My Favorite Stat Lines of the Steroid Era

As we move forward from the age of Sosa, McGwire, Andro, BALCO, HGH, PED, OPP, et al, I thought it would be amusing to revisit some of the "juicier" (get it?) stat lines from the 1990's and the early naughts. It's important to note that not all of these sluggers have been painted with the skeptical brush of performance enhancing drugs. But their stat lines are staggering nonetheless. What's even more incredible is that we accepted most of these lines as somewhat normal at the time. When you take them out of context, they are even more unbelievable.

As we head into the final 10-12 games of the 2008 season, there is only one hitter with more than 40 HRs (Ryan Howard). Carlos Quentin leads the AL with 36 HRs, but he's done for the year. A-Rod and Miggy Cabrera are next with 35 and 34, respectively. We could have an AL homer champ with less than 40 HRs for the first time since Fred McGriff led the AL with 36 HRs in 1989. The Crime Dog was also the last to lead the NL in a year where nobody hit 40, hitting 35 HRs for the Padres in 1992. That guy deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame.

Some of these lines are here because they seem impossible to comprehend (McGwire, Sosa, Bonds), some are here because they are damn impressive (Ramirez, Rodriguez, Belle) and the others are there because they are so ridiculously above the player's career averages that they seem almost farcical (Gonzalez, Walker, Burks). Many of these lines fit multiple categories.

Without further ado, here is a smattering of the ten most ridiculous stat lines of the Steroids Era(in no particular order).

Group 1: Unbelievable Seasons

1) Alex Rodriguez, 1996 Mariners: 54 2B, 36 HR, 123 RBI, 215 H, 141 R, .358 AVG, 1.045 OPS.

Amazingly well-rounded season from a guy who was 20 years old when the season started.

2) Manny Ramirez, 1999 Indians: 44 HR, 165 RBI, 131 R, .333 AVG, 1.105 OPS.

165 RBIs is the highest single-season total since Jimmie Foxx in 1938.

3) Albert Belle, 1998 White Sox: 49 HR, 152 RBI, .328 AVG, 113 R, 200 H, 48 2B, 1.054 OPS.

You can blame the juice, the anger, or his alternating first names, but Joey/Albert put up some big numbers in his prime.

Group 2: Impossible to Comprehend Seasons

4) Barry Lamar Bonds, 2001 Giants: 73 HR, 137 RBI, 177 BB, .328 AVG, 1.378 OPS
5) Barry Lamar Bonds, 2004 Giants: 45 HR, 101 RBI, .362 AVG, 232 BB, 1.421 OPS
I don't even know where to start on these seasons. I've read writers who claim that 2004 was as impressive as 2001 for Lamar. For the record, Barry holds the top 3 spots for walks in a single-season (his 198 walks in 2002 were the second-highest total).

6) Mark McGwire, Average of 1998-1999: 68 HR, 147 RBI, 124 R

7) Sammy Sosa, Average of 1998-1999: 65 HR, 149 RBI, 124 R
Unbelievably unbelievable to think that two different players would AVERAGE higher HR totals than Maris. Sosa also put together a mammoth 2001 season and averaged 61 HRs over a four-year stretch.

Group 3: More Than Just Creatine

8) Ellis Burks, 1996 Rockies: 40 HR, 128 RBI, .344 AVG, 142 R, 211 H, 45 2B, 1.047 OPS

9) Larry Walker, 1997 Rockies: 49 HR, 130 RBI, .366 AVG, 143 R, 208 H, 46 2B, 1.172 OPS

I'm sure it was just the altitude in Denver. Nothing else going on there. Just Burks, Walker, Bichette and Galarraga taking advantage of playing in the Mile High City. That's all.

10) Luis Gonzalez, 2001 Diamondbacks: 57 HR, 142 RBI, .325 AVG, 198 H, 128 R, 1.117 OPS

His career numbers were very mundane before the power surge he found in his 30's. He's now stumbling back into oblivion.