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Baseball

Are you a fan of professional baseball, or not?

	Yes, a fan	Somewhat of a fan (vol.)	No, not a fan	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2008 Feb 21-24	35	8	56	1
2007 Dec 14-16	40	7	53	*
2007 Nov 30-Dec 2	34	5	61	*
2007 May 4-6	37	8	55	*
2007 Mar 23-25	36	7	56	*
2006 Dec 8-10	35	6	59	*
2006 Sep 15-17	37	9	54	--
2006 Jul 21-23	40	12	48	*
2006 Apr 7-9	33	8	58	*
2006 Mar 10-12	37	10	53	--
2005 Dec 9-11	36	11	53	*
2005 Aug 5-7	37	10	53	*
2005 Mar 18-20	39	9	52	*
2005 Jan 14-16	41	7	52	*
2004 Mar 26-28	36	9	55	*
2003 Nov 14-16	43	8	49	*
2003 Oct 24-26	44	11	45	--
2003 Oct 10-12	42	8	50	*
2003 Jun 27-29	36	10	54	*
2003 Jun 9-10	39	11	50	*
2002 Nov 8-10	38	13	49	*
2002 Aug 19-21	37	8	54	1
2002 Jul 26-28	37	10	53	*
2002 Jun 7-8	36	16	48	--
2002 Jan 11-14	36	11	53	*
2001 Nov 26-27	38	10	52	*
2001 Nov 2-4	45	11	44	*
2001 Jun 8-10	35	14	51	--
2000 May 5-7	35	11	54	--
2000 Apr 28-30	40	12	48	--
1999 Nov 18-21	45	16	39	--
1999 Oct 21-24	37	10	53	--
1999 Jul 13-14	40	19	41	--
1999 Mar 19-21	34	15	51	--
1998 Oct 9-12	47	14	39	--
1998 Sep 14-15	45	18	37	--
1998 Jun 22-23	34	10	56	--
1996 Mar 15-17	38	10	52	--
1995 Oct 5-7	34	8	58	--
1995 Jul 7-9	35	13	52	--
1995 May 11-14	35	10	55	--
1995 Apr 17-19	32	9	59	--
1995 Feb 24-26	37	12	51	--
1995 Jan 16-18	37	8	55	--
1994 Oct 17-19	39	9	52	--
1994 Sep 6-7	35	11	54	--
1994 Aug 15-16	39	10	51	--
1994 Aug 8-9	35	20	45	--
1993 May 21-23	39	10	51	--
1993 Feb 12-14	44	7	49	--

What is your favorite sport to watch?

	2008 Dec	2007 Dec	2006 Dec	2005 Dec
	%	%	%	%
Football	41	43	43	34
Baseball	10	13	11	12
Basketball	9	11	12	12
Ice hockey	4	4	2	4
Soccer	3	2	2	3
Auto Racing	3	3	4	5
Golf	2	2	3	2
Boxing	2	1	2	1
Tennis	1	1	1	3
Ice/Figure Skating	1	2	3	3
Gymnastics	1	1	1	*
Volleyball	1	*	*	1
Swimming	*	*	*	*
Wrestling	*	1	*	1
Fishing	*	--	*	1
Motocross	*	*	*	*
Rodeo	*	*	*	1
Bowling	--	*	*	*

OTHER	6	3	3	4
NONE	14	12	12	13
No opinion	*	1	*	*
* Less than 0.5%

Long-Term Trend

	Football	Baseball	Basketball	Ice hockey	Auto racing	Ice/ Figure skating
	%	%	%	%	%	%
2008 Dec 4-7	41	10	9	4	3	1
2007 Dec 6-9	43	13	11	4	3	2
2006 Dec 11-14	43	11	12	2	4	3
2005 Dec 5-8	34	12	12	4	5	3
2004 Dec 5-8	37	10	13	3	5	4
2003 Dec 11-14	37	10	14	5	5	6
2002 Dec 5-8	37	12	13	3	5	4
2001 Mar 26-28	28	12	16	3	6	4
2000 Mar 30-Apr 2	33	13	15	5	5	4
1998 Nov 20-22	36	16	12	3	3	2
1997 Apr 18-20 ^	30	14	17	3	7	2
1995 Apr 17-19	32	16	15	3	2	2
1994 Sep 16-20	37	16	13	1	2	3
1994 Aug 8-9	35	21	11	3	2	3
1992 Sept	38	16	12	4	2	2
1990 Feb	35	16	15	3	1	2
1981 Jan	38	16	9	2	1	2
1972 Oct	32	24	9	4	2	1
1960 Dec	21	34	9	3	*	1
1948 Apr 9-14	17	39	10	3	1	*
1937 Mar 24-29	23	34	8	2	1	1
* Less than 0.5%
^ WORDING: What is your favorite sport to follow?

(Asked of professional baseball fans) For each of the following former baseball players, please say whether you think he should or should not be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame? [RANDOM ORDER]

A. Mark McGwire

	Yes, should	No, should not	No opinion
	%	%	%
2008 Feb 21-24	61	32	7
2006 Dec 8-10	57	35	7
2005 Aug 5-7	60	32	8

B. Jim Rice

	Yes, should	No, should not	No opinion
	%	%	%
2008 Feb 21-24	47	19	34
2006 Dec 8-10	53	13	34

C. Jose Canseco

	Yes, should	No, should not	No opinion
	%	%	%
2008 Feb 21-24	40	49	11
2006 Dec 8-10	48	40	12

D. Pete Rose

	Yes, should	No, should not	No opinion
	%	%	%
2008 Feb 21-24	66	31	3

For comparison: Before the gambling allegations Pete Rose was expected to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Do you think Rose should be elected to the Hall of Fame now?

	Yes, should	No, should not	No opinion
	%	%	%
1999 Nov 18-21	79	18	3

E. Barry Bonds

		Yes, should	No, should not	No opinion
		%	%	%
2008 Feb 21-24		46	50	4
2007 May 4-6 ^		62	33	5
2006 Dec 8-10		48	44	9
2006 Mar 10-12 ^		49	43	7
2005 Aug 5-7		57	34	9

^	Asked as a stand-alone question

F. Sammy Sosa

	Yes, should	No, should not	No opinion
	%	%	%
2008 Feb 21-24	68	26	5
2006 Dec 8-10	63	31	7
2005 Aug 5-7	59	33	8

G. Roger Clemens

	Yes, should	No, should not	No opinion
	%	%	%
2008 Feb 21-24	62	29	9

H. Rickey Henderson

	Yes, should	No, should not	No opinion
	%	%	%
2008 Feb 21-24	61	14	26

(Asked of professional baseball fans) As you may know, George Mitchell submitted the report on his investigation into steroid use in Major League Baseball last December. Do you think Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig should -- or should not -- punish current Major League Baseball players who are named in the report for having used steroids in the past?

	Yes, should	No, should not	No opinion
	%	%	%
2008 Feb 21-24	39	55	5

(Asked of professional baseball fans) As you may know, Roger Clemens testified before Congress that he never used steroids. Based on what you have heard or read, do you think Clemens was - [ROTATED: lying (or) telling the truth]?

	Lying	Telling the truth	No opinion
	%	%	%
2008 Feb 21-24	57	31	12

(Asked of professional baseball fans) As you may know, George Mitchell released the report on his investigation into steroid use in Major League Baseball on Thursday (Dec. 13, 2007). Does this report on steroid use by Major League Baseball players make you -- [ROTATED: more enthusiastic about professional baseball, does it not make any difference, or does it make you less enthusiastic about professional baseball]?

	More enthusiastic	Not make any difference	Less enthusiastic	No opinion
2007 Dec 14-16	4%	44	51	1

(Asked of professional baseball fans) Thinking about the findings in the report, would you say you are surprised by the findings, or not surprised?

	Surprised	Not surprised	No opinion
2007 Dec 14-16	15%	83	2

(Asked of professional baseball fans) Based on what you have heard or read, overall, do you think the report is fair or unfair?

	Fair	Unfair	No opinion
2007 Dec 14-16	74%	18	8

(Asked of professional baseball fans) Do you think that players named in the report should be banned from consideration for the Hall of Fame, or not?

	Yes, should	Yes, should not	No opinion
2007 Dec 14-16	48%	45	7

(Asked of professional baseball fans) Next, we'd like to ask for your views on the use of steroids or other performance enhancing drugs by Major League Baseball players. Compared with five years ago, do you think that number of Major League Baseball players that use these drugs has increased, stayed the same, or decreased? [Has it (increased/decreased) a lot or only a little?]

	Increased a lot	Increased a little	Stayed the same	Decreased a little	Decreased a lot	No opinion
2007 Nov 30-Dec 2	23%	17	27	14	17	2

(Asked of professional baseball fans) As you may know, George Mitchell will soon submit his report on steroid use in baseball to Commissioner Bud Selig. Do you think Bud Selig should -- or should not -- punish current Major League Baseball players who are named in the report for having used steroids in the past?

	Yes, should	No, should not	No opinion
2007 Nov 30-Dec 2	60%	37	3

(Asked of baseball fans who say Bud Selig should punish current MLB players who are names in the report for having used steroids in the past) Do you think he should -- [ROTATED: suspend those players, (or) fine those players but not suspend them]?

COMBINED RESPONSES: BASED ON PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL FANS

		2007 Nov 30-Dec 2
		%
Yes, should punish those players		60
	(Suspend those players)	(43)
	(Fine but not suspend those players)	(16)
	(Unsure)	(1)

No, should not punish those players		37

No opinion		3

(Asked of sports fans) We'd like to know your views on how widespread the use of performance enhancing drugs is in various professional sports. Just your best guess, how many athletes in -- [RANDOM ORDER] -- use performance enhancing drugs -- all or almost all, most, some, only a few, or none?

2007 Jun 1-3 (sorted by "all or almost all/most")	All or almost all	Most	Some	Only a few	None	No opinion	All/ most
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Professional football	7	26	45	18	2	2	33
Professional baseball	7	20	46	24	1	2	27
Track and field	5	16	45	25	5	4	21
Professional cycling	6	14	37	31	5	7	20
Professional basketball	4	12	43	32	5	3	16
Swimming	3	6	37	34	10	10	9

(Asked of sports fans) Do you think each of the following sports is doing enough -- or not doing enough -- to deal with the use of performance enhancing drugs by its athletes? How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]?

2007 Jun 1-3 (sorted by "doing enough")	Doing enough	Not doing enough	No opinion
	%	%	%
Swimming	51	31	18
Professional cycling	48	42	10
Track and field	45	43	12
Professional basketball	45	48	6
Professional football	33	63	4
Professional baseball	30	67	3

(Asked of professional baseball fans) Who do you consider to be the greatest home run hitter in the history of Major League Baseball? (OPEN-ENDED)

	2007 May 4-6
	%
Hank Aaron	36
Babe Ruth	33
Barry Bonds	8
Mark McGwire	3
Mickey Mantle	2
Sammy Sosa	1
Willie Mays	1
Ted Williams	1
Albert Pujols	1
Roger Maris	*

Other	5
None	*
No opinion	9

(Asked of professional baseball fans) If Barry Bonds breaks Hank Aaron's record for most career home runs, would you consider Barry Bonds to be the greatest home run hitter in the history of Major League Baseball, or not?

	Yes, would	No, would not	No opinion
2007 May 4-6	34%	62	4

(Asked of professional baseball fans) Do you think Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig should or should not be present when Barry Bonds breaks Hank Aaron's career home run record?

	Yes, should	No, should not	No opinion
2007 May 4-6	54%	29	17

(Asked of professional baseball fans) If Barry Bonds retires with the record for most career home runs, would you like to see Alex Rodriguez break that record in the future, or not?

	Yes, would	No, would not	No opinion
2007 May 4-6	73%	18	9

(Asked of professional baseball fans) Just your best guess, do you think Barry Bonds has -- or has not - used illegal steroids while playing Major League Baseball?

		Yes, has	No, has not	No opinion
2007 May 4-6		72%	17	11
2006 Apr 7-9		78%	12	11
2005 Mar 18-20		75%	14	11

^	Asked in rotation with Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmiero.

(Asked of baseball fans) Compared to previous baseball seasons, are you more enthusiastic, less enthusiastic, or as enthusiastic about the upcoming season?

More enthusiastic

Less
enthusiastic

As
enthusiastic

No opinion

2007 Mar 23-25

18%

(Asked of professional baseball fans who think Mark McGwire should be elected to the Hall of Fame) Do you think Mark McGwire should be elected to the Hall of Fame in 2007, the first year he is eligible, or should he be elected in a future year?

COMBINED RESULTS: BASED ON PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL FANS

		2006 Dec 8-10
		%
Should be elected		57
(Elected in 2007)	(23)
(Elected in future year)	(34)

Should not be elected		35

No opinion		7

(Asked of baseball fans) If you had to choose among the following three players, who do you think should win the Most Valuable Player award in the National League this season- [ROTATED: New York Mets' Outfielder, Carlos Beltran, Philadelphia Phillies' First Baseman, Ryan Howard, (or) St. Louis Cardinals' First Baseman, Albert Pujols]?

	Ryan Howard	Albert Pujols	Carlos Beltran	No opinion
2006 Sep 15-17	27%	27	27	19

(Asked of baseball fans) If you had to choose among the following three players, who do you think should win the Most Valuable Player award in the American League this season - [ROTATED: Chicago White Sox Outfielder, Jermaine Dye, New York Yankees Shortstop, Derek Jeter, (or) Boston Red Sox Designated Hitter, David Ortiz]

	Derek Jeter	David Ortiz	Jermaine Dye	No opinion
2006 Sep 15-17	42%	31	18	9

Next, as you may know, a federal grand jury in San Francisco has been considering possible perjury and tax evasion charges against Major League Baseball player Barry Bonds.

Do you personally believe these allegations against Barry Bonds are - [ROTATED: definitely true, probably true, probably not true, (or) definitely not true]?

	Definitely true	Probably true	Probably not true	Definitely not true	No opinion
*National adults*
2006 Jul 21-23	7%	45	15	4	29

*Baseball fans*
2006 Jul 21-23	11%	50	15	6	18

Do you believe Barry Bonds is being treated fairly or unfairly in this case?

	Fairly	Unfairly	No opinion
*National adults*
2006 Jul 21-23	44%	26	30

*Baseball fans*
2006 Jul 21-23	51%	31	18

(Asked of professional baseball fans) As you may know, for the first time since 2001, there has been an increase in the number of home runs hit in Major League Baseball. What do you think is the most likely cause of the increase - [ROTATED: hitters continuing to use performance-enhancing drugs, a change in the way baseballs are made, a decline in the quality of pitching, (or) an increase in the quality of hitting]?

	2006 Jun 9-11
	%
Hitters continuing to use performance-enhancing drugs	47
An increase in the quality of hitting	27
A decline in the quality of pitching	9
A change in the way baseballs are made	8

None of these (vol.)	1
Other (vol.)	1
No opinion	6

(Asked of sports fans) Who do you consider to be the greatest home run hitter in the history of Major League Baseball? [Open-ended]

	2006 May 5-7	2004 Dec 17-19
	%	%
Babe Ruth	43	35
Hank Aaron	26	23
Barry Bonds	3	13
Mark McGwire	2	6
Roger Maris	1	2
Mickey Mantle	1	2
Albert Pujols	1	--
Willie Mays	1	1
Sammy Sosa	1	1
Ted Williams	*	1

Other	6	5
No opinion	14	11

(Asked of professional baseball fans) As you may know, Major League Baseball has passed a new policy that imposes longer suspensions for players who use steroids or other performance enhancing drugs. What do you think the result of this policy will be - will it - [ROTATED: eliminate the use of these types of drugs from the game, greatly reduce the use of these types of drugs, but not eliminate it, reduce the use of these types of drugs to a small extent, (or will it) not reduce the use of these types of drugs in the game at all]?

	Eliminate	Greatly reduce	Reduce to a small extent	Not reduce at all	No opinion
2006 Apr 7-9	6%	50	33	7	3

(Asked of professional baseball fans) Would you rather see Barry Bonds - [ROTATED: play baseball this year, (or would you rather see him) retire]?

	Play	Retire	No opinion
2006 Mar 10-12	41%	46	13

(Asked of professional baseball fans) If Major League Baseball officials conclude that Barry Bonds took steroids, do you think they should - or should not - take away his batting records, including the record for most home runs in a single season?