The people have spoken. On Barry Bonds’ last night as a San Francisco Giant, his historic 756th home run ball is headed to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, marked with an asterisk. Hip-Hop mogul Marc Ecko bought the baseball on September 15 for $752,467 after tourist Matt Murphy caught the ball and put it up for auction with Sotheby’s. As HHDX reported earlier, Ecko then set up the website www.vote756.com, where over 10 million people logged on to decide the ball’s fate. The ball would either be sent to Cooperstown with or without an asterisk, or launched into outer space.
An overwhelming majority of 47 percent voted to have the ball marked as a reminder of Bonds’ involvement with the controversy surrounding Balco Labs providing many high-profile athletes with steroids and other illegal performance enhancing drugs.
“This was never about the record,” said Ecko. “I saw the purchase of the ball as an opportunity to open a national conversation using new media–the internet, blogs, videos – to allow America’s oldest sport to have America’s most modern conversation. The fans have spoken and the asterisk will forever be part of the history of this ball.”
As the overseer of Marc Ecko Enterprises, which includes *ecko unltd., red by mark ecko, G-Unit Clothing Company, Zoo York, Avirex, Complex Magazine and other ventures, Ecko’s involvement and subsequent internet poll has made the Hip-Hop community forever part of a historic event within America’s favorite past time.
