In 1996, Brady Anderson hit 50 homers. I tuned out after that.
Except that one-year spike for any player is NOT as rare as people like to pretend.
What is it people like to say - "Brady Anderson hit 50 home runs in 1996 after never hitting more than 21 and then never hit higher than 24 the rest of his career"? Somehow this is PROOF the guy was on steroids.
Okay, let's play that game:
In 1960-61, Roger Maris hit 100 home runs across two seasons after never hitting more than 28.
So obviously, Maris was on steroids, right?
Maris hit 39, 61, and 33 home runs in three seasons, which accounts for NEARLY HALF of his career total (133 of 275 homers in 3 seasons).
Why does nobody bring this up for Maris, huh? That his performance was quite out of the ordinary in 1961. Anderson hit 29 more home runs than he'd hit before and 26 more than his second highest total. Maris hit 22 more home runs than he'd hit prior and 28 more than his second highest total.
Or what about Cecil Fielder? Was lousy, went to the lower quality pitching in Japan and came back and slammed 51 and 44 homers - and never topped 35 otherwise. Went from a career high of 14 to 51 (to be fair, it was in half the season's games - but doubling it to 28 doesn't exactly do much for him).
Or what about George Foster in 1977? Finally a regular, he hits 23 and 29 home runs - and suddenly booms 52 out of the yard and then 40 the next...and never hit more than 30 otherwise.
Setting aside home runs,
what about Phil Rizzuto in 1950? Rizzuto had a lifetime BA of .273.He hit .307 in his rookie year in 1941, dropped to about his career average (missing 3 seasons due to WW2)....and suddenly in 1950 AT THIRTY-TWO YEARS OLD hits .324 and wins the MVP.
What substance was Rizzuto taking that caused him to hit FIFTY-ONE POINTS ABOVE his lifetime batting average?
Furthermore, Brady Anderson's head didn't get big like Bonds or anything else, and his name never came up as anything other than suspicion.
Look, I don't know that Anderson did or didn't juice; I know he played against guys who did because they've admitted it or been caught. But let's look at Anderson like this - and maybe we can explain his 50-homer season.
1) He's a part-time player his first three seasons in the league.
2) He becomes a starter on a team that only won 67 games and plays in the pitcher's paradise of Memorial Stadium in 1991. He hits two homers.
3) In 1992, the Orioles move to Camden Yards and his homer total jumps to 21.
4) He hits 25 homers over the next two seasons and then...
5) ROBERTO ALOMAR SIGNS WITH THE ORIOLES AND HITS BEHIND BRADY ANDERSON in 1996.
You think that might have something to do with it? And who is behind Alomar? Rafael Palmeiro.
Hmmm.....do I take my chances with Anderson, Alomar, or Palmeiro in 1996........
Wanna know who else hit a career high in HRs (up to that point) in 1996? ROBERTO ALOMAR!!! His high had been 17, and you remove him from SkyDome and put him in Camden hitting ahead of Palmeiro and guess what happened? In only one other season did Alomar top 20 home runs - his first year at Jacobs Field in1999.
Again....is it POSSIBLE Anderson used roids? Yeah.
But is there EVIDENCE of any kind? No, just the kind of far out year that we've had from a guy from time to time.