No baseball players have gotten over 50 homers in several years? Coincidence?

Question

Has the MLB finally gotten baseball on track again and off steroids?

Even Bonds hasn't gotten over 50 in one year for several years now.

I'm just glad baseball seems to be getting on track again. I'll resume watching it.

Maybe a few are hitting over 50 still, but the numbers have gone down astronomically.

Answer 1

Ryan Howard hit 58 last year
David Ortiz hit 54 last year
Andruw Jones hit 51 two years ago
Alex Rodriguez hit 57 in 2002
Jim Thome hit 52 in 2002
Alex Rodriguez will hit 50 this year

It's not a coincidence though that 36-40 year olds aren't hitting 50 anymore though. Or that no one's hitting 60-70 anymore

Think about this though:

From the beginning of baseball in 1876 until 1977 (102 years) only 11 players hit 50 or more home runs. From 1990 to 2007 (18 years) 14 players have done it.

Also, the 60 home run mark was reached just twice from 1876-1997 (122 years). From 1998-2001 (4 years) it was reached 6 times by the same three guys: Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds ... what do they all have in common?

EDIT:
"steroids don't make someone hit homeruns"

LOL wow. Yes they do actually. Why do people even try to make this argument?

Everyone in the majors already has fantastic hand-eye coordination.

No one is saying that steroids IMPROVE hand-eye coordination!!

Steroids do, however, make your hands QUICKER and they make you STRONGER. They increase bat speed and strength.

Hand-eye coordination = Singles

Hand-eye coordination + Bat speed and Strength = Home Runs

Answer 2

I don't buy the steroid issue. I'm a firm believer that MLB juices the balls some years as in Sosa and Mc Guirre several years back. Has anyone sliced open a sampling of baseballs over the past 20 years to see if the centers have changed ? Bud selig needed a boost for the league. He's a master at getting people more interested in the game. Just look at the silly idea that the winner of the All Star Game gets home field advantage for the World Series.

Answer 3

Yeah, gosh, it's been a whole ONE year since Ryan Howard tagged 58 deep. Guess he took home that 2006 NL MVP Award based upon his doubles power, base stealing prowess, and fancy defensive work.

----------
"Maybe"? The main supporting evidence offered for your theory gets immediately stomped into the ground and the best you can counter with is "maybe"? Take the loss, young padawan, reach deep and acknowledge that you do not know what you are talking about. It happens. LEARN from it. Enough with the defensive waffling -- you got schooled for everyone to see. Now swallow.

Using a funny ol' thing called "research", here are major league home runs per game for the last few years (2007 through Sunday), along with annual differential:

1990 1.576
1991 1.608 +0.032
1992 1.443 -0.165
1993 1.776 +0.334
1994 2.066 +0.290
1995 2.023 -0.043
1996 2.189 +0.165
1997 2.048 -0.141
1998 2.082 +0.035
1999 2.277 +0.195
2000 2.344 +0.067
2001 2.247 -0.097
2002 2.085 -0.162
2003 2.143 +0.057
2004 2.245 +0.102
2005 2.064 -0.181
2006 2.217 +0.154
2007 2.007 -0.210

What do we make of this? Remember to account for the following factors: two expansion teams in 1993 (including the homer-friendliest city in major league history), a short season in 1994 (no September callups, no August doldrums), two more expansion teams in 1998, MANY new ballparks, the Rockies' humidor, new equipment, and so on.

There's something happening in 1998-2000, but there's something happening in 2003-04 as well, when steroid testing started; and there's clearly something in 1993-94, a big part of which was the Rockies entering the league, but '94? And the fallback years ('92, '97, '02, '05) are on the same order as some of the surge years. How to explain 1996? Caminiti's funny Snickers bars cannot account for all of it.

I don't doubt that steroids/HGH/Chemical X were used, and widely, and we certainly have had fewer disclosed and suspended players this year than we did last. But I'm certain that cries of "steroids!" don't explain everything, and may not explain anything.

Merely looking at the leaders is needlessly cherry-picking the data, and doing a poor job of it at that.

Answer 4

Define "numbers are down astronomically." Given that your grasp of nobody hitting over 50 homers in several years was a bit off, I think you should provide a link or a stat of some sort.

Answer 5

Gosh it's been a whole year since Ryan Howard hit 58 HR and David Ortiz hit 54 HR.

Answer 6

2006 - Ryan Howard (58)
2006 - David Ortiz (54)
2005 - Andruw Jones (51)
.

Answer 7

What? Ortiz and Ryan Howard both mashed over 50 last year.

I agree that besides A-Roid, HR's are way down this year, however you need to get your facts straight.

Answer 8

ryan howard hit 58 last year, he's not on steroids,
bonds is still hitting bombs, how could he or anyone else be on anything

the whole steroid thing is so overblown

i wonder how many pitchers were on them, throwing to mcguire, sosa, and bonds in the late 90's???

Answer 9

Ryan Howard got 58 last year....and steroids don't make someone hit homeruns...you can't see a 98 mph fastball better on steroids....If you saw me at 21 (6'1' 170 lbs) and now - 220 6'2" musclebound, you'd cry steroids and be wrong...it's called a good workout program and great diet....

Answer 10

It is quite clear that the players are laying off the juice.

The numbers prove this, looks like baseball is on the right track for success.

Hopefully this will help protect the integrity of the game