Monday, September 18, 2006

Check out this list. It's all the seasons where players had more than 50 home runs. The top three names, comprising the six highest single season homer totals in baseball history, are probably steroid cheats.

Another point - in the seven years at the height of the Steroid Era (1996-2002), there were nine players who hit more than 50 home runs a combined total of 17 times. In the other 80 seasons since Babe Ruth became the first to hit more than 50 homers in 1920, the feat has only been accomplished 21 times by 14 players (with David Ortiz likely to join the group prior to the end of this year).

So, 45% of the 50 home run seasons were accomplished in only 8% of the total seasons. The three poster boys of the Steroid Era (Bonds, McGwire and Sosa) hit 50 or more a combined 9 times, with Sosa and McGwire doing it four times each. Only the Babe hit 50 or more homers four times, and I think we can be pretty sure he didn't use any artificial enhancements to do it (unless there are steroids in hot dogs). Also, six of the eight seasons of 60 or more homers happened during this period, and the only two 70+ seasons.

You can draw your own conclusions if you like, but as far as I'm concerned, Roger Maris is still the single season home run champ unless Ryan Howard (with 57 as of this writing and 13 games to play) can beat him out in the last two weeks.

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