Baseball Fans' Views of Barry Bonds Mixed

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- The issue of steroids in Major League Baseball is at the forefront of news again, this time because of the publicity surrounding the upcoming release of "Game of Shadows," a book written by two San Francisco Chronicle reporters. "Shadows" alleges that baseball's single-season home run king Barry Bonds repeatedly took performance-enhancing drugs beginning in 1998; allegations that have been part of public discourse for the past couple of years.

A new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll finds baseball fans with mixed views of Bonds. Fans are divided over whether Bonds should play baseball this year or retire, whether his records -- including the mark for most home runs in a season -- should be erased if it is proven that he indeed took steroids, and whether he should be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The poll, conducted Mar. 10-12, finds that 41% of baseball fans want Bonds to play baseball this year, while 46% would rather see him retire.

A slight majority of baseball fans, 52%, say that if Major League Baseball officials conclude that Bonds took steroids his batting records should be erased, including the record for most home runs in a single season; 44% disagree.

Nearly half of baseball fans (49%) say Bonds should be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, but 43% say he should not.

Older Fans "Boo" Bonds

Baseball fans aged 50 and older are much more critical of Bonds than are younger fans:

• Forty-six percent of fans ages 18 to 49 want Bonds to play this season, while 42% prefer that he retires. Fans aged 50 and older prefer that he retire (51%) rather than play this year (35%). This age difference may be due, at least in part, to the fact that Bonds is within striking distance of the home run records of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron, two players older fans are more likely to be familiar with.

• Forty-seven percent of fans ages 18 to 49 say league officials should erase Bonds' records if it is proven that he took steroids, compared with 57% of adults aged 50 and older.

• Nearly 6 in 10 fans ages 18 to 49 say Bonds should be elected to the Hall of Fame, compared with only 39% of those aged 50 and older.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,001 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Mar. 10-12, 2006. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points.

For results based on the sample of 478 professional baseball fans, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±5 percentage points.

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.