Home Run record

I am kinda on the fence about Thome too. Wouldn't at all be surprised if he didn't but he was another guy that was skinny when he came in to the league and exploded and his power seemed to follow suit. He was also a explosive hitter as he got older which isn't very common. Great hitter though.

I hate that argument of "roids didn't teach him how to hit 95 mph fast balls..." Bonds was a great hitter when he was a skinny bitch. He was damn near a 40/40 guy before going to SF. Look at his body in 92, when he was still a great hitter. Then look at his body/stats as he got huge. He was a great hitter before the roids but I think it's very obvious the roids pushed him way over the edge. When you're talking about a game that milliseconds makes a difference, using roids makes a world of difference and I think that's what pisses a lot of people off.

For the record, the only guys that have hit more than 61 were on the juice.

There were certainly some pitchers that were on roids, no question. But it's not like guys were going from throwing 90 and now all of the sudden they are throwing 105 mph. That's the difference in roids for the hitter. You go from 42 HR's per year to 73. In both cases, you have to have the skillset but pitching is ridiculously hard too. People always make it seem like that's the easy part. Roids doesn't give you better action on your slider, more drop on your circle change, etc... Having said that, there were guys like Clemens, Gagne, and Pettite that likely benefitted from roids too but they were the most notable ones. With hitters, there were way more notable stand out players that tested positive, virtually all the greats from our generation.

It doesn't translate to only 2 or 3 more per year. Milliseconds are the difference between a foul and a solid hit. I can't stand that Sports Science crap on ESPN, but they did a great one on Manny Ramirez the year he went to LA. They were showing how he could start his swing later because he could swing faster than most elite hitters in the game. Since he could wait longer, he didn't swing at bad pitches as often. And since he didn't swing at bad pitches as often, he got better pitches to hit and when he hit them, he hit them with better accuracy. He had one of the most incredible late season performances I've ever seen that year. He went to LA at the trade deadline and had 17 HR's between then and the end of the season.

The next season? Gets suspended for PED's. No coincidence. Steroids make a huge difference. It's not hitting the ball 2 more feet, or getting 2 more HR's per year. It's way, way bigger than that.

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I think pitching will always progress. There wasn't such thing as a cut fastball in 1960. Dudes will find new ways to pitch, but the game is always working against the pitcher because casual fans want more offense to make the game exciting. Not many casual fans appreciate pitching as much as they do homeruns.

That year he hit 73 was insane though. It really felt like he was either getting walked, or he was hitting a homerun.

@Dutch, I don't care what uniform he was wearing. I'm not a fan of the Giants but that has nothing to do with this particular conversation. I was an A's fan growing up and got to go to some Cardinals games the year McGwire hit 70. I'll always be more of a fan of his than Bonds, but I don't think 73, nor do I think 70 is the record, nor is 66. I think that they + steroids own those records. I don't hate anybody for their opinion on it, but I was just curious what people's thoughts were because like I said, I think if someone hit 62 this year, it would really raise this question. I think there would be a "home run race" like there was in 98, especially if 2 dudes were chasing 61+ homers in a year. Crush Davis was excellent last year, and was still short.

It also puts more strain on the ligaments, which is a concern for pitchers to begin with. The muscle grows too fast for the ligaments to support and becomes too bulky. That's why a lot of the steroid users have frequent injuries.

As far as Griffey, I don't think he used roids. I think his reckless/exciting style of play was the cause of his injuries. He was an excellent fielder but there's only some many times you can dive for the ball or run into the fence etc... and not have injuries pile up. I suspect that Puig will have a short career too with the way he's playing but for now he's the most exciting player in the game.

I need to look up that video but I think he did it more than once, he had his leg straight out as he crashed into the wall. The leg took the brunt of the impact.

I forgot in talking about the guys that looked like they were on roids, Pettite and Palmeiro never looked like they were on roids but they were very good for a time.

Beckett No hitter, must be on the juice. He didn't win a game for 2 years or something like that until this season, then threw a no no