Flukes

The only, and I mean only, bit of "evidence" that anyone has ever offered against Luis Gonzalez as a steroid abuser is his 2001 season, when he hit 57 homers, 26 more than he has in any other season. That's not evidence, that's called a fluke. Such as:

In 1961 Norm Cash hit .361 with 41 homers. His career high average other than that year was .286, and although he followed that season with a 39-homer campaign in 1962 he generally averaged 25-30 homers per season. Was Norm Cash a steroid abuser? Of course not.

That same season, Jim Gentile, who only one other time topped 28 homers (33 in 1962) belted 46 for the Orioles. I didn't realize that BALCO was in business in 1961. There is another 1961 overperformer; I'll save him for later.

Rico Petrocelli jumped from 12 homers to 40 in 1969. He hit 29 and 28 the next two years and then reverted to his usual ground of 15-18. Rico Petrocelli was a lot of things, but most likely not a steroid user.

Walt Dropo smashed 34 homers and drove in 144 runs for the 1950 Red Sox. Only one other time did he hit better than 20 homers. I think that's proof enough to convict.

A Giants outfielder named Willard Marshall hit 36 homers in 1947. Marshall played 11 seasons in the majors, mostly as a regular, and never hit more than 17 in other seasons. Draw your own conclusions.

Best known as the championship-winning manager of the Blue Jays, Cito Gaston batted .318 with 29 homers in 1970. Gaston was a .256 lifetime hitter who only reached double figures in homers two other times, with 17 and 16. That's Guilty, Guilty, Guilty!

Saving the best for last...Roger Maris. Yes, the now-sainted Roger Maris (who took his share of abuse from the media in his day). Maris hit a career-high (to that point) 39 homers in 1960, an improvement of 23 from the previous year. In 1961, of course, he hit 61. In 1962, he fell back to 33. He never did better than 26 again. Something in the water? Or a good player staying in a zone for 162 games?

Baseball history is full of one- or two-season wonders, guys who jumped far out of their normal performance range for a brief time. I happens, without any sinister cause or dubious reason. Certainly one can point to many plausible explanations for the seasons listed above. One could come up with just as many for the 1990s home run boom.

We agree that steroid, HGH, etc., are bad things, and that people shouldn't be taking them without a valid medical reason. We also would like to (again) point out that there is absolutely NO scientific, non-ancedotal evidence of their impact on playing baseball.