A Sign of Baseball without Steroids
Bill Chuck - Managing Editor | Thursday, September 5, 2013 at 7:03PM
Fatigue is setting in.
You can see it in the bats that are slower crossing the plate.
You can see it in the fly balls that are dying on the warning track.
You can see it, with the exception of the Red Sox last night at Fenway against the Tigers, as fewer balls fly out of the park.
It's the after the break need of a break for many sluggers.
It's the absence of steroids in baseball
It was not like that during the steroid era
Take a look at the home run totals in MLB after the break for the last 20 seasons.
| Rk | Year | G | HR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2004 | 2252 | 2625 |
| 2 | 1999 | 2246 | 2540 |
| 3 | 2001 | 2252 | 2475 |
| 4 | 2006 | 2216 | 2444 |
| 5 | 1998 | 2268 | 2433 |
| 6 | 2002 | 2250 | 2410 |
| 7 | 2000 | 2268 | 2381 |
| 8 | 2007 | 2236 | 2368 |
| 9 | 2012 | 2294 | 2342 |
| 10 | 2009 | 2222 | 2335 |
| 11 | 2005 | 2236 | 2332 |
| 12 | 1997 | 2134 | 2257 |
| 13 | 1996 | 2104 | 2243 |
| 14 | 2003 | 2060 | 2162 |
| 15 | 2011 | 2124 | 2124 |
| 16 | 1995 | 2126 | 2117 |
| 17 | 2010 | 2212 | 2113 |
| 18 | 2008 | 2002 | 2075 |
| 19 | 2013 | 1342 | 1241 |
| 20 | 1994 | 766 | 775 |
Leading Home Runs Hitters Before the Break
Here are the leading home runs hitters before the break with their strikeouts and their well-hit balls
| G | PA | AB | HR | HR% | WH# | K | K% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Davis (BAL) | 95 | 393 | 343 | 37 | 10.8% | 110 | 110 | 28.0% |
| Miguel Cabrera (DET) | 93 | 428 | 362 | 30 | 8.3% | 141 | 64 | 15.0% |
| Edwin Encarnacion (TOR) | 91 | 399 | 348 | 25 | 7.2% | 94 | 45 | 11.3% |
| Carlos Gonzalez (COL) | 91 | 395 | 354 | 25 | 7.1% | 76 | 105 | 26.6% |
| Raul Ibanez (SEA) | 73 | 296 | 277 | 24 | 8.7% | 74 | 70 | 23.6% |
| Pedro Alvarez (PIT) | 85 | 334 | 304 | 24 | 7.9% | 77 | 109 | 32.6% |
| Adam Dunn (CWS) | 87 | 360 | 310 | 24 | 7.7% | 79 | 108 | 30.0% |
| Domonic Brown (PHI) | 95 | 384 | 355 | 23 | 6.5% | 70 | 72 | 18.8% |
| Nelson Cruz (TEX) | 92 | 386 | 350 | 22 | 6.3% | 97 | 94 | 24.4% |
| Robinson Cano (NYY) | 95 | 409 | 354 | 21 | 5.9% | 100 | 52 | 12.7% |
| Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) | 94 | 406 | 352 | 21 | 6.0% | 105 | 82 | 20.2% |
| Mark Trumbo (LAA) | 93 | 398 | 359 | 21 | 5.8% | 81 | 98 | 24.6% |
| Adrian Beltre (TEX) | 93 | 399 | 374 | 21 | 5.6% | 108 | 42 | 10.5% |
| Jose Bautista (TOR) | 87 | 390 | 335 | 20 | 6.0% | 86 | 69 | 17.7% |
| Jay Bruce (CIN) | 94 | 412 | 379 | 19 | 5.0% | 100 | 112 | 27.2% |
| David Ortiz (BOS) | 77 | 331 | 287 | 19 | 6.6% | 109 | 43 | 13.0% |
| Carlos Beltran (STL) | 84 | 350 | 330 | 19 | 5.8% | 77 | 60 | 17.1% |
| Adam Jones (BAL) | 96 | 413 | 395 | 19 | 4.8% | 94 | 76 | 18.4% |
Leading Home Run Hitters After the Break
| G | PA | AB | HR | HR% | WH# | K | K% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miguel Cabrera (DET) | 35 | 142 | 125 | 13 | 10.4% | 48 | 21 | 14.8% |
| Alfonso Soriano (NYY) | 42 | 178 | 163 | 13 | 8.0% | 26 | 47 | 26.4% |
| Jayson Werth (WSH) | 43 | 180 | 152 | 11 | 7.2% | 42 | 28 | 15.6% |
| Edwin Encarnacion (TOR) | 46 | 200 | 165 | 11 | 6.7% | 48 | 13 | 6.5% |
| Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) | 42 | 199 | 156 | 10 | 6.4% | 44 | 41 | 20.6% |
| Justin Morneau (PIT) | 45 | 194 | 178 | 10 | 5.6% | 39 | 38 | 19.6% |
| Freddie Freeman (ATL) | 44 | 186 | 162 | 10 | 6.2% | 44 | 32 | 17.2% |
| Evan Longoria (TB) | 42 | 185 | 167 | 10 | 6.0% | 47 | 49 | 26.5% |
| Darin Ruf (PHI) | 43 | 173 | 152 | 10 | 6.6% | 36 | 52 | 30.1% |
| Chris Davis (BAL) | 42 | 183 | 154 | 10 | 6.5% | 33 | 58 | 31.7% |
| Brandon Moss (OAK) | 40 | 138 | 123 | 10 | 8.1% | 31 | 28 | 20.3% |
| Adam Jones (BAL) | 42 | 181 | 171 | 10 | 5.8% | 47 | 33 | 18.2% |
| Will Venable (SD) | 42 | 172 | 162 | 9 | 5.6% | 31 | 38 | 22.1% |
| Torii Hunter (DET) | 42 | 188 | 175 | 9 | 5.1% | 34 | 30 | 16.0% |
| Nate Schierholtz (CHC) | 39 | 151 | 141 | 9 | 6.4% | 20 | 41 | 27.2% |
| Mitch Moreland (TEX) | 44 | 141 | 122 | 9 | 7.4% | 33 | 28 | 19.9% |
| Coco Crisp (OAK) | 38 | 163 | 150 | 9 | 6.0% | 25 | 21 | 12.9% |
| Chris Carter (HOU) | 40 | 168 | 144 | 9 | 6.3% | 33 | 61 | 36.3% |
| Brian Dozier (MIN) | 43 | 203 | 184 | 9 | 4.9% | 29 | 40 | 19.7% |
| Andrew McCutchen (PIT) | 46 | 199 | 169 | 9 | 5.3% | 56 | 33 | 16.6% |
Understand that the folks on this list are the HR leaders since the break.
So if you see a player on top, from the first half leaders, not on the bottom, that means that he hasn't hit at least nine homers since mid-July.
But it's more than that.
It's strikeout rates that have risen and the number of well hit balls that find grass or gloves instead of fans hands.
And that, my friends, is what baseball looks like without steroids.
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