The 2006 Major League Baseball season begins on Sunday night when the defending world champion Chicago White Sox play the Cleveland Indians. But as has often been the case with the sport, the real headlines are being made off the field.
The lead story in my morning paper Thursday talked about reports of the sport enlisting former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to head an investigation into past steroid use in baseball. This is in response to a recent book that detailed home run king Barry Bonds' use of steroids over several seasons, including 2001 when he hit a single-season record 73 home runs.
A recent Gallup Poll of baseball fans showed no consensus on whether Bonds' records should be removed if it is proven that he used steroids while setting those records. Fifty-two percent of baseball fans said they should take away Bonds' records if the league finds proof he used steroids, while 44% said they should not. The ultimate punishment for Bonds may be refusal to enshrine him in the Hall of Fame -- but 49% of baseball fans say Bonds should be elected to the Hall of Fame, and 43% say he should not.
To put that in some context, a January 2004 poll found 56% of sports fans saying Pete Rose "should be eligible for admission to the Hall of Fame." Rose has been banned from the sport for gambling on baseball games while managing the Cincinnati Reds.
It is unclear what punishments baseball could levy for past steroid abuse, because baseball had no formal policy on steroid use prior to 2002, and no penalties for steroid use were in place until 2004. But it doesn't appear there is a strong consensus among baseball fans to penalize Bonds for past steroid use.