aggie1906 said:
Pudge dropped a significant amount of weight once the steroid scandal started getting hot and heavy further validating Canseco's book. In it he said that he personally educated Rodriguez and other teammates about steroids and injected them many times while in Texas. Ivan showed up to Tigers' spring training that same year weighing 187lbs as opposed to 215 the season prior. If steroids don't make people better explain Rodriguez's 1999 MVP season with the Rangers. He batted .334, smacked 35 HRs, drove in 113 and stole 25 bases; all career highs.
I don't think Rangers fans are under the impression he didn't use them. Pointing to his stats as evidence, though, is not convincing at all.
Let's take a look at the stats cited in the above passage:
- 1999 BA - He hit .332. Okay? This was in the middle of a 10 year stretch where he hit over .300 9 times. His BA increased gradually from his age 20 season through his age 28 season. Heck, .332 wasn't even his career high.
- 1999 HR - Already addressed above. There's absolutely nothing abnormal about his HR profile.
- 1999 RBI - Career high, which would be logical given this was his best year. It's not like 113 is some gaudy #.
- 1999 SB - This is really the only number that sticks out tremendously
Quote:
He never hit more than 19 HRs before 1996 and after 2004 and never stole more than 10 bases except for the 1999 season. When asked if he was on the list of 104, Rodriguez replied, "Only God knows." Bigger, faster, stronger indeed.
So, you jump start by addressing his 1999 season, then say he never hit more than 19 prior to 1996. What did he do in 1997-1998? 20 and 21 respectively. His HR numbers were increasing on a normal trajectory that would typically be seen at those ages. As for the SB, he stole 10 in his age 36 season. Perhaps the guy wasn't a lead-footed catcher. Even taking out his 1999 season, he stole over 100 bases.
Not exactly a convincing statistical argument. Do I think he used them? Yep. Do I care when it comes to HOF vote? Absolutely not. He's a top 3 catcher all time. But let's not act like there's some mountainous statistical argument that he used steroids. His career numbers flow along a typical arc that one would expect to see. Gradual increases through his "prime" seasons. Gradual decreases after his "prime" seasons.