Marc Ecko created waves in the baseball memorabilia market when he acquired Barry Bonds' 756th home run ball at a Sotheby's/SCP Auction for $752,467 last week. Shortly after he bought the ball, he announced plans to allow the public to determine its fate.
Through a website he established, vote756.com, the general public can choose to (a) give the ball to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown; (b) permanently brand the ball with an asterisk (*) before sending it to Cooperstown; or (c) put the ball on a rocket ship and launch it into space.
As of the end of the business day Friday, over 9.8 million votes had been cast. Online voting concludes at 11:59 pm EDT on Tuesday, September 25th.
“We all have opinions about this ball. Some feel it is a piece of history that belongs in the Hall of Fame. Others believe it is the embodiment of a cheating culture – not just in baseball, but in professional sports generally. I bought this baseball to democratize the debate over what to do with it and allow the public to decide,” stated Ecko.
