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john/z28jdThe only problem with that arguement IS that no one else has done it.If taking steroids equals putting up the greatest numbers in baseball then why is it a 37-40 year old guy doing it and not someone else in their 20s with much less wear on their body? The fact that he put up those numbers at that age just proves how great he is,doesnt disprove it.If no one else does it then thats to his credit.Anyone that believes steroids made him what he is,is out of their mind because no other major leaguers are doing what he did,yet thousands of baseball players did steroids unproven by tests or not.
No one seems to mention his strike zone is about half the size of most other players and he rarely,bordering on never swings at bad pitches.Unmatched plate discipline combined with all-star skills plus umpires giving him every call has given him a huge advantage.Watered down pitching trying to make perfect pitches equals alot of batting practice type pitches for him.There isnt another player in the majors with as small a strike zone as him and he only swings at good hittable pitches.Thats his biggest advantage
Plenty of bulked up players have struggled one year then toned down the next year.Taking steroids doesnt equal instant stardom,not even close.Its an excuse for haters of Bonds.Too many people hated him years ago for you to get into a legitimate discussion about him now.People say its unproven but name a player who has been proved not to take them which is impossible because testing hasnt been done long enough.Theres no advantage when everyones on the same playing field now.
So you compare people then by how they did against their peers so if Joe Blow from 19xx hits .300 but the league average is .303 then he doesnt compare well to someone who hit .300 in 1968 when the pitchers dominated baseball.You measure players against their league at the time to figure out the best season and as long as their playing field(ie Coors Field,etc) didnt give them a huge advantage you should be able to figure out the greatest season with some research.Triple crown winners is a good place to start but shouldnt be the only criteria when figuring out the best season ever