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Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 1835358, member: 289"] THE PLAYERS MARK MCGWIRE and SAMMY SOSA are forever linked together. [IMG]http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/david-kaplan-chicago-sports/sp_all_.jpg[/IMG] Both were accused of using steroids with considerable evidence, especially on McGwire’s side. Both denied it, at least initially. McGwire admitted using Andro (Androstenedione), an over the counter supplement not yet banned by baseball at the time, (1998), although it had been banned by the IOC and the NFL. It was later reclassified as an anabolic steroid in 2004 and banned by baseball at that time. In 2005 Jose Canseco said, in his book, “Juiced” that he began injecting McGwire with steroids back in the 1980’s. Mark declined to answer questions at the Senate hearing in 2005. “On January 11, 2010, McGwire admitted to using steroids on and off for a decade and said, "I wish I had never touched steroids. It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era."[30] He admitted using them in the 1989/90 offseason and then after he was injured in 1993. He admitted using them on occasion throughout the 1990s, including during the 1998 season. McGwire said that he used steroids to recover from injuries…According to McGwire, he took steroids for health reasons rather than to improve performance; however, a drug dealer who claimed to have provided steroids to McGwire asserted that his use was to improve his size and strength, rather than to just maintain his health.” (Wikipedia) In 2009 the New York Times reported that Sosa was on a list of players who tested positive for steroids in 2003. They gave no source. Sosa had told Congress in 2005 "To be clear, I have never taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs. I have never injected myself or had anyone inject me with anything. I have not broken the laws of the United States or the laws of the Dominican Republic. I have been tested as recently as 2004, and I am clean." He had said he’s waiting patiently to get into the Hall of Fame. He may have to wait a while. He’s never gotten more than 12.5% of the vote. Mark McGwire has always been a big, strong guy. He just got bigger and stronger. Sammy Sosa, (like Barry Bonds), was not skinny but not bulky either. That certainly changed. Here they are as rookies: [URL]http://www.djshouseofcards-comics.com/images/baseball_cardx/McGwire580.jpeg[/URL] [URL]http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2011/0709/chi_sosa_07_340.jpg[/URL] Here they near the end of their careers: [URL]http://cr4.globalspec.com/PostImages/201112/mcqwire_675F8DF3-B8A9-D454-D0E9FACDE76DA9BE.jpg[/URL] [URL]http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2009/0617/mlb_g_sosa1_200.jpg[/URL] Baseball Reference.com is a little strange. It gives two weights for some players. It says Sammy Sosa was 6-0 165 on his main player page but on his bullpen page it lists him as 6-0 220. I suspect the first is his weight as a rookie and the latter at the end of his career. Mark McGwire is listed as 6-5 215 on his player page and 6-5 225 on his bullpen page. I remember sportscasters describing him at the height of his career as being the size of an NFL lineman, which would be a good deal more than 225. So they got bigger and stronger and hit more home runs. But let’s look at their numbers to see if they might tell us anything else. Here are Sosa’s walks per plate appearance, (minus intentional walks on both sides of the equation- I’m trying to measure how selective the batter is being), his strikeouts per plate appearance and the percentage of his hits that were home runs for each year of his career: (All stats are from Baseball Reference.com) Here are the numbers for Sammy Sosa: 1989 4.5% walks 23.4% strikeouts 8.5% home runs 1990 5.0% walks 26.1% strikeouts 12.1% home runs 1991 3.6% walks 29.2% strikeouts 15.6% home runs 1992 6.2% walks 21.7% strikeouts 11.7% home runs 1993 5.0% walks 21.3% strikeouts 21.2% home runs 1994 5.3% walks 20.1% strikeouts 19.5% home runs 1995 7.6% walks 21.7% strikeouts 23.8% home runs 1996 5.2% walks 25.2% strikeouts 29.4% home runs 1997 5.3% walks 25.4% strikeouts 22.4% home runs 1998 8.3% walks 24.2% strikeouts 33.3% home runs 1999 9.9% walks 24.3% strikeouts 35.0% home runs 2000 10.4% walks 24.5% strikeouts 25.9% home runs 2001 11.7% walks 22.7% strikeouts 33.9% home runs 2002 13.5% walks 22.1% strikeouts 30.6% home runs 2003 9.1% walks 24.7% strikeouts 27.8% home runs 2004 9.7% walks 24.9% strikeouts 28.9% home runs 2005 8.6% walks 20.0% strikeouts 16.7% home runs 2006 Did not play 2007 6.9% walks 24.8% strikeouts 20.2% home runs Sammy’s home run percentage nearly doubled in 1993 and had a jump in 1996, (he had no particular jump in 1994, when everybody else did). But his great years were 1998-2002, which also featured a significant increase in walk percentage. He was becoming stronger but he was also becoming more selective, which means he was swinging at pitches more in his wheel house. However his strikeouts remained very high, although they did go down a bit. I’m guess that’s due a refusal to “give in to the pitcher” with two strikes by choking up on the bat and protecting the plate. He saw every pitch as a potential home run. Even considering his rather obvious use of steroids, his feat of hitting over 60 home runs three times and 292 of them in five seasons is remarkable. A lot of guys have taken steroids but they haven’t done that. He also went from a .257 lifetime hitter through 1997 to hitting .306 through those five seasons, so he was hitting the ball cleanly more often. He became a stronger hitter, but also a better one. Here are the same numbers for Mark McGwire: 1986 6.9% walks 31.0% strikeouts 30.0% home runs 1987 10.0% walks 20.6% strikeouts 30.4% home runs 1988 11.4% walks 18.5% strikeouts 22.4% home runs 1989 13.4% walks 16.2% strikeouts 29.2% home runs 1990 15.8% walks 18.1% strikeouts 31.7% home runs 1991 15.5% walks 19.9% strikeouts 22.7% home runs 1992 14.0% walks 18.8% strikeouts 33.6% home runs 1993 15.7% walks 18.6% strikeouts 32.1% home runs 1994 21.5% walks 23.3% strikeouts 26.4% home runs 1995 19.9% walks 17.2% strikeouts 44.8% home runs 1996 18.8% walks 18.0% strikeouts 39.3% home runs 1997 13.3% walks 22.3% strikeouts 39.2% home runs 1998 20.5% walks 23.7% strikeouts 46.1% home runs 1999 17.5% walks 22.0% strikeouts 44.8% home runs 2000 20.7% walks 21.3% strikeouts 44.4% home runs 2001 14.7% walks 31.9% strikeouts 51.8% home runs Mark McGwire was an historical great home run hitter from the time he showed up: in fact, he was as great as Sosa in Sammy’s prime from the very beginning. His big problem was staying healthy. Foot injuries limited him to a total of 74 games in 1993 and 1994). He went deep in the count but was more selective than Sosa ever was and thus walked more and stuck out less than Sammy, (although he did a lot of both). 1994 looks like he was experimenting with his approach, going even deeper into the count but initially hitting fewer home runs. But his home run percentage soared in 1995 and remained amazingly high the rest of his career. Bill Jenkinson, in “Baseball’s Ultimate Power” says that Mark’s first home run in 1987 went 450 feet but he didn’t hit one significantly longer than until 1995.”While most sluggers achieve their optimum distance in their mid twenties, Mark McGwire became the first power hitter in the baseball history to do that after age 30.” He hit six 450 foot+ homers in 1995 with a high of 467, he had five of 470+ in 1996, with a high of 488. He had his first 500 footer in 1997 off Randy Johnson in Seattle. It was initially measured at 538 feet but Jenkinson says it was really “a more practical 505 feet”. Mark had two 535 footers in 1998, “the stuff of legend”. The obvious answer would seem to be steroids but, per Canseco, he was already taking them, (directly from Jose) long before that. Either he was taking more steroids or something else was increasing his home run success. McGwire claimed at the time that his time off in 1993-94 had allowed him to observe the game more and he emerged as a better hitter. He certainly emerged as a better hitter. Not only did his home run percentage go up but he hit .278 over the last seven years of his career after hitting .250 in the first nine years. If a powerful man hits the ball more often, he’s going to hit more home runs. Here are his home run numbers extrapolated to 162 games for each year: 1986: 27 1987: 53 1988: 33 1989: 37 1990: 40 1991: 23 1992: 49 1993: 54 1994: 31 1995: 61 1996: 65 1997: 60 1998: 73 1999: 69 2000: 58 2001: 48 As with Sosa, that’s quite a record of power hitting, whatever you attribute it to. That’s 781 home runs in 16 years. Again, many other guys took steroids. They didn’t do this. I looked at Mark’s minor league stats: 1984 12.6% walks 33.3% strikeouts 9.1% home runs 1985 15.8% walks 18.2% strikeouts 17.9% home runs 1986 14.6% walks 19.7% strikeouts 15.5% home runs McGwire had power in the minors, but nothing like what he showed in the majors. But many players don’t show as much power in the minors as they alter did in the majors, (see George Brett and Don Mattingly). Obviously he took steroids and they may be the reason for his dramatic increases in power in 1987 and 1995. But I think he was always a big guy with power and I think improvement in his batting skills and selectivity played some role in his great success, as well. That’s the problem with cheating: it obscures legitimate accomplishments as well the illegitimate ones. Jenkinson: “Mark left the game riddled with controversy and doubt but also imbued it with awe and wonder.” [/QUOTE]

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