Marc Ecko Announces Fate Of Bonds Homerun Ball, Bonds Calls Ecko An 'Idiot'
Published: Wednesday - September 26, 2007
Words by Tim Boswell
Marc Ecko holds the record-breaking 756th home run ball (Photo: AP)
Baseball fans have spoken, and ultimately have chosen the fate of the Barry Bonds record-breaking ball -- it is to head to Cooperstown, branded with an asterisk.
Of the three choices -- including send it to Cooperstown intact; send it there with an asterisk branded on it (to signify the controversy that has accompanied Bonds' home-run record); or launch it into space -- fans made their decision.
According to Ecko, more than 10 million votes were cast. While home fans in San Francisco greeted the Giants slugger as a legend, sellout crowds in other cities taunted him with boos, by chanting "steroids" and "cheater" and by waving asterisks.
On the night he broke Hank Aaron's all-time record for home runs, Bonds has denied any steroid use, and further added, "This record is not tainted at all."
"I've cheated in life, I've done stupid stuff," Marc Ecko told MTV, a day after winning the ball, "but the systems need to be put on check and put on blast. And this is a lighthearted way to ... bring that back up. ... I'm not a judge and jury -- [the Bonds controversy is] not about me. I have an opinion, you have an opinion. It's fun. I'm having fun. Hopefully, overall, people will have an opinion."
"The people should be the arbiters of what is historically significant about this artifact," he is also quoted as saying.
Bonds, however, is not happy about the stunt. "He's stupid [Marc Ecko]. He's an idiot," Bonds told the San Francisco Chronicle. "He spent $750,000 on the ball and that's what he's doing with it? What he's doing is stupid."
Despite the controversy, Hall of Fame President Dale Petroskey says "we're delighted to have the ball" and that it will be displayed with the asterisk visible.
"The asterisk represents the voice of the fans at this moment in time," Petroskey explained to the Associated Press. "The level of interest reflects the strong bond between baseball and American culture. Our responsibility as a history museum is to present every story in proper context, and this ball allows us to do that."
Hall of Fame officials and Ecko are still discussing how to brand the ball with the asterisk, and at press time, it was not immediately know when it will go on display.
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