Goodness Gracious, Great Balls Of Ire



Yes, I'm very proud of myself for coming up with today's blog title.

Barry Bonds' record tying and record-breaking homerun balls are now in the hands of collectors. But rather than keep the baseballs locked up next to their mint-condition Superman #1 comic books and Honus Wagner baseball cards, both ball owners are letting the public decide their fate.

Graffiti artist and fashion designer Marc Ecko put three options for his record-breaking ball up to a vote: 1) Give the ball to the Hall of Fame, as is. 2) Tag the ball with an asterisk, then send it to the Hall of Fame. 3) Strap it to a rocket and send it into outer space.

Yes... strap it to a rocket and send it into outer space.

[UPDATE] Barry Bonds' response? "He's stupid. He's an idiot. He spent $750,000 on the ball and that's what he's doing with it? What he's doing is stupid."

Ecko is undeterred. He offered to make Bonds a custom T-shirt that says, "Marc Ecko paid $752,467 for my ball, and all I got was this 'stupid' T-shirt."

California entrepreneur Ben Padnos also has a website putting the fate of Bonds' record-tying ball into the hands of the public. His is more simple: Save It? Or Smash It?

Why all this democracy? I say divide the ball into equal pieces and distribute it evenly among the populace. Am I right comrades?

But seriously, if you read my piece on Bonds and his record, then you should know how I feel about this. Put the damn ball in the Hall Of Fame. Then, with great fanfare, move it into the storage closet once someone deserving of that hallowed record finally achieves it.