756(*) will be displayed in HOF by opening day

By: Byron Parker

Cooperstown is a place filled with history and you must have accomplished a lot in your MLB career to get there. It contains historical people, historical memorablia and historic events. Some baseball players may not have made the Hall of Fame yet, but events that may have had something to do with them have made it.

That is how the conversation of Barry Bonds comes up. Forget about the "is he a HOFer" questions. That will be determined in the future. One thing that deserves to be put in Cooperstown is 756(*). It's your choice whether or not you want to place an asterisk next to that number, but that number is an important past of history. Call it tainted, but it still is remembered in baseball in some sort of way. 756 home runs is a lot to hit in your professional career, cheating or not. But that still is no excuse for it not to be visible for everybody to see.

It may be one of the most contreversial things to ever occur in baseball, but there is significance to it on both sides of the plate.

If you're considering the record to be tainted (like 95% of you), then there's nothing wrong with that. That is the reason for it to be in Cooperstown. It is a record that was tainted due to the whole steroid scandal. The steroid era has been one of the most magnified era's in baseball. So what was one of the biggest events to occur during the whole scandal? Other than the infamous Barry Bonds home run, I can't seem to think of anything else. Well, maybe the Clemens/McNamee situation which seems to get more attention than anything else going on.

If you don't consider the record tainted, than the obvious reason why 756(*) belongs in Cooperstown is because he is the home run king. There would definitely be a sense of stupidty if he was thought of as the home run king and the record breaking ball wasn't place in Cooperstown.

The asterisk that was placed on the ball doesn't mean that it shouldn't be visible to the world. A lot will talk about how it will be placed so no one can see the asterisk on it, but if anything it should shown. Just to show the important and the significance of the home run. Everything that it went through.

The MLB made a smart decision to display the ball in the HOF. Even with the arrogance of Mark Ecko' decision to brand it with an asterisk, it will be available for people to see. It is a piece of history people, and no matter how it is looked at, there is way too much significance for it NOT to be displayed.