By Roman Wolfe
Hip-Hop clothing mogul Marc Ecko has announced the fate of Barry Bonds' home run ball, but not without criticism from the San Francisco Giants' slugger.
Last week, Ecko announced that he was the anonymous bidder who won the bill during a September 15 auction, at a price tag of $752,000.
Ecko announced that he set up a website which allowed the public to vote on the fate of the historic ball.
Fans who visited www.vote756.com had three choices: (a) Bestow it intact to Cooperstown, (b) Permanently brand the ball with an asterisk before sending it to Cooperstown, or (c) launch it into space.
Over 10 million fans voted for option (b), to permanently brand the ball with an asterisk before sending it to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
"The fans have spoken and the asterisk will forever be part of the history of this ball," Ecko said. "It is a reflection of fans' sentiments and will be preserved by the Hall of Fame in this manner. We are gratified to have the Hall of Fame's support in this effort."
Bonds, however, its not so thrilled.
"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."
Dale Petroskey, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, thanked Ecko for donating the ball, which is one of 35,000 relics voluntarily given to the museum.
"The asterisk represents the voice of the fans at this moment in time," Petroskey said. "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."