Bonds is an obvious cheater, a chronic liar and a lousy excuse for a human being. Defend the creep if you want but he is a blight on baseball.

The hall should absolutely accept the ball in whatever condition it is in. History is not as much about the preservation of artifacts in "pristine" condition as it is the continuation of discourse...and the ball, asterisk or not, does that. The fact that it sparks debate is good; that's what history is supposed to do.

Further, Bonds has absolutely no right to complain in the manner you describe about a game and a system that has allowed him to lead a life of elite luxury and privilege that 99.9% of the world's population can't even dream about it.

Further, the Hall should (and DOES) acknowledge the evil that was segregation in baseball, and should, when all the proper information is unearthed, acknowledge the entire steroid&greenies era.

And by the way it wasn't "Some rich, attention-starved, culture-stealing t-shirt designer " who decided to make the ball.... it was the fans who voted. 2/3 wanted the ball either so marked or blasted into space. You are in the minority on this one.

I might not always agree with your opinions, David, but you always present a clear and passionate argument. That's admirable in a line of work where most seem to think that loud = right. I'll admit that I voted for the asterisk in a moment of weakness, but I did it with an assumption that the Hall of Fame would never accept the ball in that condition. Even if they did, they would have to be crazy to display it.

Well, that seems self-evident now. If the Hall of Fame actually displays the asterisk ball, it looks like Mark Ecko has "Punk'd" them. It's like they don't realize that the joke is on them.

Proof? We all have eyes David. As we get older, we tend to have our bodies morph into what you look like, rather then the enormous growth of Bonds. Don't know about you, but my head and feet stopped growing when I was in high school. I think Game of Shadows paints a very good picture of what was going on.

But getting back to proof, O.J. was proven "not guilty"...wanna have him date your sister?

I agree with you on that. I think that the asterisk puts a shrouding cover on the hall of fame, and Bonds, who in say 10 years could be proven innocent. Then what do you do?

it should have the asterick...oj wasnt convicted either...Bonds is a liar, cheat, womanizing, surly excuse for a human being...stop defending the jerk.

Barry Bonds gets no respect because he doesn't deserve it. He acted as an idiot when he played college baseball at ASU (the stories around here are legendary) and he never changed.
The type of person he is, was shown again this week, when he blew off the trip with the Giants traveling to play LA in the final series. Geez, he can't survive one more road trip in the same state?

When you go against conventional wisdom to do something out of the ordinary, you're usually going to be branded something derogatory; however, it's those who buck the socially acceptable trend that make a difference in society. Sit back and lament about his idiocy all you want- Ecko is a maverick in this instance and should be congratulated for his willingness to let the fans decide. It's his impartiality that makes this whole thing great.

Mark Ecko didn't "steal" any culture. If anything, he's helped to further define it. You know, they could always rufuse to buy his clothing...

While I can see your point of view, I think the hall should display it. The presentation should be as part of the history of the game as it is, not how we would like it to be. We cannot ignore the fact that Barry has become the poster boy for the era, right or wrong. There are displays of things to do with Pete Rose and hateful letters to Hank Aaron. One could argue they don't belong there either, but if presented in the proper light, aknowledging lack of proof, in Barry's case, it is valid in my mind.

I have to disagree. First because though Bonds never "knowingly took steroids," I think its safe to say that whatever he was taking at the time was, in fact, illegal. Frankly, I think its a blatant lie. His personal trainer didn't opt to sit in jail because he didn't have something to hide. And that's just one exhibit that leads me to that conclusion. Secondly, I'm glad Mark Ecko gave the fans the ability to have some official stamp on the steroid saga. It's a brilliant publicity stunt by him, but all sports have turned into business first (and our country too, for that matter) so we can't blame him for being proactive. Certainly all the fans are guilty of cheering for every home run hit during the steroid era. We admittedly were naive, but that's not a crime. Steroids are. While the MLB/George Mitchell investigation moves at a crippled snail's pace, this was an opportunity for the fans to speak their mind. And they did. So if you have a problem with Mark Ecko, you must have a problem with everyone who voted for the ball's decided fate. And thirdly, while the column is absolutely correct in saying that if we asterisk this ball, then we've got a lot more asterisking to do, there is no time like the present to initiate measures of accountability.

David, you've got it all wrong. The Hall should take the asterisk ball because it is part of our modern culture. True, Barry Bonds hasn't been convicted of anything, but to just display the 756 ball with no reference to all the discussion and controversy over Bonds is as unfair as you seem to believe the asterisk is. At the same time, I would also encourage the Hall to redo all its exhibits to include more positive and negative information on the "big picture" surrounding the other inductees, and that's the approach you should have taken as well.

It is proven since he admitted under oath that he took the cream and the clear - both illegal steroids and/or HGH. What is not proven is that he did so intentionally (although the circumstantial and other evidence is overwhelming). Not sure what rock you have been hiding under ....

What do you mean, it hasn't been proven? Bonds himself, under oath, admitted to using banned substances. He says he didn't do it KNOWINGLY, but he still did it. When you plead guilty, guilt doesn't need to be "proven."

I think you're wrong on this one, David. The ball is in the HoF as an artifact. It was the property of a man who donated it to the Hall. He burned an asterisk on it.

Now the ball doesn't just represent the home run race, it also shows the temper of the times (baseball's steroid hypocrisy, how unloved one of the games greats was, how tetchy people get about baseball's records, Bay-area millionaires wasting money on sports memorabilia). It's a very interesting item to have in the museum and people will get a lot out of seeing it 40 years from now. More so than without the asterisk. Who would care about it once A-Rod eclipses Bonds, and Ken Griffey III shatters A-Rod's record? With the asterisk it reminds you about the other interesting facets of that moment in baseball.

David- I strongly disagree with many (possibly even most) of your opinions, but you are undoubtedly the best sports writer at the Sun. All your blogs and columns are well thought out and well written. I appreciate that. I wish you could give some lessons to some of the other people in your department......

The ball, marked with an asterisk, is a physical manifestation of the view of many fans about the "steroid era." As such, the marked ball is an emblematic part of baseball history.

A half-century or more from now, baseball fans will know much more about the details of the "steroid era" than we do today. Perhaps the marked ball will be on display as proof of fan hysteria about the steroid hoax. Then again, maybe some newspaper column/blog will be displayed to show that, during the steroid era, even a knowledgeable sports expert would ignore his best judgment and substitute a Pollyanna interpretation to events.

This still leaves a question in my mind: Why would any person with an IQ over 75 want to view a baseball, whether marked or pristine?

I've already been down _this_ very road with you (on the issue of B.Bonds and your blind allegiance to him), and there is no gain. Talking with you on this is much like talking to a racist about the insanity they believe in -- there is no listening and no changing of their opinion.

My position on the ball itself is more extreme than either of the two offered choices of blasting it into space or "Asterisk-ing" it. My idea is to burn it up entirely, and then SEND THE ASHES to Cooperstown.

Screw the "Asterisk."

Which basically is the same attitude B.Bonds holds...but in his case towards baseball and the rest of the world. And oddly, some seemingly intelligent people, like yourself, continue to fawn over him.

Better to blindly defend another black man, no matter what.

Well for one David Steele is wrong, in that Bonds is a proven cheat as we know from the leaked grand jury testimony. Get your facts straight Dave. Anyone else think Kevin in Columbia is really Hillary Clinton "I voted for the asterisk but...."? HA!

I like the asterisked ball in the Hall. I voted for it to be given to the Hall without the asterisk, but I think it marks an important time in the history of baseball, and it's a clear example of the issue's importance.

I don't think there should be an asterisk, but either way, the ball should be in there.

Steele, I thought you were smarter than this. Who says the hall of fame (or the public) has to wait for a judge or jury to decide what is true and what isn't. We arent talking about depriving Bonds of his freedom (which requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt) or his property (which requires a preponderance of evidence). We are talking about what kind of legacy Bonds deserves. That question, ultimately, is to be decided by the public and there is more than enough evidence in Game of Shadows and elsewhere to support the public finding that Bonds cheated in order to get the records. Everything isn't a criminal case.

Are all of you CRAZY?!?!
Look at the stats and you will see that you were very fortunate to get an opportunity to see Barry play baseball. I didn't get a chance to watch Babe Ruth play, but I can imagine he was met with a lot of criticism in his day. People don't like to see someone succeed. It is a jealousy thing...He makes so much money, yet he doesn't give the media any praise...therefore the guy is a jerk. LOOK at Tiger Woods...I personally have been able to hit balls on the range with Woods and have been to several tournaments...the guy is a jerk...does it discount what he does on the course...no. For every one of you that talks about Barry negatively, you better be prepared to do the same about your star because chances are...they are in the same boat...but they are so nice to the media you would say...who the hell cares. I would much rather watch the best player who ever played the game play baseball then watch a press conference. Don't hate him just because he is the best...

Think about YOUR players and consider if it is possible that they too have altered their bodies:

NYY - A. Rod, Giambi
Bos - Ortiz
LAD - Gagne
SD - Giles
Phil - Burrell, Howard
Ariz - Gonzo
St. Lou - Pujols

and on...and on...and on...

Get real...it was the era. Deal with it and applaud the guy and let him go on. You all are just continuing to create the legacy...not make it go away.