On a historical scale of impasses, Marc Ecko v. the Baseball Hall of Fame deciding what to do with Barry Bonds Home Run 756 ball ranks somewhere between a Congressional stalemate and you unsuccessfully arguing to get a free month of HBO for that hour your cable went out. Even though Ecko bought the ball at auction over nine months ago and branded it (instead of destroying it—thanks, voting public!), the BBHOF felt strange about taking the ball for two reasons. First, they didn’t know if they wanted to display and have to describe the controversy surrounding it. Secondly, and probably most importantly, the Hall didn’t want Ecko to loan them the ball, he wanted him to unconditionally give them the ball. Well, Ecko finally gave in to the greedy bastids and sent some dude over in a car to drop it off. Seriously.

“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.

It’s always extra-touching, and keeping with the Americana spirit of baseball, when an artifact of such importance is given away like a hostage victim. We wonder if Ecko’s note was written using letters cut out of magazines.

Bonds’ 756th homer ball lands in Hall, finally [AP]
Image [Gothamist]