Numbers on Steroids is a look at baseball players during the 90s to see if anything screams out at you.
It's time to look at one of my favorite cases, Jeff Bagwell to see if the numbers scream at you. We're going to look at his per game out puts rather than season totals. This will give you a better idea of what he averaged in his prime and the tale off at the end.
Explaining It Away
Here's our attempt to explain away the stats. Obviously not all rookies explode onto the seen in full force. Some take a few years to jump up and Bagwell did just that. The massive jump in numbers in 1994 could also be the benefit of the shortened strike season and the benefit of not going through any prolonged slump that year. The numbers and avearages fluctuate some over his prime years but nothing out of the ordinary and then plummet in 2004, which coincides with steroid testing. It also coincides with Bagwell's shoulder practically falling off, and his inability to lift his arm above his head. That probably doesn't help the batting totals much.
Verdict
Bagwell certainly had the look and feel of a Steroids guy. Prospect at third base that all of a sudden gets way too big to play the Hot Corner and moves across the diamond. He becomes injury plagued at the end of his career after having some supreme power years.
If it Walks Like a Duck and Quacks Like a Duck... Than It's Probably a Duck
It's time to look at one of my favorite cases, Jeff Bagwell to see if the numbers scream at you. We're going to look at his per game out puts rather than season totals. This will give you a better idea of what he averaged in his prime and the tale off at the end.
Per Game Says: Massive Increase in 94, Massive Decrease in 04? Hmmm....
Career Averages Says: Wow that slugging percentage sure crashes starting in 01.
Career Averages Says: Wow that slugging percentage sure crashes starting in 01.
Explaining It Away
Here's our attempt to explain away the stats. Obviously not all rookies explode onto the seen in full force. Some take a few years to jump up and Bagwell did just that. The massive jump in numbers in 1994 could also be the benefit of the shortened strike season and the benefit of not going through any prolonged slump that year. The numbers and avearages fluctuate some over his prime years but nothing out of the ordinary and then plummet in 2004, which coincides with steroid testing. It also coincides with Bagwell's shoulder practically falling off, and his inability to lift his arm above his head. That probably doesn't help the batting totals much.
Verdict
Bagwell certainly had the look and feel of a Steroids guy. Prospect at third base that all of a sudden gets way too big to play the Hot Corner and moves across the diamond. He becomes injury plagued at the end of his career after having some supreme power years.
If it Walks Like a Duck and Quacks Like a Duck... Than It's Probably a Duck
Comments
.375 hitter? No. But he is a 30/120/.290-.300 guy all day long. He was a great hitter who had one season where he played out of his mind. In all these Fed reports and steroid dealers rolling for the Feds, not once do you hear about Bagwell.
http://simononsports.blogspot.com/2006/12/jeff-bagwell-to-hall-of-fame.html