NEW YORK (AP)—Now branded with an asterisk, the ball Barry Bonds
launched for his record 756th home run nearly a year ago landed Tuesday night in the Hall of
Fame.

The souvenir arrived in Cooperstown, N.Y., after a
strange day of back-and-forth statements between its owner, fashion designer Marc Ecko, and the
shrine.

“We are very happy to receive the baseball as a
donation, and not as a loan,” Hall spokesman Brad Horn said. “We look forward to adding this
ball to our permanent collections.”

A driver walked up
the front steps of the Hall, handing over the ball and a letter from Ecko saying it was an
unconditional donation. Horn said the ball will be displayed after the museum documents it—that
process usually takes weeks, rather than months.

Bonds
broke Hank Aaron’s career homer record on Aug. 7. Yet not since Boston first baseman Doug
Mientkiewicz caught the last out of the 2004 World Series had a Hall-bound ball caused so much
commotion.

Ecko paid $752,467 for the prize in an online
auction in September. Soon after, he asked fans to vote in an Internet poll on what he should do
with the ball.

style="color: #000000;">The winner: Brand it with an asterisk, to reflect the steroid allegations
surrounding Bonds, and give it to the Hall.

The ball
indeed was marked, with the five-pronged asterisk dye-cut into the cowhide, from stitch-to-stitch
where “Major League Baseball” is printed.

Bonds
called Ecko an “idiot” when the designer announced plans to hold the vote. The slugger later
said he would boycott the Hall if it displayed the ball with an asterisk.

style="color: #000000;">After months of discussions, the Hall said earlier Tuesday that talks with
Ecko had “unfortunately reached an impasse.”

“The
owner’s previous commitment to unconditionally donate the baseball has changed to a loan. As a
result, the Hall of Fame will not be able to accept the baseball,” the Hall
said.

Ecko later responded.

style="color: #000000;">“I am surprised that the Hall issued a statement that said they would no
longer accept the Barry Bonds’ 756th home run baseball. We had been in communication with them
just this morning and the Hall did not mention that they would change their position and no longer
accept the ball,” he said.

“Based on the Hall of
Fame’s previous statements that they would both accept and display the ball, the only open issue
we were talking about was the Hall’s recent indication of discomfort in displaying it and
addressing the controversy surrounding the record.”

Nearly all of the Hall’s 35,000-plus artifacts were given on a permanent basis. The Hall
does make exceptions, especially when it has nothing else to illustrate a story—Willie Mays loaned
the glove he used to make his famous, over-the-shoulder catch in the 1954 World
Series.

Bonds donated the batting helmets he wore when he
hit his 755th and 756th home runs.

Bonds finished the
season with 762 home runs. The San Francisco Giants did not offer him a contract for this year, and
he hasn’t gotten an offer to play for another team.

We've heard about players getting hurt while sneezing, while sleepwalking through a nightmare about spiders and
after kicking an iron bar stool. 

But we had never
heard of a pillow-lifting injury in baseball — that is, until Detroit Tigers' everyman Brandon
Inge reported  an overstuffed owie on Wednesday, earning a feather-paved (and probably overdue)
path to the injury list.

"It was the stupidest, most freakish thing," Inge
said Wednesday, explaining why he had just been placed on the 15-day DL with the pulled side muscle
(oblique) he suffered 3 1/2 weeks ago.

 

"I have a 3-year-old son who sleeps in the bed
with my wife and me," Inge said. "I was trying to push the pillow down behind his head (two nights
ago), and when I did ... I repopped (the strained muscle).

"You take swings in baseball, and
it's not as bad as pushing a pillow down."

Upon hearing this story, manager Jim Leyland said,
"That's a first."

 

It definitely is a first, but I think anyone who's getting up there
in age — like myself and Mr. Inge — can relate to feeling a little pain in the obliques or lower
back when doing random things.

Heck, while formatting this blog, I threw my back out three
different times. I'm guessing a few people probably did while reading it, too. It's a dangerous
world out there. 

TORONTO -- The ball that Ken Griffey Jr. hit for career home run No. 600 is going up for
auction.

Joe Scherer, the Marlins fan who was identified as the one who caught the milestone
baseball in the right field seats at Dolphin Stadium on June 9, made the announcement on Thursday.
The Associated Press reported that the ball will be auctioned Aug. 1 in Chicago.

"I'm just
doing what's best for me right now," said Scherer, who had kept his identity hidden for several days
since Griffey hit his homer in Miami.

Reds officials met with Scherer moments after Griffey
became the sixth player in Major League history to hit 600 home runs. Club efforts to negotiate for
the ball were immediately rebuffed since Scherer told the Reds he was selling the ball and not
returning it to Griffey.

Doug Allen, president of Mastro Auctions in suburban Chicago, told
the AP he believed the ball would sell for at least $50,000, and wouldn't be surprised to see the
bidding reach $100,000.

Scherer's path to auction could be blocked by a lawsuit from Justin
Kimball, a fan who claimed he caught the ball first before it was ripped from his hands. Kimball
filed suit to block the ball's sale in Miami-Dade County court.

The Griffey ball will be part
of a live auction in Chicago that also includes items from early 20th-century stars Babe Ruth, Lou
Gehrig and Honus Wagner. Vintage memorabilia from such players is still appreciating in value, Allen
said.

-Mark Sheldon-