Americans Split on Bonds

Does Giants’ slugger Barry Bonds deserve to be a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame? The American public is evenly divided on the issue, according to a new study by HCD Research and Muhlenberg College.

If Americans had any voting power for the MLB Hall of Fame, which they don’t, 43 percent said they would not vote for him while another 43 percent said they would. Among baseball fans, the vote was also evenly divided with 46 percent saying they would vote for Bonds and 45 percent saying they would not.

Forty-two percent of all respondents (fans and non-fans) said they believed Bonds cheated while nearly half of all baseball fans (45 percent) felt that Bonds cheated. Only 29 percent of baseball fans said that he did not cheat.

More than half of all respondents and baseball fans (52 percent and 53 percent respectively) felt Bonds should be recognized as the home run record holder when he passes Hank Aaron.

Overall, not an overwhelming show of support for the man they call Bonds.

Sammy Slams Number 600

The sports world is filled with ironies. Wednesday night saw one more as Sammy Sosa hit his 600th career home run against his former team, the Chicago Cubs, in Texas Rangers' 7-3 victory. He is only the fifth player in MLB history to reach that milestone and the first Latino player to do so.

We'll probably never know for sure how many (if any) of Sammy Sosa's homers were a result of taking performance-enhancing drugs. But you can't ignore the fact that he is one of the sport's most charismatic players. Give him credit for reinventing his career this season with Texas after a year away from the game.