Are you kidding, MLB has done nothing if not try to cast a shadow of doubt around BB. They would not be publicly trying to persecute him if they were covering it up.
j79...bonds has been proven to do steroids, he claims he thought it was vitamins...it's not in doubt that he's a juicer
but the larger issue is important to consider...just about all top tier ball players are juicers...and I don't think there are too many professional baseball players even in the lower tier that have not juiced
the real problem with bonds is the records he breaks, fans don't want the records broken because of chemicals
mquire was a juicer also...and so is sosa...and a host of players that have not broken records
as far as the ball going in the hall of fame, this is the fans' ball it's not baseball's ball, these balls have always been the fans' ball, that's the contract baseball and the players agree...the fans keep them in bussiness, they risk injury when in the stands by the balls and this is their compensation...it's not baseball's ball, it's not bond's ball, it's this fans ball
if the hall of fame wants to pay or bid fair market for the ball then they should be able to get it by buying it, but surely not get it for free...absolutely no welfare for baseball...they are not some kind of charity organization, they have to pay for it
whatever this ball is worth, say 1/2 million or whatever, you cannot possibly expect this fan to take that kind of money away from his family...so he should surely not donate the ball unlesss he is a wealthy man, that would be irresponsible...and he surely shouldn't donate it to a thriving money hungry industry like baseball that would be rediculous.
as far as the asterisk...this is a gray area to me
it is his ball after all, he earned it and he owns it, the comparison however would be the same thing if I bought the mona lisa, I bought or earned or inherited the painting and it becomes mne
however I do not believe that gives me the right to destroy or deface the work of art even though I own it and even though I paid for it
I believe there are social contracts when it comes to hall mark items and I think (but am not sure) that point of view is established law, however I don't know if there is actually written or case law...I haven't researched the issue
if that's true then the question is;
"does the ball rise to the same level of importance as a recognized work of art"
I kind of think so...so I am not so sure this fan actually has the legal right to deface the item even though he does in fact own it
touchy question...however it would certainly be poetic justice if he did...the problem with that decision is two fold though
baseball would have a legitimate case to claim ownership of future hallmark balls because of what this fan did and they might win the case if this guy actually does deface the item.
now another point;
even assuming bond is not lying when he tells us he didn't know he was juicing...a stretch by any point of view but let's go there anyway
let's suppose I enter a car race, I put in higher octane fuel then I am allowed..but I claim my mechanic filled the car and I didn't know it was banned fuel
I go on to win the race
do I really win the race or when they discover I had banned fuel my record times are erased?
the answer is my record times are erased
the problem is, what if everyone in that race also used the same banned fuel..then what?
who knows
so this is not a black and white issue and as I say, the only real reason bonds is getting heat is because of the records he is breaking...records that the original holder did not juice
by the way...this can't be a racial thing since hank aron is also black.
anyway, this guy is getting as much play out of the ball as possible and he is driving up the value...seems to me like he knows what he is doing