Barry Bonds' Home Run Record Ball to Be Branded with Asterisk

At the stroke of midnight, as September 25th, 2007 turned to the 26^th, Barry Bonds made baseball history. Rather, a Barry Bonds baseball made history. In a much advertised campaign to let the public decide what should be done with the controversial homerun-record ball hit by Barry Bonds, designer Marc Ecko put it up to a vote. And now, the ball, which sold for 750 grand at auction, will be branded with an asterisk and donated to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The choices for voters were clear: Bestow it, brand it, or banish it. If voters chose to bestow it, the baseball would be handed over to the Baseball Hall of Fame unharmed, a piece of nostalgia for all to view as the mark of the 756^th home run hit by Barry Bonds. If they chose to brand it, the ball would still be bestowed, but with a clearly evident "brand" or asterisk, as to remind visitors that a great deal of controversy surrounded the ball, and that ethics were called into question when considering this record. Finally, if voters to Ecko's site, vote756.com, chose to banish it, the ball would be banished into space for presumably, eternity.

The ball landed into Ecko's hands after lucky catcher Matt Murphy, a 21-year-old college student was forced to put it up for auction, citing that he couldn't afford the taxes associated with claiming such a prize. According to Sports Illustrated, when told of Ecko's actions, Murphy stated, "This either makes him a lunatic or a genius, one of those two. I'm leaning toward genius."

Ecko announced the results on the Today show on the morning of Wednesday the 26^th. There's no definite timeline on when the ball will hit the Hall of Fame with its brand, but Ecko says its "coming soon."