anyway? I doubt NASA is going to do the guy a favor and take it up on their next Shuttle mission or something.

Putting things in space is not a NASA-monopoly. In fact, putting something into space is relatively inexpensive, which would explain why there are tens of thousands of man-made objects orbiting the Earth (http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/rocket_sci/satellites/ssr.html). I doubt he would have any trouble finding someone to launch it for him, along with their satellite or something, for an extra $10,000 or so, which is chump change anyway to a guy who paid $800.000 for a ball he plans to dispose of without getting anything in return.

 

[rluzinski]

Thank you for the cogent argument. I think people will vote for the defacing of a historical artifact, because people in general have been rational about the whole idea of Barry Bonds and his record breaking shot. It just goes to prove just because the mob is stupid we shouldn't necessarily act on that compunction. Thanks again JimH5

 

Because attributing special, historical importance to a ball that was hit over a wall by a guy with a stick is so rational?

[Tbadder]

Only if you love baseball and historyhttp://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/wink.gif Of course artifacts are important, check out a museum sometimes--jewel encrusted chamber pots, shards of old cruifixes, etc.