Barry Bonds’ ball that broke one of sports biggest records – the home run total – will be branded with an asterisk by its new owner as a sign that expresses the doubt among baseball fans about the validity of the record.

San Francisco’ slugger is suspected of having used banned steroids on his way to break Hank Aaron’s homer run record; accusations he frequently denied.

The record breaking ball was caught by Matt Murphy, a 21-year-old New York Mets fan, and then bought by fashion designer Mark Ecko for $752,467 after an online auction on 15 September.

Mr Ecko, whom Bonds called “an idiot” last week, thought it was a good idea to ask the fans what to do with the ball and after an online poll of 10 million votes at www.vote756.com, 47% of fans thought the ball should be stamped with an asterisk, 34% said it should not be changed and 10% voted to blast it into space.

An asterisk against a record in baseball indicates that the record is suspect, or subject to qualification. The ball is set to be donated to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, which holds baseball memorabilia.

"As an American history museum, this is an integral part of baseball history," Hall of Fame Vice President for Communications and Education Jeff Idelson said. "It's equivalent to landing a one-of-a-kind painting. It's unfortunate it's marked, but on the same token, we understand why it is and we'll have to explain the reason to every visitor that comes through.”

Idelson said he didn’t know when the ball will be sent to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and that he hopes it will come unmarked as he doesn’t believe in the “decimation of artifacts”.

The Hall holds some of baseball’s greatest home run balls in history, including Babe Ruth's final home run, his 714th, and Aaron's 714th. Idelson said Aaron owns the ball he hit his 715th with to break Ruth's record in 1974.

Talking about the reasons of buying Bonds’ ball and letting the public decide its fate online, fashion designer Ecko said this was a good way to hold a conversation about a classic American sport in the digital world.

"This is obviously something that struck a chord with fans," Ecko said Wednesday in a phone interview with the Associated Press.

Matt Murphy, the ball’s former owner, came out of a scuffle with the Bonds' record-breaking ball. A contractor supervisor, Murphy said he will split the earnings from the auction 51 percent to 49 percent with his buddy who joined him at the big game. He told the Associated Press that sold the ball because he couldn't afford the taxes required to keep it.