The Biggest Mystery of MLB's Steroid Era

[@JollyOlive]

It's been over a year since this video was made, and it's blown up! Thanks for that. That being said, I hate the 50-HR to No-Hitter comparison. Should've been the cycle. Hindsight is 20/20. Hope you still enjoyed the video.

[@SportsCenter27]

Aaron Judge at 53 homers

[@-mv1sd]

well ok i dont think brady anderson is all that huge a mystery he had huge protection in that lineup thats it

[@Embargoman]

The empty seats with 100 homerun games era is coming soon.

[@bezllama3325]

WHy did your brother narrate half the video?

[@anthonyrowland9072]

@@Embargoman I barely know any players names now... Also, the O's gotta go back to those hats, the cartoon trucker hats have never been it. Also also, remember when Cecil Fielder went crazy for 3 seasons out of nowhere?

[@benestrada5589]

Brady Anderson is the only player ever to have a 20/50 and 50/20 season

[@JP-ib9kk]

That is awesome

[@firstnamelastname-up6ni]

Barry bonds would've, if he wouldn't have been walked so much.

[@ericvogt3313]

Great trivia question

[@anthonyzheng7274]

20/50 honest season, 50/20 juiceeeeeeeeeee 💪

[@gavinsheridan4680]

@@firstnamelastname-up6ni he wouldn’t have been walked so much if he hadn’t been bunting balls over the CF fence.

[@theb.a.r.strategy7254]

Brady Anderson may have actually been eating a balanced breakfast.

[@John-k8k9q]

He was eating his Wheaties.

[@chuckeecheeze4649]

Yeah, nah, everyone knows it was the 90210 sideburns that gave him his incredible power.

[@John-k8k9q]

@@chuckeecheeze4649 I have to agree with you on this.

[@TheBgoodheyhey]

He actually did say in an interview that he had put a lot more bacon back into his diet during that season

[@CB-ke7eq]

He took his vitamins, like any good Hulkamaniac.

[@paysonfox88]

Roger Marris was a similar case. He was hitting 25 -- 30 HR a season, with 39 being his best. Then in 1961 he hit 61 HR to break Babe Ruth's single season mark. Marris only hit 275 HR in his career in 12 seasons, yet almost 25% of them came in 1 season. Ricky Henderson had 25 yrs in baseball MLB, yet only 3 or 4 good power seasons with 20+ HR. He averaged about a dozen per season.

[@mikemyers1912]

He didn't get to play in Yankee Stadium with that enticing short right field porch for too many years

[@jakeyrunescape9219]

ricky also claimed he later “learned how to hit homeruns”

[@dougbrowne9890]

Maris benefitted from expansion. Throughout professional sports, many record setting seasons have happened as a result of expansion. The American League increased by two teams, for the 1961 season. Two other players come to mind, that had career years in 1961. Norm Cash of Detroit and Jim Gentile of Baltimore. Both crushed the ball that season. Cash hitting .361 with 41 HR and 132 RBI. He never came close to those numbers again, as he never hit .300 again and only hit 30+ four more times, over 17 seasons. Jim Gentile hit .302 with 46 HR and 141 RBI. His numbers fell off fast, and he was out of MLB after the 1966 season.

[@jayritchie851]

Maris was a good hitter who benifitted from expansion, a friendly right field porch at Yankee Stadium and most of all....batting 3rd in the Yankee lineup, just ahead of Mantle. That being said, he was good enough to step up and make the most of his days as a Yankee.

[@acb9896]

One "R", dude.

[@CycloneBurnesMusic]

You should talk about Bret Boone's forgotten 140 RBI season in '01

[@notsauer]

Miguel Tejada had a 150 RBI season for a team that finished below .500 That’s forgotten

[@baloothepibble8421]

YEEES!

[@Rubberfooted]

Maybe just one big video about the 01 Mariners. What a team.

[@shermanngjazz]

@@Rubberfooted That team had such a disappointing and back-breaking ending.

[@nohootshuncho6545]

They still haven't really recovered from that team not winning in Seatle

[@CSick27]

Watching Brady and Cal as a kid kind of tainted my view of sports in general. Two of our best players were actually from MD, they were best friends, good dudes, and kept a life-long connection to the team and city even in retirement. You pretty much never see any of that with modern day players in any sport

[@chadnewfield8866]

The last of great fan base was the 1980's and 1990's. You can count close to 10 ball players that will be on the same team for five years or more. The Royals you had George Brett, Dan Quinsenberry, Frank McRae, Willie Wilson and Bret Saberhagen. The Brewers were Robin Yount, Cecil Cooper, Paul Monitor, Dan Pleasc, and BJ Surhoff for atleast six seasons. The Giants ran steady with Will Clark, Kevin Mitchell, Matt Williams, Jose Uribe, Robby Thompson, Don Robinson, Kirk Manwurring for atleast five years. A's had Canseco, McGwire, Dave Stewart, Bob Welch, Carney Lansford, Dave Henderson, Walt Weiss, Dennis Eckersley, Curt Young, Terry Steinbach and Rick Honeycutt for atleast five straight seasons. Expos had Tim Wallach, Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, Gary Carter for atleast seven seasons. Astros went atleast seven seasons with catcher Alan Ashby, outfielder Terry Phul, Bob Kneeper, Mike Scott I believe closer Dave Smith, Nolan Ryan, Glenn Davis, Bill Duran and Kevin Bass. This is why baseball will never, never be the same again. Because fans can't get familiar with their teams anymore. It's incredibly rare that five players on the same team, well let's say five players in the starting lineup and pitching rotation stay on the same team for four years. These days it just doesn't happen. Your team had Cal Ripken Jr, and Eddie Murray. Two hall of famers that were teammates for 13 seasons! And ofcourse Ripken played on one team his whole career. My team when I followed baseball for over 20 years was the Oakland A's. But I really quit being a fan of MLB around 2010. Just wasn't my baseball anymore. But from 88 to 2010 I was a fan, win or lose. The Dodgers, Cardinals, Braves, Padres, really before the strike in 1994, almost every team had close to a dozen players (lineup and bench players) that were on the same club for five straight seasons or more. There is just no loyalty anymore. It's all about revenue and 30 million a year contracts! I'm sure baseball has Always been a business, no doubt. But baseball also had that wonderful combination of respect for the fans and profit. Now there is very little respect for the ticket buyer. Just my opinion.

[@tlebeck]

I missed one season and when I started watching again it was pretty much a whole new team

[@michag4337]

@@chadnewfield8866 I think it's more about how guys didn't stick around because of loyalty they stuck around because they didn't have an option. Look at the NFL, free agency changed the nfl. Players didn't stay because of a love of the team, they stayed because they literally had no other option. I think if the same options were available back then, you'd see the same thing you see today. Loyalty is nice, but teams use that to low ball players, the teams have 0 loyalty, players shouldn't either. IMO

[@chadnewfield8866]

@@michag4337 There we're options in the 1980's. Not as much as 2022, but players could of signed one to three year contracts. Free agency was found around 1974 after Curt Flood was upset with his situation and then stood up for his case. He maybe was a casualty from doing so, but this paved the way for free agency. I do believe that players were more loyal in the 1980's then any other decade after the birth of free agency. Expecially after that strike in 1981. I'm sure that Tim Raines, and Tim Wallach signed a few times with the Expos. But I believe more options came to players after Jose Canseco complained that he was getting paid less then Wally Joyner, what Jose called as a singles hitter. This is only one example, perhaps a small one. I'm sure other factors came into play. As for the strike in 1994, come on, that was just for more money for the players, plain and simple. Back then in 94, five to seven million a year just wasn't enough. They wanted more cash. Just my opinion.

[@gavinsheridan4680]

Mario Lemieux.

[@CycloneBurnesMusic]

Another thing to point out is that while most steroid users lost most of their baserunning ability and weren't able to swipe as many bags, Anderson was 21 for 29 in stole base opportunities

[@Karmy.]

But then there's also Dee Gordon...

[@danielwarren3138]

And Jose Canseco...

[@benriffle104]

And Alex Sanchez, the first player suspended for steroids.

[@BriggsSeekins]

Wrong. They didn't lose their base running ability, the power surge just changed their offensive role so they didnt steal a lot. Fast explosive athletes who do steroids dont suddenly become slower and less explosive

[@roejogan5094]

Hanley Ramirez was also stealing 50 bases in a season when he was younger. Steroids don’t necessarily make you slower. They actually make you faster

[@michaelvincent843]

The fact that a 1.034 OPS only translated to a 155 WRC+ in 1996 makes me chuckle when you consider the state of offense today.

[@oldfrend]

the fact that pedro martinez pitched a sub 2 ERA to those monsters is fucking crazy.

[@dukedematteo1995]

1996 was a crazy offensive environment. Baseball completely changed in 93/94 with the introduction of a livelier ball. Btw 92 and 94 there was a 34% increase in HRS and Runs/Game jumped 0.8 of a run. HRS stayed at around that level for another 20 years.

[@dukedematteo1995]

@@oldfrend Another ridiculous pitching stat of that era that totally baffles me.....In 1997 Clemens gave up 9 HRS in 264 innings in the American League. That's a HR or 2 a month.

[@jak1165]

My favorite stat is Rey Ordonez putting up a 3 WAR season with an OPS+ of 64 in 1999. That was fuckin mental

[@TheChainChasers]

That's 200+ today easy

[@brentb2228]

IIRC, Brady's defense for steroid use was that if he wanted to juice for 1 season he would have done it in his contract year, which was the season after he hit 50 homers.

[@sneersh9107]

Yeah that's a good point why would he just use for one year but not any other year after having such great results? Doesn't make much sense

[@GoodbyeThisWeek]

He probably had bad side effects and stopped using them.

[@GoodbyeThisWeek]

Or he lost his access to them.

[@falseprophet1024]

Or he was trying to prove a point..

[@111highgh]

Or his balls shrunk.

[@rheasilverstorm6366]

I actually like what Brady Anderson himself said about it. He pretty much said that the difference between his average season and that 50-homer season was essentially one more good swing per week. I won’t say that he did or didn’t juice, but that’s a pretty chill, non-sensational way to put it.

[@bullshark3771]

reminds me of Bull Durham when he talks about the difference between a .250 hitter and .300 1 extra hit a week a ground ball with eyes. Sometimes they doubt a players ability and get lazy on the pitches they throw him. Around this point in time the enforced strike zone was starting to reel in a bit too.

[@kirklamb3270]

No, not buying it. He was juicing like most of the others at the time.

[@brianstrutter1501]

Yea but that one more good swing doesn't necessarily equal a HR. Unless you're juicing

[@slabathonfury3879]

That is a generic statement any player can make. All the sudden at age 32, whilst facing a league of juiced pitchers, Mr. Anderson found a magic swing and couldn't stop knocking them out of the park. lol

[@kirklamb3270]

Funny that it was a contract year, and he never came close again. He was one of the fittest guys out there and would have "remembered". He juiced. Look at the difference in juicing Bonds and non juicing. 30 to 35 homers a years, 60 plus.

[@davidjohnson7622]

Great video, I was playing JUCO baseball during this time and are coach used Brady Anderson as an example for proper dieting and so on. Another two weird 50 homerun seasons were Greg Vaugn and Luis Gonzalez. Great video.

[@dkroll92]

Vaughn at least had two other 40+ homer seasons in there, two consecutive. There was a huge dip between his first and second along with missing about 25% of the season. I'd chalk that up to injury

[@zlinedavid]

@@dkroll92 That’s exactly it. Vaughn was very injury prone later in his career. When he was able to play in 140-150 games, he was good for 35-40 HRs pretty consistently.

[@jimroberts9327]

Luis Gonzalez’s 50 home run season seemed weird as well.

[@Junkiescum]

Yeah I’ve always thought that was his roid season, he was a pretty skinny dude and he hit like 57 that year

[@codyharris4750]

Yes. Good one.

[@codyharris4750]

Him and Greg Vaughn.

[@thebloodysock9594]

Gonzalez seemed to really move those hips when he swung. He might have invented twerking.

[@rorye6952]

@@codyharris4750 maybe, but Greg Vaughn had a lot of power for a long time

[@HHL-qt2xb]

Great video. I think a key component was that Brady was leading off for a team where all 9 starters had 20+ HRs by season’s end. It was a powerful, “pick your poison” line-up with lots of stars, and pitching staffs felt compelled to go after Brady rather than Alomar, Palmeiro, Bonilla, etc. By 1997 the Oriole line-up was still good (went back to the ALCS), but not as powerful (i.e. lost Bonilla, Ziele, etc. in offseason), and Brady reverted to back to what he had always been. By 1998 the Orioles were old, and their window was closed. In any event, never been any substantive reason to paint him with the steroid brush IMHO…

[@neilsander7348]

This is a point I always try to make. In 1995, Anderson was hitting in front of Bret Barberie. In 1996, he was hitting in front of Roberto Alomar.

[@thegamingpigeon3216]

The crazy thing? In 1996 he batted .297/.396/.637 to the tune of a whopping 1.034 OPS with 50 homeruns, 110 RBI's and 172 hits in 149 games (687 plate appearances) which comes out to a 6.9 WAR (7.4 oWAR). . . . . . . . and got *9th* in AL MVP voting

[@VonRyeGaming]

That's because no one was using WAR back then. It may show on his baseball reference page, but WAR was not a commonly used "stat" back in '96.

[@thegamingpigeon3216]

@@VonRyeGaming I am very much aware, I was simply pointing out both with his WAR and standard stats that he finished 9th in MVP voting with a monster season like that, implying 8 others before him put up even crazier seasons as well.

[@selfdo]

The various stat sites don't even agree on what WAR should be, why use it as some form of metric?

[@ryangale3757]

Great vid. Admittedly, when I first heard about Anderson's 50 home run season, my immediate first thought was "STEROIDS!!" too. However, the more I think about it, the less it makes sense for him to have been juicing I think: 1. Why only juice for one season (since he went back to career norms after that season, which wouldn't make sense if he was still using)?, 2. Why not juice in a contract year (the following season)?, 3. Why did his physical shape and abilities not seem to change at all during this sudden power surge?, and 4. It's not like this was the only time this has ever happened. Davey Johnson obviously had a similar case, Roger Maris was another famous case, and to pick a more recent example, Jacoby Ellsbury had a very similar sort of career year for an otherwise speedy leadoff hitter in 2011, so it's not like a guy can't have a great year power-wise out of the blue. Not to say he was 100% was clean, but there's very little to suggest to me that he wasn't, which is a surprising conclusion to come to considering the opinion I came in with.

[@justinlast2lastharder749]

Ichiro in Batting Practice would launch absolute Bombs. He's admitted he could easily hit 35-40 HRs a year but it would come with a lower batting average and that wasn't his role on the team. Ichiro...all 5 ft 11 inches and 175 lbs of him.

[@TheGodYouWishYouKnew]

@@justinlast2lastharder749 Yes but Ichiro had once-in-a-lifetime talent. The other guys that were mentioned did not.

[@mattray9904]

The problem is the assumption he only used for one year. If he did use, I'd bet it was more than one year. Other than that, you raise some good points, which is why I'm not as convinced he used as Bret Boone or Luis Gonzalez. Of course, there's always a decent chance for a player heavily into bodybuilding who spent as much time in the gym as Brady considering how prevalent steroids are in that world. The apparent lack of a sudden or dramatic physical change is a good point. However, I'll play devil's advocate and say that since Brady was ahead of much of the league in nutrition by the time he entered the majors so it could be that he was also using earlier to get to the majors and therefore did not change as much physically once he was a starter. Brady did mention in 1992 that he had to work to maintain his weight so there's a decent chance he'd experiment with steroids for that reason. You're also obviously correct that fluke seasons do happen without steroids, sometimes due to the ball such as in 1987. Though Maris is not really a good comparison since he had established himself as a power hitter with 39 home runs the year before he hit 61 and 33 the year after. He was also uniquely protected by Mickey Mantle when he hit 61 and surprisingly didn't draw a single walk that year. As for Brady's numbers, it is somewhat unusual that Brady's second best season, including his second best season for power and home runs, came in 1999 when he was 35. Not unheard of, but much more common in the steroid era.

[@erkuza9220]

It was a contract year.

[@shaggyfrankdizzl]

He used steroids. Went from 180lbs-220lbs in one off-season. Did it all on his contract year. He didn't get caught, sure. That doesn't mean he didn't cheat. If it walks and quacks like a duck......

[@mj21576]

This 50 homer season was like baseballs way of admitting full guilt over PEDs. Anderson was a great player but ALL cheaters need a separate category labeled "asterisks section"

[@ProdRhom]

Jolly the videos keep getting better stay on your grind man

[@WWTormentor]

Let not forget that roger maris was not really a power hitter until 1960 when he hit 39 and 1961 when he hit the famous 61, and 1962 when he hit 33. Before snd after that he always hit less than 30.

[@AndThatsBaseball]

Great job covering this topic, there's definitely more outlier seasons that you can take a look at similar to this. I personally don't think he was juicing simply because there would be no reason to stop juicing right before a contract season and he would probably want to continue helping his team that nearly made the World Series if it was working with no repercussions.

[@slabathonfury3879]

We're not talking about Barry Bonds here. Brady was a very solid player (with a career average near 200). Getting on the juice may have propelled him to one great season and that's all he had. EVERYbody started using in the late 90s, he may have just had a jump start.

[@54raynor]

If you think steroids weren’t really a thing in MLB in the 1970s, then you didn’t pay attention to the Mitchell Report. One of the historical docs it cites is a 1973 government study that revealed “alarming” levels of PED usage in MLB clubhouses, with both steroids and amphetamines specifically identified.

[@salutations5749]

I saw a Doc on Dave Parker and surely believe that there was plenty of illicit use throughout, especially uppers of any kind.

[@N1120A]

Cal Ripken also said something important about Anderson's 1996 - there was some luck involved. He apparently put excellent swings in an above average number of balls, resulting in better contact for power.

[@rileysmith5925]

Wow never would’ve guessed that accounted for more homeruns

[@slabathonfury3879]

lol, and he also had access to illegal drugs that increase strength, durability, recovery and stamina.

[@scottbaldwin6763]

I think Brady Anderson is kinda similar to Ichiro. Ichiro said that he could’ve been a power hitter if he really wanted to, but wasn’t. Maybe Anderson was the same way, but actually tried it one year, and it worked.

[@casonschingoethe]

Yeah, I really think this season was just a magical baseball moment. Just because some guy had a breakout season doesn't mean he used

[@notsauer]

We’ve seen this before with Davey Johnson, and most recently, Ketel Marte. Juiced balls have a hell of an effect.

[@davidmayberry3190]

Look at Roger Maris.

[@notsauer]

@@davidmayberry3190 that was due to an expansion year. Norm Cash batted .361/.487/.662 with 40+ bombs that year, and never came close to those totals again.

[@easy-jay]

The odd thing was how much muscle he put on in just one season

[@notsauer]

@@easy-jay not Brady Anderson, he didn’t weigh in any differently than his previous season, and gained a total of 5 pounds since his rookie season to 1996

[@gregroeper2976]

I always figured that Brady was juiced that year by the sudden increase in power. You make some good points that it could have been a lot of things that led to that career year. But on the other hand , Rafael Palmeiro was on that team...

[@zenmar2415]

I dont think it was forgotten, people actually always brought it up when talking of the injection era,fairly or unfairly.

[@vinman5432]

Most of us that have played baseball beyond little league and such know that every once in a while you get into the zone and do so most of the time w/o any knowledge of what we did to get there. Why can't this happen in a whole season?

[@memeteam2692]

fun fact: Brady Anderson has as many 50 home run seasons as Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron combined

[@wabbittwacks3173]

My God that is a great point. You = Genius!!

[@oldfrend]

huh. talk about outlier. i knew hank never had a monster HR year, but bonds, i thought no way. turns out yeah, never hit more than 49, then 73!

[@franram7426]

@@oldfrend Why is that????? I'll tell you. For several years Barry watched the media get on their knees and perform lewd acts on Sammy and Mark who weren't a 10th the ball player he was.... AND he knew it was for one reasons.... ROIDS. So...... Barry, justifiably, decides to do the same. Except a couple things worked catastrophically against him.... 1st. MLB and it's fans had lost the luster of "WOW, look at it go." and were turning against roids. 2nd.... Barry is so much better at hitting that Sammy and Mark combined, that Barry made a mockery of the game. 3rd.... Barry already had a horrible relationship with the writers. It took him by surprise when they gave him the opposite of the love they gave Mark and Sammy. 4th..... MLB was looking for a way to execute this steroid FRANKENSTEIN it had created. Attacking Barry was their way of getting the village to attack FRANKENSTEIN who had done NOTHING wrong. Hank and Barry are top five in my 63 years of living and 57 of watching. Hank is #1. Ichiro #2 Alex #3 Rickey #4 Barry #5

[@dlsoh]

@@oldfrend when they start walking you 1/3 of the time you step up to the plate its hard to bit home runs.

[@samuelperezgarcia]

@@oldfrend nobody would pitch to him after that 73 HR season.

[@reubensandwich9249]

The biggest thing I think you forgot was the line-up the Orioles had that year. When you have a heart of a line-up like they did, the lead-off hitter gets less balls and more fastballs to lessen the risk of getting on base. The only case I have of him maybe on steroids is being on the same team as Palmero. Baseball in the 90s was complicated. My team, the Phillies used a 4-man pitching rotation for a portion of a year in the 90s.

[@TigerofRobare]

Brady Anderson is one of the great all-time trivia question players: in 1988 the Red Sox traded him and Curt Schilling to the Orioles for Mike Boddicker.

[@CasiodorusRex]

If it's any conciliation the Orioles traded Schilling, Steve Finley and Pete Harnisch to the Astros for Glenn Davis three years later in 1991.

[@mikesmith2057]

Another red flag about his story is how much better he was after 30. His best seasons were age 32, 35 and 28. I still don't think it's steroids, but rather that he was just a super athlete who was like a F1 car or a race horse -- fast when everything's perfect, but there's a lot of maintenance and spends a lot of time in the shop. Brady always reminded me of Fred Lynn, another guy who didn't have the typical age-curve.

[@patrickmorgan4006]

Yes. The first thing I think of when Brady Anderson's name comes up is Davey Johnson's one big HR season. Of course, Johnson was playing in Atlanta that year, and their stadium was nicknamed "The Launching Pad" for all of the HRs hit there.

[@johnmuse6626]

A sudden, massive power number increase at age 32 = juicing. One of the most overlooked aspects of jucing is that it reportedly improves eyesight. Which is the key to hitting in mlb.

[@robertsmith2088]

But then what about Jose Bautista who never hit more than 16 homeruns, but substantially changed his mechanics and then broke out hitting 54 the next season?

[@captainwesker1234]

I've always thought something was up with Brady Andersons 50 hr season, another one that is crazy is Greg Vaughn when he was with the Padres.

[@captainwesker1234]

Dang, looks like I needed to do more research, thanks for the info.

[@jonnuanez2843]

Remember that his Padres teammate, '96 MVP Ken Caminiti, admitted to using steroids during said season.

[@captainwesker1234]

@@jonnuanez2843 yea, that is my concern about that season for vaughn.

[@Jekyll_Island_Creatures]

@@jonnuanez2843 Caminiti said he'd take handfuls of drugs including roids.

[@adamclark9004]

@@captainwesker1234 greg Vaughn was a decent player, he had multiple 40+ home run seasons. The year he hit 50 he basically played a full season so it wasn't that strange

[@Mma-basement-215]

Wow Brady Anderson I was in 7th grade when he hit 50 home runs everyone thought he was the next big-time player !! For a few years he was very cool

[@BensPitchingClips]

Its strange to see players like this guy peak (in terms of homerun total) early in their career, and never come close to it again. Its happening more and more and it makes it pretty hard to project careers. Great video again, Jolly.

[@JeffyPDiddy]

I’d attribute it to the amount of video and analytics out there for pitchers to study. Every season that goes by they have more data and video to study.

[@jdawgbroski]

1) Anyone ever *ask him* to explain such an insane jump? Or anyone around him? 2) You said his isolated power "eventually" came back down...it went down immediately. 3) He ate well: okay, still doesn't explain the bizarre one-year jump. Ask him. 4) Davey Johnson: guys used to cork bats a lot. I think George Foster admitted his his best year came with cork, and I *think Joe Torre as well).

[@-mv1sd]

Don't forget that members around you in the lineup have a lot to do with it. That year the orioles added Roberto Alomar and Maris had Mantle in 1961. In 96 the orioles had many players hitting 20 homers or more: Surhoff-21, Ripken-26, Zeile-25, Alomar-22, Murray-22, Bonilla-28 all up and down the line up the orioles were stacked! Anderson was legit Palmeiro was not. The crazy thing about this is Brady is not my ideal lead off. Ty Cobb Mantle Mays or Ricky would be fantastic !

[@samuelperezgarcia]

I think that Orioles team was the first in history to have their entire lineup hit for double digit HRs in a season. Perhaps the entire lineup having over 20 HRs in a season, although only Brady Anderson hit over 30.

[@HHL-qt2xb]

Yes. This was the biggest factor I remember from that season. Teams gave Brady something to hit in hopes he’d make out- rather than be on base for Zeile, Alomar, Palmeiro and/or Bonilla coming behind him. Talk about protection…

[@csgolf24]

This. All of this. This is the one thing that never gets talked about with this season. Teams had to pitch to Brady. Major contributing factor

[@bullshark3771]

Sometimes it leads to having to pitch differentlly to players in ways you might not want to. Making it easier to predict pitch placements. I noticed many of the homers seemed to be on low and away pitches.

[@brianstrutter1501]

Anderson was no more legit than a fake $100 bill. And Palmeiro only used steroids to heal his knee quicker. He never hit 50 HR's in that small ballpark nor in Texas where the ball flew out of the ballpark. I have minimal issues with Palmeiro because he didn't abuse steroids like MANY others did. Same with Andy Pettitte. Used only to heal an injury. Raffy lied but he was a hell of a player

[@briancoyne6700]

Thank you for not tarnishing Brady's name. He was so exciting to watch win the 90s. He was a huge part of the team back then. He's a stand up guy.

[@TheTEN24]

Wow what a crazy season I’ve never heard of, thanks for the vid my man

[@BillyHannon14]

The fact that he lost it so quickly with no injuries is another check in the no steroids column. It would be bizarre to only take steroids for one season and then stop after seeing those results.

[@LightningMcKingSVTime]

As an Orioles fan thank you! And thank you for your willingness to let us have this season!

[@robertsmith2088]

Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Brooks Robinson, Cal Ripken Jr, Boog Powell, Mike Cuellar, Frank Robinson, Rafael Palmeiro, Eddie Murray, Roberto Alomar. The Orioles have indeed been blessed with some great players over the years.

[@ryanlefkowitz7350]

It's not totally unheard of for a player to have an anomaly season... even a high-caliber one. See Jacoby Ellsbury 2011, doubling his highest career home run total and more than tripling his high to that point. Flukes happen.

[@jrosa1028]

Totally thought you were gonna go with Greg Vaughn but definitely anderson too

[@wabbittwacks3173]

That's exactly what I thought, too! You = Great Baseball Knowledge!!

[@chance2413]

He was a beast though. Like Big Papi and The Big Piece (Ryan Howard), he hit HRs clean and sober. Which is why Junior is always top 3 all time to me. In the steroid era, when pitchers were juicing crazy, The Kid jacked 50hr routinely with the prettiest swing in baseball history. He wasn't huge like Howard or Ortiz, and he wasn't juicing like Mcgwire or Sosa. He was just THAT DAMNED GOOD.

[@futuregohan4837]

@@chance2413 Ryan Howard's Nickname Was Rhino Because Of How Big He Was

[@rachaemdea]

He also got the record for hit by pitches (19) and lead off home runs (11) that season.

[@righteous_factz5875]

What about Javy Lopez's 43 homerun season? I feel like people forgot about that one

[@thecman26]

Dude was one of the best hitting catchers!

[@iamhungey12345]

Contract season.

[@chickenfkeryay]

Lopez was a power hitting and lots of Ks catcher. Knowing baseball he was probably on steroids too

[@bostonrailfan2427]

@@chickenfkeryay considering two of his teammates were Palmeiro and Canseco…it’s assured he probably did

[@williamsnike452]

@@bostonrailfan2427 He never played with Canseco and didn't play with Palmeiro till 04. Plus Lopez hit 34 in '98.

[@bobabooey4537]

He wasnt on the list because his name wasnt as big as the others. That season was nuts.... everybody was saying he was on roids.

[@highwaymaintainer]

MLB lost all integrity years ago, it’s just a matter of time before it dissolves into nothingness, it deserves what it’s getting

[@TiagoGomez-hb9te]

Explain why do you say MLB has lost integrity...

[@Lyrici17]

I like the idea that he did it clean; it makes it a lot more fun.... Sometimes players just have fluke seasons. It kind of reminds me of a 35-year old A.J. Pierzynski hitting a career high in HRs, 27, his previous high being only 18 (7 seasons earlier). It's not as extreme as Anderson, but still pretty outlier-y, with only 4 total seasons in his 19-year career with HR totals 16+ (18, 16, 27, 17).... Thanks!

[@tomhansen6115]

Thanks for this video. The general consensus, which I had bought into, is that Anderson was on steroids. I have seen people say that he physically blew up in 96 and many other things that actually aren't true. In this day and age where so many people are deemed guilty by accusations it's nice that you provided this video to counter at least one unfairly maligned player

[@bostonrailfan2427]

his arms were bigger…the previous year and year after they were smaller. if he wasn’t juicing that year, then why the abrupt change?

[@slabathonfury3879]

He didn't counter anything, he "decided to remain optimistic." Brady Anderson didn't naturally turn into Hank Aaron overnight at age 32.

[@Osiris3657]

I feel like you could make this same video about Luis Gonzalez and his 56 home run season

[@ringoneedsmoney9623]

Love this video, i notice this in alot of players and it makes me wonder. There's a couple of players from the 70's and 80's that crazy homer seasons out of nowhere. One that always makes me think is Roger Maris's 61hr season, dude only hit 30 twice in a season before and after.

[@len9518]

Wrong. Maris hit 39, the season before. Also, to those that claim Yankee Stadium helped him, he hit more homers on the road, when he hit 61.

[@73Trident]

In Rogers 61 season he was never intentionally walked with Mantle in the lineup batting behind him. You going to walk Roger to pitch to Mickey? Roger was seeing a lot of good pitches.

[@PotrzebieConolly]

In 1960, Maris played 72 road games and hit 26 home runs in those games. This average over 160 games would be almost 58 home runs. But he only hit 13 home runs in 64 Yankee Stadium games. He was losing home runs at home. In 1961, his road game HR/G average went up a little, but his Yankee Stadium HR/G average almost doubled, like he figured out what he needed to do to hit more home runs there.

[@lucasmembrane4763]

They told him to go for the homers. Stengel even batted him leadoff to give him more chances to hit them.

[@PotrzebieConolly]

@@lucasmembrane4763 Until a late season injury Mantle was hitting home runs at about the same rate as Maris, so why would Stengel decide to give Maris the advantage? For that matter Mantle being so much faster than Maris would be a better choice for leadoff anyway.

[@Patriot4TheTree]

"They have so little these days." That statement hasn't aged well. Btw, I think he admitted to using Creatine, which was a banned substance back then.

[@terrymcsparrin]

I know I’m biased, he was one of my favorite players in the 90’s. I really think he was clean, he just had a lifetime season. Ripken was right, he was way ahead of the curb with diet and his workout routine.

[@dkroll92]

there is historic comparison for this kind of thing... Nolan Ryan threw harder than anyone else in his prime while still racking up impressive innings. What was special about him? He lifted weights in an era when almost no one else did

[@ToxicAvengerCleanYourMind]

BS...the guy was on steroids and you know it

[@harper-leightonscott4566]

@@ToxicAvengerCleanYourMind lmao don't be mad

[@689jim]

You make a good argument I watched orioles games during that season. I think he was coming up on a new contract that year which got him a good increase in pay, after that his numbers dipped so most people thought it was due to steroid use me included. Steroid use during that time was not tested until 2003 so players used it to stay in the majors or get bigger contracts.

[@BKF0]

Looking under the hood, this season looks like things just came together well for a season. He was pulling the ball at a career-high rate, and also increased his fly balls while cutting ground balls. Most of all, though, the usual suspect of HR/FB tells the story. In 1996, his HR/FB was 21.6%, over twice as high as his next highest season. League average is usually ~10%

[@bullshark3771]

on the homers the pitch placement seemed to be in very similar spots low and away. He haad good teammates so i think they were trying to get him to ground out but he was dipping his shoulder some and went for fly balls.

[@stevebuchanan4829]

Anderson’s hat size didn’t change, like Bonds. He put it all together for one great year. It happens. He was a good player otherwise who caught lightning in a bottle in a lineup pitchers couldn’t pitch around.

[@NatTurnerswitBurnerz]

Luis Gonzalez hitting 57 home runs in 2001 is no less strange than Brady Anderson's 50 in 1996. A guy having 50 or so good swings at the right launch angle, out of 500+ at-bats for one season, isn't noteworthy.

[@explorewithme4707]

Jose Canseco got traded to Texas. He got Rafael Palmeiro hooked on Roids who got traded to Baltimore who got Brady Anderson on Roids….. 🤔 There’s a lot of stories similar to this.

[@darius410]

Growing up in baltimore Brady was my favorite player long before the 50 HR season. My friends would tease me that he was my favorite player. The 1996 season happened and I was bragging so much lol. I honestly don't think he was juicing he had the most amazing body for a baseball player I've ever seen completely ripped. Think it really was just luck. He hit alot of homeruns just barely over the fence that year. Baseball is one of those things where the difference between allstar and minor leagues is a 10% difference. So the smallest of things can just go right and amazing thing happen.

[@mullaneymike79]

mines was mike devaraux

[@antmothirteen6540]

Didnt he hit like 20 or more leadoff homeruns that season?

[@darius410]

@@antmothirteen6540 not sure 20 but it was alot

[@lla788]

I agree--I don't think Brady was on steroids. Yes, I'm an Oriole fan. But, as you said, his body never changed at all. He looked exactly the same. In fact, the last time I saw him at the stadium (which was maybe 5 yrs ago) he still looked exactly the same.

[@cinch1619]

I look back at this season fondly. However, I don't look through rose colored glasses. I look through the lens of truth and realize that there's only a 0.00000000000000000001% chance that Brady Anderson was juicing that year. As you pointed out, he didn't show up that year as a Hulk version of himself, and he also didn't lose his physique the following years. My opinion is that the league got too comfortable with him and he went off by changing a little something in his swing, that pitchers started countering in 1997. Look back at 1995 and compare the approach to 1996, and there is a difference. I'm a southpaw, so I've always taken notice of the lefties in the league.

[@99bimmer]

Another sort of outlier season was Jacoby Ellsbury's 30 HR season when he was with Boston, very similar to Anderson's season

[@99bimmer]

Another sort of outlier season was Jacoby Ellsbury's 30 HR season when he was with Boston, very similar to Anderson's season

[@jamiealexander7065]

It's the opposite, the chance is super low that he wasn't taking stuff.

[@Paulafan5]

There are many types of PEDs and have different effects on the body. Cyclists are skinny and the sport had a major PED issue. Brady's weight isn't proof of anything.

[@jamiealexander7065]

@@Paulafan5 exactly, most of these people are clueless.

[@seanleigh]

My favorite player of all time. Saw him hit a home run at my first MLB game. Great video, thanks for the memories.

[@brandongell35]

A video about an oriole 🔥🔥🔥

[@jacksonfriedman8676]

A rarity these days

[@johndangerbenedictarnold7862]

When I’m having sex and I’m trying to hold back I always think about how everyone just ignored Brady Anderson making 50 home runs. Cal Ripken ignored it.

[@Karmy.]

I like to think this guy was legitimately eating a balanced breakfast everyday I also find it weird when players who never really hit for power used roids, like Dee Gordon or Jhonny Peralta

[@BleedTheRic]

roids are useful for a lot more than just muscle building, the increased recovery rate is super helpful during the 162 game grind season that baseball has

[@moeball740]

@Y4123 I think Everth Cabrera of the Padres got busted for steroids when he only hit 2 homers in a season. After the news came out that he had tested positive for steroids fans started showing up at Petco Park with signs telling him he should get his money back!

[@ryanjacobson2508]

@@BleedTheRic The thing is, though, that putting an unnatural level of mass on your skeleton is not healthy in the long run. Steroids actually stress and weaken joints that were not intended by nature to handle a roided up physique. Pro wrestler and body builder Superstar Billy Graham said that his body really broke down from the strain caused by steroids.

[@MeneTekelUpharsin]

@@ryanjacobson2508 Steroids causes heart problems. These guys are not thinking in the long run.

[@jokerzw1lde]

If you just look at the lineup behind Brady that season I don’t think it’s too crazy to think he’d hit 50 homeruns.

[@TiagoGomez-hb9te]

Explain please

[@patrickstrahm05]

You should do a video on Albert Belle, the only 50 double 50 home run season in 95

[@adamclark9004]

Yeah in only 140 games

[@patrickstrahm05]

@@adamclark9004 Forgot about that the Indians won 100 games I think as well

[@adamclark9004]

@@patrickstrahm05 so many mlb records could have been made if 94 and 95 were full seasons

[@jirikurto3859]

@@adamclark9004 Matt Williams was having his greatest season. I remember that one. Too bad for him.

[@brianstancato3945]

Luis Gonzalez too! Yes, he had a few decent seasons... but nothing close to 2001!

[@BadVibesStoryTelling]

Brady Anderson went to the same high school i went to, so he is innocent. I also remember this season and had no doubt he was on the juice lol.

[@bennylevine387]

I remember smashing the "Lancers" repeatedly. Didn't hurt that we had future bug leaguers like Dave Roberts.

[@danzo3471]

Is innocent because he was the same high school as you that's priceless

[@slabathonfury3879]

Wow, it took a lot of scrolling to find a Baltimore fan capable of being honest with themselves. LOL. Props.

[@MeneTekelUpharsin]

Even back then many people assumed Brady Anderson and Rafael Palmero were juicing.

[@bozeeke]

Brady Anderson and Arizona D-Backs slugger Luis "Gonzo" Gonzalez (who at the height of his PED use looked like he had neckbones protruding like a Cardassian alien character from Star Trek Deep Space 9) were two of the steroids users who fell through the cracks as far as the scrutiny they should've received. They didn't get busted or blasted in the media like A-Rod, Maguire, Sosa, Bonds, Clemens, Conseco etc., but were just as guilty.

[@jimroberts9327]

The fact that Bonds only made the 50 homer club once but managed to set the single-season record is cool as well.

[@TheBurn0820]

That’s cause the pitched around him or walked him intentionally nearly every at bat after that season. He was once walked intentionally with the bases loaded, to ensure he couldn’t hit a walk off grand slam

[@ahogg5960]

@@TheBurn0820 Yeah Greg Maddux joked once that Bonds was the easiest hitter to face because if it mattered, you just put him on first with a walk.

[@gregrowe1168]

Funniest stat ever is Sosa hit 60 hrs twice and still wasn’t good enough either season to lead the league. Everyone knows about the 1998 season but he hit 60 in 2001 too and nobody even noticed because of Bonds hitting 73.

[@miguelcolon9203]

The problem with speculation and no evidence is that destroys the reputation of the players. Maybe Anderson just practiced sound healthy habits. The other lines Bond, Macguire, Sosa, and Alex Rodriguez were obvious. But the criteria for the Hall of Fame are fussy and we don't know how many players used enhancing substances and never were caught.

[@TiagoGomez-hb9te]

David Ortiz?

[@sheyanderson4371]

Left it open ended, as it should be. It was the definition of just having a career season that any player wants to have. That season where everything clicks and goes your way. That's what I think of when I see his '96 season and fans shouldn't tarnish it.

[@slabathonfury3879]

I have no issues with wanting to keep it positive, I do however think you're protecting a guy that cheated (like everybody else did).

[@sheyanderson4371]

@@slabathonfury3879 It's not a matter of protecting him, just basing my opinion off what we actually know and not assumptions. I don't assume or even let PEDs change how I see players or the game. PEDs have been around since the beginning of the game and we will never know who took PEDs and who didn't. So to pick and choose who you think cheated and who didn't, or what stats are valid and not, is pretty irrational in my opinion.

[@slabathonfury3879]

@@sheyanderson4371 i think they ALL count in the 90s/early 2000s. It's still foolish to think a below average hitter suddenly became top .1% at age 32, naturally, and in the middle of the steroid era withOUT cheating himself.

[@sheyanderson4371]

@@slabathonfury3879 I think our debate is more a matter of whether we think he cheated or not. I think it was a fluke first and foremost because there are no accounts of him actually cheating whatsoever. He is already the top 1% in world, so chances of him having such a season are higher than we would think. Then even assuming you are right and he was on PEDs, I would still argue it wasn’t cheating. PEDs randomly taking effect to have one, and only one such season, then drop right back off doesn’t seem logical at all to me.

[@MeneTekelUpharsin]

@@sheyanderson4371 Brady was known as a gym buff. You should be asking why would Brady Anderson not be juicing? Are you sure you're not in denial because of your emotional attachment?

[@carteljameson8395]

"12 of the 36 fifty home run seasons that I mentioned before since the expansion era took place in the 1990s, by far the most of any decade. The names of those who accomplished this feat are exactly who you'd expect. Barry Bonds-" I'm gonna cut you off right there. Barry Bonds had a grand total of zero 50 home run seasons in the 90s.

[@marcusnunes7256]

That's why I hate the whole "everyone was one the juice" argument. Mitchell report had about 220 names, not all active major league guys. With 25 man rosters and 30 teams that's still under a third. Its not fair to the other players to assume they were cheating.

[@garymiller7087]

I’m a Mets fan and I remember Todd Hundley a once skinny Defensive catcher hit 41 home runs one year 96 or 97

[@aaronsanborn4291]

I honestly don't think Anderson was on steroids. I think he just had an incredible season. There are tons of examples throughout baseball history of an average player going crazy for a season.

[@scottmeyerfishing]

my guy said steroids weren't a thing in the 70s..... well maybe not HGH. But they were on straight up amphetimines to boost their play.

[@DPK365]

I remember when Brady was doing that.....I remember how no one saw it coming and all the PED allegations that came with it. I liked Brady as a player outside the 50 HR season that he had. In regards to this year, I think the best shot we have is Acuna and Vlad.....if they can avoid the IL.

[@thequixoticangler3364]

Remember, 96 was the "beach ball" year. That ball was juicier than ever. Bad contact was a 5th row bomb. Good contact was Thome hitting balls to Akron from the J.

[@TiagoGomez-hb9te]

I miss Steroid Era baseball. People don't want to admit this, but the main reasons why HR numbers started going up back then was because MLB obviously juiced up the baseball like crazy and also lowered the pitching mound...

[@jonathandempsey9228]

His 50 home run season is when I knew baseball had a steroid problem. His healthy diet was like Hulk Hogan saying to eat your vitamins.

[@misterx6276]

*Always inject your vitamins.

[@aVerveQuest]

This kind of thing isn't unprecedented. Ben Oblivion led the league in homers in 1980 with 41, when you typically average somewhere around 15 for his carreer, only once every topping 30

[@Peeblesmychicken]

I remember watching this season unfold and looking for Anderson rookie cards. I don't think he was juicing in 96 or ever really. No real weight or muscle mass gains to show for it.

[@Paulafan5]

Cyclists aren't massive hulks, even the ones juicing. It depends on the PED and how someone trains.

[@MrK623]

There are many factors in play here besides steroids. Yes he hit 50 hrs as a leadoff man, and he never approached that before or after. There are hundreds of good players who had a great season that they were never able to duplicate. Sometimes, things just happen to click one year. Maybe he was healthy and at his peak. Also, the ball was designed in those days to travel. Fences were pulled in, all kinds of factors figured in this besides steroids. He wasn't the only player to hit 50 HRs back then.

[@TheJhtlag]

I saw him play that year, it took me two seconds to think he was on steroids. His back was really wide and no way round it his butt was also really wide, I mean there are big guys out there, but it looked really strange. You've countered that he didn't gain any weight that year, so there's that and obviously my memories aren't very scientific, but boy something just didn't seem right.

[@plaguerat7634]

I think you're burying the lead with the Davey Johnson stat, though really only his homeruns skyrocketed that one year. Maybe conspirator-ise a secret juice spread from manager to player that garnishes a one year flash in baseball hitting skill.

[@gerrypeet4861]

Let's be honest. Every player in the entire league was on steroids at one time or another in the 1990s. They had to do it to stay competitive or to get a good contract, which I think Brady was in a contract year that year. I think even the squeaky clean guys probably dabbled in it too. That said, I don't think any of them should be banned from the Hall of Fame. The 90s was the 90s. Hallowed records are no longer hallowed, as evidenced with the no hitters now. Baseball used to be more about the records, numbers. It doesn't matter anymore. It's like the NFL and these crazy passing records. The quarterbacks are not better necessarily, just more protected by rules and helped by passing friendly rules. The game changes in all sports.

[@GetBenched2010]

Most of the "steroid era" can be summed up by a perfect storm of an entire generation of MLB teams going from cavernous cookie cutter stadiums where centerfield was 4-500 feet to compact "retro" stadiums where the centerfield was BARELY 325 feet, juiced up balls, (this has been proven several times to be the case between 1994 and 1999,) where we saw metric tons of end of the bad HRs and some guys using roids/supplements. They were roiding like crazy throughout the late 70s through the 80s yet home run totals were virtually non existent due to the massive ballparks almost everyone not in Boston or Chicago were playing in. On a side note, why does NOBODY ever bring up Shawn Green going from 25 hrs a year to 50+ for 2 seasons and dropping back to barely 20 per year for the rest of his career?

[@donnycrouch]

What stadium had a 325ft CF? I can't think of one that was closer than 390

[@TiagoGomez-hb9te]

​@@donnycrouch How does OP know that the baseballs were juiced back then?

[@briansnead4787]

There's so many no hitters today because it's not the roids era and hitters suck. Tony Gwynn's don't exist anymore. The approach at hitting angle, swing for the fence on 0-2 mentality from every last player even if they weigh a buck 20. If you gave someone like frank Thomas the whole first base side open in the shift, he would have got .350 every year. These players literally don't know how to spray the ball. I personally think MLB has been tainted since the 94 season, when players like Matt Williams and Griffey were on pace to break the single season HR record. Then, the strike caused everyone to vacate stadiums, so the powers that be turned their eyes to roid usage, to get people back in the seats. The records are tarnished. We don't know that Gwynn or Helmet Boy, John Olerud, could have broken Ted Williams single season Avg. Record, or that the Montreal Expos could have had their first world series. The players greed got the game up sht creek, then the attempt to salvage the entirety of the MLB and compromised sacred records. The shift, the inclusion of the DH in both leagues, and all these dudes swing at everything but don't hit, like they're Vladdy Sr. Wannabes. MLB fkn sucks. They need a LIV version (golf) in the Dominican, cause that's where real baseball is played. And all you suburb white kids and your daddys spending $5000 a year for you to still suck ass playing "elite ball". Baseball has become privileged, like golf used to be. $100 left field "cheap" seats and there's 162 games in a damn season. Greedy mofos. MLB died, no one would give a sht that's over 40 years old. Overpaid bunch of entitled brats that couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat. Put Bonds and Manny in the fkn hall.. bonds was ripping sht with them two 12 inch gold cross earrings and his stats were amazing before he got a 10 gallon water head and started ripping 50 a year like it was his job. Just cause Manny tried to cut off Johnny Damon from LF, don't mean he wasn't one of the best hitters of all time, yet this the same group of writers that put Paul Molitor in, yet keeping Todd Helton out. The sport is the most abysmal ran next to the And1 Tour. Tell me how overrated Jeter gets the most votes ALL TIME... ALL TIME. This man was protected in every lineup he ever played in. He saw strikes every at bat. Meat pitches. If you allowed the roids, you allow the records. Concerning Brady Anderson. He ain't on that list because he was a one hit wonder. He and Darren Erstad saw their balls start to shrivel and had second thoughts, like a wise man should. Remember a true man I hated as a Mets fan, Greg Maddux , saying, "Chicks dig the long ball" but the next thing he was about to say, "buy not shriveled balls"

[@TiagoGomez-hb9te]

Why are you a Mets fan? I like how you exposed Derek Jeter. He's nothing without the Yankees protecting and coddling him all the time. Definitely the most overrated MLB player of all-time.

[@paulwilliams7103]

Baseball is weird that way. Sometimes you are just very lucky and it shows in the stat sheet.

[@bradyknouse1591]

Great vid man! I even forget about his season sometimes, and I’m an Orioles fan who even has the same name

[@KaisasDad]

Please compare pics of Rizzo & Baez from 2016 and 2020. What's the name of the Era we're in now ??

[@drewskidayosh]

Ok, now this is a good one. I've heard of Anderson before but had no idea he'd had a 50 HR season. Honestly never would have guessed he did. But a very cool video and my favorite "forgotten" yet.

[@chuckwagon9973]

I only knew about becuase of this season lol

[@drewskidayosh]

@@chuckwagon9973 Nice. I turned 3 in December of 1996 so don't remember much that I witnessed. But a lot of people in my mom's family live near Baltimore and are huge Orioles fans. Pretty sure at least one of my uncle's has a Brady Anderson jersey lol

[@Bhound96]

Barry Bonds never had a 50 home run season in the '90s actually

[@jamiealexander7065]

Steroids were absolutely a thing in the seventies, Arnold started around 1962 as a broke kid in Austria.

[@TiagoGomez-hb9te]

Explain please

[@mary_mildred]

There also was mention of acne and don't forget Ashely Judd.

[@ShortYeep]

If I remember right Brady had three straight games with a lead off homer that year.

[@danepotmo2513]

Davey Johnson hit 43 Homers in 1973 his next most was 18. Terry Steinbach 35 HR in 1996, next most was 16. Fernando Tatis 34 in 1999, next most 18. Jay Bell 38 in 1999, next most 21. Jacoby Ellsbury 32 in 2011, next most 16. Ival Goodman 1938. Wally Moses 1937. Larry Sheets 1987. Ed Morgan 1930. David Dellucci 2006. Phil Plantier 1993. Tommy Harper 1970. Jim Hickman 1970. Tillie Walker 1922. Tommy Holmes 1945. Andre Dawson 1987. Geroge Bell 1987. Barry Larkin 1996, Bernard Gilkey 1996. Willard Marshall 1947. Bob Cerv 1958. Bert Campaneris 1970. Wade Boggs 1987. Walker Cooper 1947. Richard Hidalgo 2000. Rick Wilkins 1993. Todd Hundley 1996. Dale Sveum 1987. Kelly Gruber 1990 are some other flukey power years.

[@strongdelusion9442]

5' 8' 150lb second baseman Bret Boone turns into superman overnight 5' 10" 220 lbs 141 RBI's? It's plausible with good sleep, eating right, no girls, no partying! Celibacy helped his core and leg strength, and also increased his bottom line to 8 million a year! He should write a book and tell us all how to succeed!

[@TiagoGomez-hb9te]

PEDs...

[@SmoothCriminal12]

Another thing to consider is how stacked that Orioles lineup was around Anderson. Ripken, Bonilla, Palmeiro, Alomar, Surhoff and more could all rake in that lineup. So you can make the argument that maybe he got easier pitches to hit due to the lineup around him.