View Full Version : Home run explosion, YOU decide why...
Ansky39
05-05-00, 02:31 PM
Juiced Balls,
juiced batters,
smaller parks,
expansion,
low mound,
less quality pitchers,
shrinking strike zone, or
the evolution of batters has exceeded the evolution of batters...
what is it? Why have there been such an alarmingly high, (for baseball purists) number of homeruns thus far in 2000... Why does it seem like every stadium is as small as camdens “closet” yards w/ air as thin as coors field...
I dunno, could be all the reasons, could just be the present alignment of the planets for all I know... but I gotta sneaky suspicion that it has a lot to do w/ the players association refusal to even consider an Official stance against steroids and muscle enhancing drugs / supplements... I mean we saw what happened when brady took the stuff a few years back, coincidentally in his walk year... hasn’t been able to sniff 50 dingers since he proclaimed he quit using creatine...
further evidence is a survey administered by Blue Cross Foundation of something or the other... anyway, they just asked the top sluggers in the league, (no names to protect the druggies) to make a pledge and sign a simple statement: that they would play Drug-Free in 2000... only two players returned it signed... Gonzo and Magglio Ordonez... hmmmm what’s the big deal in signing it if you don’t have nothing to hide huh... why is the players association the so ardently against banning and testing, when every other athlete, (I don’t consider wwf wrestlers athletes) has to prove he’s juicefree to compete... what kind of message does this send to kids, when grown men, cannot regulate their own conduct w/ respect to drugs... when grown men by their actions will do anything to succeed... how can you honestly tell your pencil thin 11 yearold not to mess w/ roids, when you refuse to ban it from your profession or come out against it...
mac sent shockwaves through the andro industry as their sales quintupled when rumors of his usage emerged... what happens when kids realize as my man John Gotti said in reference to football players when his grandson expressed a desire to play, “all those guys are druggies...”
I dunno, I honestly think something must be done here. I mean they spend weeks analyzing a damn ball, they inspect bats, they check the pitchers gloves, but the main culprit is likely staring em in the eyes. juiced batters!!! look at this guy on toronto fullmer... tell me he ain’t juicin’.
it ain’t right... it’ll only distort historical accomplishments of past greats... YANKEE GREATS!!!! imagine if the babe sub’d andro for half the brewski’s he swallowed... it ain’t right!!!
WindRavenX
05-05-00, 03:59 PM
Most likely, I'd say it was just that we don't have as good of quality pitchers as we used to, that, with the fact that baseball players are getting considerably...bigger. Have you seen Big Mac's arms?? Or Shane's legs? They areHUGE! Some of the sluggers weigh close to 250 lbs! They could play Football at that!
So combine all time 'poor'(not really bad..but not as good as they could be at getting less runs) pitchers with massive bio-engenered players, and that's a pertty good recipe for all time homers..Actually, all of the ideas mentioned Mr.Ansky39 contribute it equally(Smaller ball parks of course).
But I still go with the pitchers and the behemoth players.
I'd say it's juiced balls, and a little of all of the above. I guess MLB feels that the fans would rather see HR's over a well pitched game. It seems every ballpark that's built nowadays is built with some type of HR feature in mind. It started with Camden Yards with the "let's see who can hit the warehouse" and has continued in San Fran
with "lets hit one in the Bay." It's a shame MLB is allowing this offensive explosion to continue when they could easily take steps to restore the GAME back into baseball.
The reason I feel the ball is juiced is it appears like the players are using aluminum bats. In general the balls seem to be carrying much further and getting to the fielders much quicker. A couple of the balls Toronto hit last weekend at the Stadium were down and away and they were still able to drive the ball over Bernies head. The HR hitters are going to get their HR's whether the ball goes 350' or 450', but when you have a player like Mike Bordick who's hit a total 51 HR's in ten years and 4000+ ab's, hit 7 HR's in 1 month and 100 ab's, I'd have to lean more torwards the ball being juiced. What were once fly balls are now HR's. It'll probably take a pitcher getting seriously hurt by a batted ball before MLB takes any action.... offense, it must be what $ells.
http://us.yimg.com/p/ap/20000506/capt.athletics_rangers_mnn.jpg
The scoreboard is shown at the end of the Texas Rangers' 17-16 win over the Oakland Athletics in Arlington, Texas, Friday, May 5, 2000. (AP Photo/Bill Janscha)
26 in '00
I say its the balls! The league has new balls this year, so I am thinking these balls are so juiced up we could milk them and get some kool aid out of them! I like exciting games, just like the next person, but sometimes when a score is 17-16 you gotta wonder what is going on here? It's not a sign of a well played baseball game! 1-0.. that is a well played baseball game!
penguin4
05-09-00, 12:24 PM
Face it, pitchers duels, if not a no-hitter or whatever unusual feat, are BORING. Everything you've mentioned above, Ansky, are all things the owners did to give the public what they want -- and they want action. They want to see a ball go over a fence by their favorite hitter, and be able to cheer as he makes a victory lap around the diamond. Announcers love it, because they can think of all kinds of corny ways to get all excited as they call a homerun. It gives newspapers something to write about the next day. And, most of all, the players are certainly happy, since most of them are hitters, anyway. Imagine the sheer joy of a major league homerun, the first time you hit one...some major leaguers never get the chance to hit one.
I can't say I agree with this offensive output; frankly, I hate when longstanding records are set and broken ten times in the past five years, because it takes the impressiveness out of it. Just look what happened when they changed the ball in 1930 -- so many records were broken they went back to the old ball in 1931.
I wouldn't worry too much about the players getting "juiced" or whatever you want to call it; I think that problem, in time, will correct itself -- and besides, unless the batter actually makes contact the ball goes nowhere. I think what we should do is move the fences out--maybe standardize the size of ballparks if we want to go that far, and stop with the stupid expansion (leave as is), which has totally watered down the entire talent pool. As far as the new ball goes, I think it's contributing somewhat to the hitting explosion, but not as much as one would think, considering the ball's been flying even before they changed it.
Oh, and lose the DH.
I pretty much agree with Penguin4, the baseball powers want high scoring games and they constantly make decisions intended to enhance hitting and continually take the edge off pitchers.
Not too long ago a pitcher could pitch inside to brush back a batter to take away some of the batter's edge. He simply cannot pitch inside without risking fine and suspension. There are a handful of great pitchers around but there are a handful of great hitters on EVERY team. That is where the money and glory and respect are.
Ansky39
05-09-00, 02:27 PM
hrs MAY be what most "fans" want, but the same could likely be said for dunks in the nba... i'm sure most "Fans" would love to see chris childs dunk more... then we'd get higher ratings from more "fans" getting what they "want"
so maybe we should abolish the roid ban in the nba and let the players juice at will so the "fans" could get what they "want" right...
personally, i prefer to watch a 1-0 or 2-1 extra inning "thriller" than a 15-16 slugfest... call it the giants and knicks fan in me, but I love defense... I love to witness a pitchers duel w/ flawless defensive play waaaaay more than a texas / clevelend offensive onslaught... i hate the indians, but i love watching vizquel and alomar turn a dp... i absolutely despie the mutts, but their 99' infield was really a thing of beauty, a graceful, proficient, perfect work of art... this "fan" loves the game w/out the glamor shots of griff strolling around bases... i love bonds as much for his dee, as i do for his offense... and on offense i love his ability to turn a single into a double or snag a steal waaay more than i do his homeruns... that's this "fan"
i love the game for what it is... I don't need no juiced canseco slugger on my team... my team has won 3 world series in the past 4 years w/out one 30hr producer... and guess what, the attendance has gone up every year... I guess some "fans" aren't as fixated w/ the homerun huh...
now as for the impact of juice or roids or enhancements or whatever the hell you wanna call em... you tellin me that if I'm a stronger player from artificial, universally banned enhancements, it won't impact my bat speed not to mention the power I produce upon impact... last i checked, most players had difficulty catching much less hitting most overpowering fastballs even for fouls... this year they're hitting opposite field hrs everynight... don't be so niaive as to believe the mac theory that andro doesn't make you a better player... if you know how to play this game, any artificial advantage will enhance you ability to play... and if you're juicing, you're more likely to catch pitches you couldn't naturally, and have more power to smack it further and harder than you could naturally...
all of this goes to the integrity of the game... this game was not created to be molded to the expectations of everyone... it's a beautiful game in and of itself... no need to change one damn thing about... you want more scoring go catch the nba... you want bigger biceps, the nfl beckons... this game is not about double digit scores... it's a game of strategy, and patience... 162 games... 9 innings a game... 27 outs are required most nights...
like our fine 2 time defending champs, you have to grind out every inning of every game... you don't cater your game to appeal to some "fans..." you don't cater "the" game to appeal to some "fans..." you play within the rules... you strategize within the rules... you compete within the rules... and you grind it out....
there is one simple explanation why the major league players association refuses to condone testing of roids... the only sports organizations in the world that condones roids usage are the mlb and the wwf... yeah we know how popular wrestling is these days... maybe for some "fans" baseball should be on the same level... not for this "fan!!!!"
"they" banned charlie hustle, (a guy who by his very name embodied 100% hard work and dedication to the game), for gambling, after his playing days were over, and never to throw a game... "they" said it was because it corrupts the integrity of the game... yeah well i say roids corrupts the integrity of the game 1,000 times more... maybe you'll believe it when some guy named dye breaks all of babes records... it's fair to say mac* would not have broken babes hr mark but for andro... his annual health woes alone would have made it overwhelmingly unlikely... but he juices and wa'la, no back problem... a bit of an attitude problem, but no more annual back woes... i also say having an owner as commish is inherently CORRUPT!!!! be a man bud stand up to the mlba and BAN ROIDS... for the sake of the game... and us "fans" who don't need hr's to LOVE this game...
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