Everybody loves the long ball. Nothing beats the sound of the crack of a bat on a baseball blasting 420 feet into a sea of screaming fans.
Homerun hitters have always been sought after. Having power gives a team the ability to be down 3 runs and immediately tie the game up with one swing. It is that valuable.
Lately there has been a lot of talk about making baseball more exciting. People often complain that it is too long and boring and Major League Baseball has made some adjustments and rule changes to try to make the game quicker.
Bryce Harper, one of the games young stars, has created the motto MBFA (make baseball fun again), and believes the game is in a sort of lull. But how did it get to that point?
Steroids have been a major issue in the big leagues for the past 25 years. It has kept players out of the Hall of Fame, suspended if they are caught while playing, and ridiculed through the media.
Players like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa are some of the greatest sluggers ever, but their reputations have been tarnished since their steroid allegations. But would steroids being used like they were from 1995-2005 “make baseball fun again”?
During the Steroid Era of major league baseball, home runs increased dramatically. In 1995, only four players had seasons with 40 or more homeruns. The next season, that number skyrocketed to 17 players with at least 40. The number is now back down to 8 players in 2016.
Between 1996 and 2009, games averaged above one homerun a game. Since the league cracked down on steroid use, that number is now below one.
1998 was one of the most exciting seasons in baseball history as Sosa and McGwire competed for the single season homerun record of 62, which was set by Yankee great Roger Maris. The race was incredible and the image of McGwire rounding the bases when he broke the record is forever cherished in baseball history.
Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s all-time homerun record and it was astonishing to watch. No matter what ESPN was airing, they would cut to the Giant’s games for every Bonds at-bat, and everyone was tuning in.
Even though these players were cheating and breaking the rules, they were also breaking records, making the game as exciting as it had ever been.
Baltimore’s Mark Trumbo led the league in homeruns last year with 47. In 2001, Bonds hit 73 homeruns in a single season. That is a difference of 26 homeruns.
For baseball purists, steroids have no place in baseball. They do not mind seeing a game go into the ninth inning with a 1-1 score and a pitchers duel taking place. They appreciate the mental chess match that baseball is.
But for the average sports fan, they would probably like to see the ball hit 500 feet. For them, that is why baseball is entertaining. With all this talk about baseball games being too boring or taking too long, the idea that steroids helped baseball more than it hurt, it might not be a swing and a miss.
