Bonds would opt out of Hall over asterisk ball

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Slugger Barry Bonds said he would refuse induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame if his record home run ball branded with an asterisk goes on display in the Cooperstown shrine.

Dogged by speculation that his pursuit of baseball's all-time home run mark was fuelled by performance-enhancing drugs, Bonds defended his record in an interview on MSNBC on Thursday, repeating again that he had nothing to hide.

The ball Bonds hit on August 7 for his record-breaking 756th home run was purchased for $750,000 by fashion designer Marc Ecko and branded with an asterisk before being shipped to the Hall of Fame.

The asterisk represents the belief held by many fans that Bonds may not have spoken truthfully when denying steroid use.

"I will never be in the Hall of Fame, never," Bonds told NBC reporter Jim Gray in an interview on MSNBC's Countdown. "I won't go. I won't be part of it, I won't be there, you can call me but I won't be there.

"I don't think you can put an asterisk in the game of baseball and I don't think that the Hall of Fame can accept an asterisk in their Hall of Fame.

"You can't, you cannot give people the freedom, the right to alter history, you can't do it. There's no such thing as an asterisk in baseball."

Ecko said more than 10 million people had voted in an online ballot to determine the record-breaking ball's fate.

Bonds, seven-times National League MVP, left the door open for a change of heart but his chances of gaining entry into Cooperstown could hinge on the results of an ongoing grand jury investigation into whether he committed perjury while testifying in the BALCO scandal.

"That's my emotions now, that's how I feel now," said Bonds. "When I decide to retire five years from now we'll see where they are at that moment. We'll see where they are at that time and maybe I'll reconsider."

Bonds also said he would not co-operate with a Major League Baseball investigation into steroid use being conducted by Senator George Mitchell while the BALCO case investigation continues.

"I have nothing to hide, I have said that before and I will say it now and I will look you in the face, I have nothing to hide, nothing," said Bonds. "So look all you want to."

(Writing by Steve Keating in Detroit)