I know! He was solid throughout, I just wanted to point out an outlier of a season compared to what he usually did, even considering how good of a player he was. -A
Like Bret Boone, it's almost impossible for me to believe that Gonzo's emergence in his 30s wasn't fueled by steroids. In the '98-'99 offseason, he hired Jeff Bagwell's trainer and gained 10 pounds in muscle after Bagwell convinced him added muscle would increase his home run total. By 2001, he had gained 20 pounds in muscle since coming to Arizona. In his 20s, Gonzalez was a 268/.342/.425 career hitter who never hit more than 15 home runs in a season. When he went to Detroit, Bobby Higginson convinced him to aim for the 315 right field wall in Tiger Stadium and he hit 15 of his career-high 23 home runs there, but still hit an unremarkable 267/.340/.475 overall. However with the added muscle in 1999, he hit .336/.403/.549 with 26 home runs in a season in which he turned 32. The following year, he hits .311/.392/.544 with 31 home runs and finally, the insane. 325/.429/.688 with 57 home runs. He was well on his way to another 30+ home run season in 2002 before injuries kept him out of 14 games in September as he turned 35, but he still hit 28 home runs and .288/.400/.496. Then he improved on those numbers at .304/.402/.532 with 26 home runs in 2003. As late as 2004 and 2005, he was still showing more power than in his 20s despite playing the entire 2004 season with a torn ligament in his elbow which finally ended his season in early August. It's not just the one season, but his extraordinary career trajectory and the details surrounding it.
It's definitely possible that he did steroids, but I think that 2001 was too much of an outlier to even his other best seasons, even at that age, to have been caused just by steroids. His career numbers both before and after 2001 are similar enough to where 2001 seems very isolated which steroids probably wouldn't explain, but I'm not opposed to thinking that he could have done steroids. -A
Well, his 1999-2000 and 2002-03 numbers are consistent, but his pre-1999 numbers are not even close to those years. Still, I agree that 2001 is an outlier that can't be explained solely by steroids as it's far above his otherwise consistent 1999-2003 stretch. With Gonzo, there's both the mystery of his spectacular 2001 season and his general improvement from 1999-2003. His subsequent decline can be attributed to age and injuries regardless of steroids.
Gonzo was among those since the late 90s that had a big season hitting over 40 hrs..but..didn't close to that after.Say..going from 40+hr. to 20+hr .and that list is long actually.....the steriod era/decade..1997-2005?..Gotta love those 90s..
He also won the home run derby in 2001, not to mention a world series. So for that fact and because he's my favorite player growing up, I disagree with you. I still subbed tho!
He started doing steroids in 1998 like 90% of the league after McGuire and Sosa became pop-culture icons for the year. His ISO went from never being more than .178. The same career ISO of Eduardo Escobar or Justin Turner. Once he went to Detroit in 1998 his ISO never returned to pre-1998 levels until age 38 in 2006.
I agree, except I think Gonzalez began using steroids in 1999 when he got to Arizona. Gonzalez hit 23 home runs in 1998, but 15 of them came at home and he was trying to pull the ball to take advantage of the short right field. Other than that, his '98 season isn't out of the ordinary. However, Gonzalez went to Arizona, higher Jeff Bagwell's trainer(who was a bodybuilder) and gained 10 pounds that offseason before suddenly becoming an elite hitter in 1999. That's as much weight as Gonzalez gained in his career prior to that and he'd gain another 10 pounds after that.
@@mattray9904 Yeah the number of guys outside the steroid era who became elite hitters in their 30s is rare. Even the aging curve was thrown off, you can name probably 20 hitters post steroid and amphetamine ban in 2008 who've had good to great seasons at 36+ and most of them are or have taken steroids like David Ortiz or Nelson Cruz.
@Donny Duncins: Yeah, I think it's even more clear since the jump coincided perfectly with hiring Bagwell's bodybuilder trainer and adding significant muscle in an offseason. Very similar to Bret Boone at a similar age. To me, Gonzo's sustained production is more suspicious than I'd he just had one fluke season. I'm glad you mentioned Ortiz because it baffles me that people give him a pass. His 2003 breakout season was suspicious enough, but then we learned that he tested positive that same year. Ortiz probably could have made the results public if he wanted to since Roger Clemens was able to waive his privacy and have his 2003 test entered as evidence in his perjury trial. There was really no deterrent at all until testing with penalties and public disclosure in 2005. Even then, it seems testing was pretty easy to beat until '08 or '09 when they increased the frequency. But Ortiz finishing his career by hitting better than any 40 year old since Bonds in 2004 should have raised more eyebrows given his history and the fact that 2008-2010 Ortiz was nowhere near that good.
This doesn’t qualify, but I always thought it was interesting that Barry Bonds only had one season where he hit over 50 home runs, and that’s when he set the single-season mark of 73. His next highest mark was 46. A 27 home run jump from second-best to best is quite high.
I think everyone understands that Bonds was a different player pre and post-steroids. Although, when Bonds hit a league-high 46 home runs in 1993 without steroids, he did so playing in Candlestick and 25 of those home runs came on the road where he hit .359/.507/.740. In 1994, he was on pace for 52 home runs and 41 steals before the strike ended the season in August and at that point, he had hit .342/.443/.725 with 22 home runs in 55 games away from Candlestick. For his steroid years, after Bonds hit 73, pitchers just stopped pitching to him and Bonds also cut his strikeout rate as he didn't appear as focused on home runs, but he actually topped his 2001 OPS in both 2002 and 2004. He also played 10 fewer games in 2002 than 2001 and 23 fewer games in 2003 as he was out for a while due to his father's illness and death. In 2004, he played in 6 fewer games, but had more than 100 fewer at bats. It's remarkable that he still hit 45-46 those years. Bonds had roughly the same amount of at bats in 2000 and 2001, but he played in 10 fewer games in 2000 when he hit 49. Barry's first steroid year in 1999 was basically a lost year. He was off to a hot start at. 366/.500/.805 in 12 games before the elbow injury shut him down for a long stretch. It's not really a surprise when you look at the seasons he could have hit 50 home runs.
He's a perfect example and there's also nothing that really points to steroids for him. Even though he played 2 more seasons before becoming a free agent, that one season likely got him the 7 years, $153 million from the Yankees in the 2013-14 offseason. It sounds silly, but I also wonder if they were influenced by the previous success they had acquiring Red Sox stars who became Yankee stars such as Wade Boggs, Johnny Damon, and particularly Roger Clemens. Ellsbury could have won MVP in 2011 hitting. 321/.376/.552 with 32 home runs, 39 steals, 46 doubles, 119 runs scored, 105 RBI(hitting leadoff), 146 OPS+, and 8.3 bWAR. But he played 6 seasons in Boston starting with his official rookie season in 2008 and outside of 2011, he never showed much power. The 16 home runs he hit in his first season as a Yankee in 2014 would be the only other time he reached double digits and the 31 doubles he hit in his 2013 contract year remained his 2nd best total. His 5.8 bWAR his final year in Boston and 3.6 his first year in New York wound up his 2nd and 3rd best seasons, respectively, and outside of 2011, he only had an OPS+ over 100 in 2013 and 2014 at 113 and 111, respectively. His stolen base total in 2011 was low compared to his 50 steals in 2008, 70 steals in 2009, and 52 steals(in 56 attempts) in 2013, but his 39 steals in 2014 were the only time he'd match that after the contract, and the Yankees were paying him like a 30-30, MVP-caliber player, not a speedy leadoff hitter. It was inexplicable they barely offered Cano more at 7 years, $175 million the same offseason. At the time I thought they were crazy for not at least offering Cano 8 years, $200 million. Cano was less than a year older and durable while Ellsbury was injury prone. Ellsbury's fluke year was also at the level of a typical Cano prime season. From 2010-2013, Cano hit .312/.373/.533 and averaged 29 home runs, 44 doubles, and 7.2 bWAR per season. In 2012, Cano hit .314/.379/.550 with 33 home runs and 48 doubles topping Ellsbury's best in home runs, doubles, OPS, OPS+, and bWAR. Cano's 2010 season was similar with a 8.1 bWAR and in 2013, Cano topped Ellsbury's best OPS+ again. Cano already hit .320/.352/.520 with 25 homers and 48 doubles on a championship team in 2009, had a 6.7 bWAR by 2007, and competed for a batting title as early as 2006 hitting. 343/.365/.525 with 15 homers and 41 doubles in 122 games. I understand not wanting to go to 10 years, but matching Seattle's offer still would have been better than signing Ellsbury. You pay for the earlier production late in those long term deals and Cano produced in the first half of the contract hitting .314 with a 6.3 bWAR in 2014. He then had a 7.3 bWAR and a career-high 39 home runs in 2016, which could have easily been more like 45 in new Yankee Stadium with the short right field as opposed to Safeco as 22 of those home runs came on the road. Even when he was suspended in 2018 for using a diuretic(to mask steroid use?), Cano hit over. 300 with a bear of 3.4. As late as the shortened 2020 season, Cano hit .316/.352/.544, though he tested positive for the classic steroid Winstrol, which got him suspended for all of 2021 and answered some questions raised by his less clear 2018 suspension. Ellsbury last played in 2017 while the Yankees were weak at 2nd and Cano could have kept them contending from 2014-2016 and perhaps gotten them another championship, particularly by 2017 when they lost in game 7 of the ALCS.
I think the biggest factor was Aurilia hitting 2nd in front of Bonds in Barry's 73 home run season. Aurilia hit .324/.369/.572 with 37 home runs in a pitcher's park, yet his only 2 intentional walks were in games Bonds sat out. He had a league-leading 206 hits because he only drew 47 walks total in 156 games. Look at how Jeff Kent benefited in 2002 when he was moved to erd and Bonds to cleanup. Kent hit .333/.387/.667 in 67 games batting 3rd with 22 home runs in 279 at bats to finish with a career-high 37 home runs. In contrast, Kent hit .297/.354/.484 in 84 games batting 4th with 15 home runs in 343 at bats. Bonds himself hit better batting 3rd in 2002 at .377/.591/.861 in 78 games with 30 home runs in just 223 at bats. In 2001, without Barry's protection, Kent hit .298/.369/.507 in 159 games with 22 home runs in 607 at bats the entire season. Aurilia had emerged as a good offensive shortstop prior to 2001 batting .281/.336/.444 in 152 games and 22 home runs in 558 at bats in 1999 while Bonds missed far more games than usual and .271/.339/.444 in 141 games and 20 home runs in 509 at bats in 2000. It's tempting to see Aurilia drop to .257/.305/.413 in 133 games with just 15 home runs in 538 at bats in 2002 and .277/.325/.410 in 129 games and just 13 home runs in 505 at bats in 2003 and conclude it was all steroids, particularly since other Giants such as Benito Santiago, Marvin Bernard, Armando Rios, and Bobby Estalella had turned to steroids and even Greg Anderson and BALCO. Steroids are a plausible factor, but I think you have to start with Aurilia hitting in front of Bonds in a historic season and steroids are by no means certain with Aurilia. And I say that as someone who is pretty much convinced that Luis Gonzalez was on steroids from at least 1999-2003, if not longer. Keep in mind, Aurilia did post an impressive. 300/.349/.518 in 122 games with the Reds in 2006 along with 23 home runs in 440 at bats(compared to 636 at bats when he hit 37 in 2001.) While testing was infrequent in 2006, it was the 2nd season of non-anonymous positive tests and 2nd season of penalties which were upped from 10 to 50 games so at least some players were undoubtedly scared away from steroids as Pudge was in 2005 and Giambi(at least temporarily?) after the BALCO investigation in 2004.
The slander for Gonzo... The video would have been more appropriate if it's about his one hit off Mariano Rivera. Luis Gonzales is not a one hit wonder, with 55 career fWAR. Brady Anderson's 50 HR season is much more representative of one-hit wonder
Being a one hit wonder, by my definition, doesn't necessarily mean that they weren't a good player, or that they were only good in that year, just that the player had one season that was exponentially better than the rest of them. And Brady Anderson is on the list. - A
How about Timo Perez? He didn't even have one good season. He had one good postseason, excluding the World Series. Also, Tuffy Rhodes. He had one good Opening Day (his 1994 season was decent). His 3 HR's against Doc Gooden made Doc go nuts and he kicked the dugout stairs and put him on the DL and basically ended his career with the Mets, only to go on and throw a no-no with the Yankees.
Height of the high scoring era (I don't call it the steroid era bc its an inaccurate misnomer).Gonzo just had an insane fluky year, played in that desert launching pad, was in his prime. It's ok. Gonzo didn't pull the "oh look at that I just gained 25/30 lbs of muscle and hit fly balls an extra 40 ft now" type deal others did. He just had a fluke year. Reminds me of Tino Martinez in 1997.....not as extreme with the OPS+ and all tho. Also, Jorge Posada hit .340 one year when he was 36 yrs old. Shit like that just happens every once in a while.
Some years are like that. I was hoping to find an underlying reason why this happened. With him there was not, but hopefully in the future there will be others with better reasons. -A
While I agree with much of what you say about steroids, I have to disagree on Gonzalez. Prior to 1998, Gonzalez was a career. 268/.342/.425 hitter who never hit more than 15 home runs in a season. When he went to Detroit, he intentionally pulled the ball to take advantage of the short right field and hit 15 of his 23 home runs at home and his overall line of .267/.340/.475 isn't noteworthy. However, he hired Jeff Bagwell's bodybuilder trainer in the '98-'99 offseason and shows up in Arizona a reported 10 pounds heavier, which was as much weight as he had gained in his entire career prior to that and he'd gain an additional 10+ pounds in subsequent years. He then has a 30 game hitting streak on his way to a .336/.403/.549. line with 26 home runs in a season in which he turned 32. Then he hit .311/.392/.544 with 31 home runs in 2000. Finally, he has the insane .325/.429/.688, 57 home run season. It can't really be attributed to ballpark as he hit more hone runs on the road than at home each of those 3 years, including 31 on the road in 2001. Gonzalez naturally had a very wiry frame, but his arms got proportionately quite large in Arizona and extremely vascular for an MLB player. In this case, Gonzalez remained lean and got more vascular so his gain seemed to be all muscle. In short, I think it was a fluke in one sense, but I also think he was on steroids from the time he got to Arizona.
Tino and Posada are interesting. I followed those Yankee teams closely and don't particularly suspect either. Tino showed consistently good power for many years and while that was clearly his best year it's not nearly as unexpected. Tino actually bulked up after that year because he was unhappy he fell off late compared to McGwire and Griffey. If SI is correct that he gained 12 pounds in a month then that could raise eyebrows, but other sources say 7-8 pounds in the '97-'98 offseason. He did also lose 10 pounds while gaining muscle after the disappointing 2001, but I don't view this as automatically suspicious. For example, I do remember reports of Posada adding considerable weight before his 30 home runs + MVP-caliber season in 2003, but I don't really think he used anything. Chipper Jones also added considerable weight before his '99 MVP season and I'm probably 50/50 on whether he used.
@@mattray9904 wow, I didn't know about Bag Pipes trainer, and the creeping weight gain. Maybe that one is as it seems then and I'm being too charitable. Everyone always said Brady Anderson juiced in 96, but again I think that might have been one of those fluky years during a rabbit ball year away..
@Duke DeMatteo: I think it's inaccurate to determine who used steroids based on fluke seasons and the ball in 1987 is a good example of this. I see more reason to suspect Gonzo than Brady. Granted, any player heavily into bodybuilding like Brady might have used, but if he did, it wasn't for just one year. As far as I know, Brady's weight didn't change much during his MLB career, though he mentioned in 1992 that he had to work to keep weight on. He obviously had some degree of vanity based on the shirtless photoshoots. I don't fault anyone who worked as hard as Brady for that and he may have just had good genetics.
Are Mark Fidrych (1976), Wayne Garland (1976), Joe Charboneau (1980), John Denny (1983), John Tudor (1985), Danny Jackson (1988), Kevin Maas (1990), Pete Schourek (1995), Brady Anderson (1996), Fernando Tatis (1999) on your list?
There was another aspect you probably could have looked at. Who were his teammates? He may have seen better pitches because other players around him were doing better. But oddly enough only Reggie Sanders hit 30 HR and 90 RBis as the only teammate that came close to his totals. BUT from 1999 to 2003 he had his best seasons as a pro. His numbers actually don't look like a one hit wonder as he had 25 HRs 100 RBi seasons all 5 years. I think the combination of hitting in Arizona, his teammates, and him being in his prime was the reason why. But to go along with alleged steroid use, having Bonds play in the same division and the D Backs missing the postseason the year prior after winning 100 in 99' may have led to him juicing to take them to the next level. And by winning the WS that year he didn't need to continue juicing after that. But that's just my theory.
I looked, and he wasn't getting any legitimate lineup protection, he was very clearly the biggest offensive threat on the team. As for the steroid use, there really isn't anything definitive. I personally don't think he did, but its very possible that he did. -A
what about the seasons before where he batted .311 and .336? or having 5 straight seasons with over 100 rbis? you want to cherry pick a few stats and use those to your advantage? kinda sad lol
All things considered, it's very difficult for me to believe he wasn't on steroids beginning in 1999. However, if you're suggesting he was off steroids in 2002 then I can't believe that. He still had the 20+ pounds of muscle he had gained since coming to Arizona and was well on his way to another 30+ home run season before injuries kept him out of 14 games in August and September as he was turning 35 yet he still finished with 28 home runs and a .288/.400/.496 line which dwarfed his production in his 20s when he was a 268/.342/.425 hitter who never hit more than 15 home runs in a season. Then he hit .304/.402/.532 with 26 home runs in 2003.
@Clay Nickerson I was a pretty big fan of MLB during the 90s and 2000s era, but had to look up some of the stats. It is a pretty remarkable career trajectory regardless of how it happened.
What would you think about the 1984 season of Willie Hernandez? I believe he would fit your criteria. Another great ONE HIT WONDER is Derrek Lee's 2005 season
Baseball Doesn't Exist did a video on that exact topic, it is a really good watch: ua-cam.com/video/y8InFV3_AQc/v-deo.html&ab_channel=BaseballDoesn%27tExist
Luis hit bombs cuz he was a great hitter and was unleashed to new pitchers in that conference.... period
Gonzalez loved the juice
Probably
I was binge rewatching your channel. And I totally thought of Carlos Quentin 2008 season
He's on the list now! That's a good find!
Brady Anderson better be here
He is 100% here, don't worry
One hit wonders my ass…he had a fantastic ‘99 season as well, among other solid seasons.
Bret Boone also in 2001 belongs on the list
He is 100% on the list!
Great video!
Thank you!
What are you talking about? Luis Gonzalez was not a one hit wonder. Solid player throughout his career. Hit 354 career homeruns and over 1400 RBI!
I know! He was solid throughout, I just wanted to point out an outlier of a season compared to what he usually did, even considering how good of a player he was. -A
Exactly! He was a productive hitter in Houston.. then in Arizona, he was facing new pitchers and DOMINATED
Bro, he got the game winning hit off Mariano Rivera with two outs in the ninth in game 7 of the 2001 world series... it's worth stating.
Well, that's fair. But that being said, it wasn't a big part of the case for his one hit wonder status.
Good video. Keep it going.
We shall!
Not sure how I found this channel but I like the content!
Glad you found us!
Can we see one of these about Allan Anderson 1988? In my opinion the craziest one off player in history
He's on the list!
@BaseballAF Awesome!! There's actually a fair amount of one off ERA leaders, I realized looking him up! Anyways, love the videos!!!!
Bring the Juice 🧃 back!!!!
Mmmm, sippy sippy sippy the juice
Scribed
perfect
You Need To Do One For Bill Hall in 06
Thanks! We'll put him on the list.
Like Bret Boone, it's almost impossible for me to believe that Gonzo's emergence in his 30s wasn't fueled by steroids. In the '98-'99 offseason, he hired Jeff Bagwell's trainer and gained 10 pounds in muscle after Bagwell convinced him added muscle would increase his home run total. By 2001, he had gained 20 pounds in muscle since coming to Arizona. In his 20s, Gonzalez was a 268/.342/.425 career hitter who never hit more than 15 home runs in a season. When he went to Detroit, Bobby Higginson convinced him to aim for the 315 right field wall in Tiger Stadium and he hit 15 of his career-high 23 home runs there, but still hit an unremarkable 267/.340/.475 overall. However with the added muscle in 1999, he hit .336/.403/.549 with 26 home runs in a season in which he turned 32. The following year, he hits .311/.392/.544 with 31 home runs and finally, the insane. 325/.429/.688 with 57 home runs. He was well on his way to another 30+ home run season in 2002 before injuries kept him out of 14 games in September as he turned 35, but he still hit 28 home runs and .288/.400/.496. Then he improved on those numbers at .304/.402/.532 with 26 home runs in 2003. As late as 2004 and 2005, he was still showing more power than in his 20s despite playing the entire 2004 season with a torn ligament in his elbow which finally ended his season in early August. It's not just the one season, but his extraordinary career trajectory and the details surrounding it.
It's definitely possible that he did steroids, but I think that 2001 was too much of an outlier to even his other best seasons, even at that age, to have been caused just by steroids. His career numbers both before and after 2001 are similar enough to where 2001 seems very isolated which steroids probably wouldn't explain, but I'm not opposed to thinking that he could have done steroids. -A
Well, his 1999-2000 and 2002-03 numbers are consistent, but his pre-1999 numbers are not even close to those years. Still, I agree that 2001 is an outlier that can't be explained solely by steroids as it's far above his otherwise consistent 1999-2003 stretch. With Gonzo, there's both the mystery of his spectacular 2001 season and his general improvement from 1999-2003. His subsequent decline can be attributed to age and injuries regardless of steroids.
Gonzo was among those since the late 90s that had a big season hitting over 40 hrs..but..didn't close to that after.Say..going from 40+hr. to 20+hr .and that list is long actually.....the steriod era/decade..1997-2005?..Gotta love those 90s..
That era of baseball is why I got into baseball in the first place, it was exciting
Gonzalez never took steroids
Uh oh, here comes Baseball AF, coming for No More Fielders and And That's Baseball
oh lawd we comin in HOT
He also won the home run derby in 2001, not to mention a world series. So for that fact and because he's my favorite player growing up, I disagree with you. I still subbed tho!
Thank you for subbing! You're allowed to disagree, that's what makes it fun!
Feel the same way being from Phx
Good player who had a career year in 2001
Exactly
And he literally won the World Series for the D-backs that year
Looking forward to Brady Anderson's episode 👍🏽
He's definitely on the list, we're looking forward to it as well
He started doing steroids in 1998 like 90% of the league after McGuire and Sosa became pop-culture icons for the year.
His ISO went from never being more than .178. The same career ISO of Eduardo Escobar or Justin Turner. Once he went to Detroit in 1998 his ISO never returned to pre-1998 levels until age 38 in 2006.
That is entirely possible, although he did have good enough seasons before, despite a lower ISO.
@@BaseballAF He never hit for power, it turned a contact hitter into a guy who averaged 30 homers from 1998-2006.
I agree, except I think Gonzalez began using steroids in 1999 when he got to Arizona. Gonzalez hit 23 home runs in 1998, but 15 of them came at home and he was trying to pull the ball to take advantage of the short right field. Other than that, his '98 season isn't out of the ordinary. However, Gonzalez went to Arizona, higher Jeff Bagwell's trainer(who was a bodybuilder) and gained 10 pounds that offseason before suddenly becoming an elite hitter in 1999. That's as much weight as Gonzalez gained in his career prior to that and he'd gain another 10 pounds after that.
@@mattray9904 Yeah the number of guys outside the steroid era who became elite hitters in their 30s is rare. Even the aging curve was thrown off, you can name probably 20 hitters post steroid and amphetamine ban in 2008 who've had good to great seasons at 36+ and most of them are or have taken steroids like David Ortiz or Nelson Cruz.
@Donny Duncins: Yeah, I think it's even more clear since the jump coincided perfectly with hiring Bagwell's bodybuilder trainer and adding significant muscle in an offseason. Very similar to Bret Boone at a similar age. To me, Gonzo's sustained production is more suspicious than I'd he just had one fluke season. I'm glad you mentioned Ortiz because it baffles me that people give him a pass. His 2003 breakout season was suspicious enough, but then we learned that he tested positive that same year. Ortiz probably could have made the results public if he wanted to since Roger Clemens was able to waive his privacy and have his 2003 test entered as evidence in his perjury trial. There was really no deterrent at all until testing with penalties and public disclosure in 2005. Even then, it seems testing was pretty easy to beat until '08 or '09 when they increased the frequency. But Ortiz finishing his career by hitting better than any 40 year old since Bonds in 2004 should have raised more eyebrows given his history and the fact that 2008-2010 Ortiz was nowhere near that good.
It was the year of the drugs boiiiiiii
It is entirely possible boiiiiiiiiiiiii
Nice work!! I know the editing took forever to complete for this. Keep the series going!
It will continue!
great video. keep up the good work
Thank you! Good work will continue!
Informative while i do my artwork, love you boys
From artists to artist, thank you 😄
This doesn’t qualify, but I always thought it was interesting that Barry Bonds only had one season where he hit over 50 home runs, and that’s when he set the single-season mark of 73. His next highest mark was 46. A 27 home run jump from second-best to best is quite high.
In a way, it technically is a one hit wonder, but it'll be harder to pitch Barry Bonds as a one hit wonder, I think. Very interesting thought though
I think everyone understands that Bonds was a different player pre and post-steroids. Although, when Bonds hit a league-high 46 home runs in 1993 without steroids, he did so playing in Candlestick and 25 of those home runs came on the road where he hit .359/.507/.740. In 1994, he was on pace for 52 home runs and 41 steals before the strike ended the season in August and at that point, he had hit .342/.443/.725 with 22 home runs in 55 games away from Candlestick.
For his steroid years, after Bonds hit 73, pitchers just stopped pitching to him and Bonds also cut his strikeout rate as he didn't appear as focused on home runs, but he actually topped his 2001 OPS in both 2002 and 2004. He also played 10 fewer games in 2002 than 2001 and 23 fewer games in 2003 as he was out for a while due to his father's illness and death. In 2004, he played in 6 fewer games, but had more than 100 fewer at bats. It's remarkable that he still hit 45-46 those years. Bonds had roughly the same amount of at bats in 2000 and 2001, but he played in 10 fewer games in 2000 when he hit 49. Barry's first steroid year in 1999 was basically a lost year. He was off to a hot start at. 366/.500/.805 in 12 games before the elbow injury shut him down for a long stretch.
It's not really a surprise when you look at the seasons he could have hit 50 home runs.
2011 Jacoby Ellsbury would be a great person to cover for this series
He's high on the list right now, along with Brady Anderson
He's a perfect example and there's also nothing that really points to steroids for him. Even though he played 2 more seasons before becoming a free agent, that one season likely got him the 7 years, $153 million from the Yankees in the 2013-14 offseason. It sounds silly, but I also wonder if they were influenced by the previous success they had acquiring Red Sox stars who became Yankee stars such as Wade Boggs, Johnny Damon, and particularly Roger Clemens. Ellsbury could have won MVP in 2011 hitting. 321/.376/.552 with 32 home runs, 39 steals, 46 doubles, 119 runs scored, 105 RBI(hitting leadoff), 146 OPS+, and 8.3 bWAR. But he played 6 seasons in Boston starting with his official rookie season in 2008 and outside of 2011, he never showed much power. The 16 home runs he hit in his first season as a Yankee in 2014 would be the only other time he reached double digits and the 31 doubles he hit in his 2013 contract year remained his 2nd best total. His 5.8 bWAR his final year in Boston and 3.6 his first year in New York wound up his 2nd and 3rd best seasons, respectively, and outside of 2011, he only had an OPS+ over 100 in 2013 and 2014 at 113 and 111, respectively. His stolen base total in 2011 was low compared to his 50 steals in 2008, 70 steals in 2009, and 52 steals(in 56 attempts) in 2013, but his 39 steals in 2014 were the only time he'd match that after the contract, and the Yankees were paying him like a 30-30, MVP-caliber player, not a speedy leadoff hitter. It was inexplicable they barely offered Cano more at 7 years, $175 million the same offseason. At the time I thought they were crazy for not at least offering Cano 8 years, $200 million. Cano was less than a year older and durable while Ellsbury was injury prone. Ellsbury's fluke year was also at the level of a typical Cano prime season. From 2010-2013, Cano hit .312/.373/.533 and averaged 29 home runs, 44 doubles, and 7.2 bWAR per season. In 2012, Cano hit .314/.379/.550 with 33 home runs and 48 doubles topping Ellsbury's best in home runs, doubles, OPS, OPS+, and bWAR. Cano's 2010 season was similar with a 8.1 bWAR and in 2013, Cano topped Ellsbury's best OPS+ again. Cano already hit .320/.352/.520 with 25 homers and 48 doubles on a championship team in 2009, had a 6.7 bWAR by 2007, and competed for a batting title as early as 2006 hitting. 343/.365/.525 with 15 homers and 41 doubles in 122 games. I understand not wanting to go to 10 years, but matching Seattle's offer still would have been better than signing Ellsbury. You pay for the earlier production late in those long term deals and Cano produced in the first half of the contract hitting .314 with a 6.3 bWAR in 2014. He then had a 7.3 bWAR and a career-high 39 home runs in 2016, which could have easily been more like 45 in new Yankee Stadium with the short right field as opposed to Safeco as 22 of those home runs came on the road. Even when he was suspended in 2018 for using a diuretic(to mask steroid use?), Cano hit over. 300 with a bear of 3.4. As late as the shortened 2020 season, Cano hit .316/.352/.544, though he tested positive for the classic steroid Winstrol, which got him suspended for all of 2021 and answered some questions raised by his less clear 2018 suspension. Ellsbury last played in 2017 while the Yankees were weak at 2nd and Cano could have kept them contending from 2014-2016 and perhaps gotten them another championship, particularly by 2017 when they lost in game 7 of the ALCS.
2011 Jacoby Ellsbury, maybe?
Good call, I think he qualifies.
I'm a Giants fan do Rich Aurilla look at his career stats you will know what year in talking about
I know exactly which year you are talking about, thanks for pointing him out! He's on the list of players to showcase.
I think the biggest factor was Aurilia hitting 2nd in front of Bonds in Barry's 73 home run season. Aurilia hit .324/.369/.572 with 37 home runs in a pitcher's park, yet his only 2 intentional walks were in games Bonds sat out. He had a league-leading 206 hits because he only drew 47 walks total in 156 games. Look at how Jeff Kent benefited in 2002 when he was moved to erd and Bonds to cleanup. Kent hit .333/.387/.667 in 67 games batting 3rd with 22 home runs in 279 at bats to finish with a career-high 37 home runs. In contrast, Kent hit .297/.354/.484 in 84 games batting 4th with 15 home runs in 343 at bats. Bonds himself hit better batting 3rd in 2002 at .377/.591/.861 in 78 games with 30 home runs in just 223 at bats. In 2001, without Barry's protection, Kent hit .298/.369/.507 in 159 games with 22 home runs in 607 at bats the entire season. Aurilia had emerged as a good offensive shortstop prior to 2001 batting .281/.336/.444 in 152 games and 22 home runs in 558 at bats in 1999 while Bonds missed far more games than usual and .271/.339/.444 in 141 games and 20 home runs in 509 at bats in 2000. It's tempting to see Aurilia drop to .257/.305/.413 in 133 games with just 15 home runs in 538 at bats in 2002 and .277/.325/.410 in 129 games and just 13 home runs in 505 at bats in 2003 and conclude it was all steroids, particularly since other Giants such as Benito Santiago, Marvin Bernard, Armando Rios, and Bobby Estalella had turned to steroids and even Greg Anderson and BALCO. Steroids are a plausible factor, but I think you have to start with Aurilia hitting in front of Bonds in a historic season and steroids are by no means certain with Aurilia. And I say that as someone who is pretty much convinced that Luis Gonzalez was on steroids from at least 1999-2003, if not longer. Keep in mind, Aurilia did post an impressive. 300/.349/.518 in 122 games with the Reds in 2006 along with 23 home runs in 440 at bats(compared to 636 at bats when he hit 37 in 2001.) While testing was infrequent in 2006, it was the 2nd season of non-anonymous positive tests and 2nd season of penalties which were upped from 10 to 50 games so at least some players were undoubtedly scared away from steroids as Pudge was in 2005 and Giambi(at least temporarily?) after the BALCO investigation in 2004.
The slander for Gonzo... The video would have been more appropriate if it's about his one hit off Mariano Rivera. Luis Gonzales is not a one hit wonder, with 55 career fWAR. Brady Anderson's 50 HR season is much more representative of one-hit wonder
Being a one hit wonder, by my definition, doesn't necessarily mean that they weren't a good player, or that they were only good in that year, just that the player had one season that was exponentially better than the rest of them. And Brady Anderson is on the list. - A
@@BaseballAF That's cool. An idea for another video - one-hit wonder in stolen bases in a season
@@markf5931 Roger Cedeño.
Would love to see an episode on 1996 Brady Anderson
He's very high on the list of one hit wonder.
Another good one is 2003 Preston Wilson
Kyle Freeland
Noted
Look forward to the next installment in the series!
Can't wait to start putting it together!
Please keep this series going!
I will! Just for you! - A
How about Timo Perez? He didn't even have one good season. He had one good postseason, excluding the World Series. Also, Tuffy Rhodes. He had one good Opening Day (his 1994 season was decent). His 3 HR's against Doc Gooden made Doc go nuts and he kicked the dugout stairs and put him on the DL and basically ended his career with the Mets, only to go on and throw a no-no with the Yankees.
I like those ideas a lot. - A
Height of the high scoring era (I don't call it the steroid era bc its an inaccurate misnomer).Gonzo just had an insane fluky year, played in that desert launching pad, was in his prime. It's ok. Gonzo didn't pull the "oh look at that I just gained 25/30 lbs of muscle and hit fly balls an extra 40 ft now" type deal others did. He just had a fluke year.
Reminds me of Tino Martinez in 1997.....not as extreme with the OPS+ and all tho.
Also, Jorge Posada hit .340 one year when he was 36 yrs old. Shit like that just happens every once in a while.
Some years are like that. I was hoping to find an underlying reason why this happened. With him there was not, but hopefully in the future there will be others with better reasons. -A
While I agree with much of what you say about steroids, I have to disagree on Gonzalez. Prior to 1998, Gonzalez was a career. 268/.342/.425 hitter who never hit more than 15 home runs in a season. When he went to Detroit, he intentionally pulled the ball to take advantage of the short right field and hit 15 of his 23 home runs at home and his overall line of .267/.340/.475 isn't noteworthy. However, he hired Jeff Bagwell's bodybuilder trainer in the '98-'99 offseason and shows up in Arizona a reported 10 pounds heavier, which was as much weight as he had gained in his entire career prior to that and he'd gain an additional 10+ pounds in subsequent years. He then has a 30 game hitting streak on his way to a .336/.403/.549. line with 26 home runs in a season in which he turned 32. Then he hit .311/.392/.544 with 31 home runs in 2000. Finally, he has the insane .325/.429/.688, 57 home run season. It can't really be attributed to ballpark as he hit more hone runs on the road than at home each of those 3 years, including 31 on the road in 2001. Gonzalez naturally had a very wiry frame, but his arms got proportionately quite large in Arizona and extremely vascular for an MLB player. In this case, Gonzalez remained lean and got more vascular so his gain seemed to be all muscle. In short, I think it was a fluke in one sense, but I also think he was on steroids from the time he got to Arizona.
Tino and Posada are interesting. I followed those Yankee teams closely and don't particularly suspect either. Tino showed consistently good power for many years and while that was clearly his best year it's not nearly as unexpected. Tino actually bulked up after that year because he was unhappy he fell off late compared to McGwire and Griffey. If SI is correct that he gained 12 pounds in a month then that could raise eyebrows, but other sources say 7-8 pounds in the '97-'98 offseason. He did also lose 10 pounds while gaining muscle after the disappointing 2001, but I don't view this as automatically suspicious. For example, I do remember reports of Posada adding considerable weight before his 30 home runs + MVP-caliber season in 2003, but I don't really think he used anything. Chipper Jones also added considerable weight before his '99 MVP season and I'm probably 50/50 on whether he used.
@@mattray9904 wow, I didn't know about Bag Pipes trainer, and the creeping weight gain. Maybe that one is as it seems then and I'm being too charitable.
Everyone always said Brady Anderson juiced in 96, but again I think that might have been one of those fluky years during a rabbit ball year away..
@Duke DeMatteo: I think it's inaccurate to determine who used steroids based on fluke seasons and the ball in 1987 is a good example of this. I see more reason to suspect Gonzo than Brady. Granted, any player heavily into bodybuilding like Brady might have used, but if he did, it wasn't for just one year. As far as I know, Brady's weight didn't change much during his MLB career, though he mentioned in 1992 that he had to work to keep weight on. He obviously had some degree of vanity based on the shirtless photoshoots. I don't fault anyone who worked as hard as Brady for that and he may have just had good genetics.
It’s pretty recent, but Danny Santana had a really good 2019, then fell off a cliff
We'll look at him, for sure.
Luis GonCheater was juiced up and cheated with that bs hit off Mariano
TORRE HAD JEETS IN THE WRONG SPAHT
@@BaseballAF yeah Torre putting Jeter at double play depth is what allowed the bloop single ws winner
He certainly ***looked*** roided up. Maybe he stopped because of fear for his long term health.
That's definitely a possibility. I wouldn't rule it out.
Are Mark Fidrych (1976), Wayne Garland (1976), Joe Charboneau (1980), John Denny (1983), John Tudor (1985), Danny Jackson (1988), Kevin Maas (1990), Pete Schourek (1995), Brady Anderson (1996), Fernando Tatis (1999) on your list?
A few of them were, but we added the ones we didn't have, which should supply enough players for this series to last a while. Thanks!
The Brady Anderson is a mystery for the ages, one of a very slim few to hit the 50
@@thomasguglielmo1509 I all ways believed that had something to do with his sideburns that year.
Maas was my pick but his 1991 season wasn't terrible.
There was another aspect you probably could have looked at. Who were his teammates? He may have seen better pitches because other players around him were doing better. But oddly enough only Reggie Sanders hit 30 HR and 90 RBis as the only teammate that came close to his totals. BUT from 1999 to 2003 he had his best seasons as a pro. His numbers actually don't look like a one hit wonder as he had 25 HRs 100 RBi seasons all 5 years. I think the combination of hitting in Arizona, his teammates, and him being in his prime was the reason why. But to go along with alleged steroid use, having Bonds play in the same division and the D Backs missing the postseason the year prior after winning 100 in 99' may have led to him juicing to take them to the next level. And by winning the WS that year he didn't need to continue juicing after that. But that's just my theory.
I looked, and he wasn't getting any legitimate lineup protection, he was very clearly the biggest offensive threat on the team. As for the steroid use, there really isn't anything definitive. I personally don't think he did, but its very possible that he did. -A
what about the seasons before where he batted .311 and .336? or having 5 straight seasons with over 100 rbis? you want to cherry pick a few stats and use those to your advantage? kinda sad lol
Gotta do a Chris Carter vid. Led the league in hrs and released that off-season
I'm not sure about a One Hit Wonder video, but he has an interesting career I'd like to look at more. -A
What about Chris Davis? He’s more of a two hit wonder, but still.
I mean, considering the player he was, it's like lightning struck twice. He might get his own video because of that.
LOL "sucribe"
we knew that was going to be funny 😁
I find it very easy to believe he was juicing and quit. I'd love millions of dollars extra for saying I hit 50hr.
It's possible, I personally don't think so, but there isn't enough evidence to say definitively either way. -A
All things considered, it's very difficult for me to believe he wasn't on steroids beginning in 1999. However, if you're suggesting he was off steroids in 2002 then I can't believe that. He still had the 20+ pounds of muscle he had gained since coming to Arizona and was well on his way to another 30+ home run season before injuries kept him out of 14 games in August and September as he was turning 35 yet he still finished with 28 home runs and a .288/.400/.496 line which dwarfed his production in his 20s when he was a 268/.342/.425 hitter who never hit more than 15 home runs in a season. Then he hit .304/.402/.532 with 26 home runs in 2003.
@@mattray9904 You could be right, you know your stats. Must have been a big fan?
@Clay Nickerson I was a pretty big fan of MLB during the 90s and 2000s era, but had to look up some of the stats. It is a pretty remarkable career trajectory regardless of how it happened.
Gonzo was roided up
He could have been. I don't outright say no to that. -A
What would you think about the 1984 season of Willie Hernandez? I believe he would fit your criteria. Another great ONE HIT WONDER is Derrek Lee's 2005 season
We will have both of them on the list!
Heres a recent one...look at the recent league homerun record shattered...it's either 2018 or 19....juiced balls by league
Baseball Doesn't Exist did a video on that exact topic, it is a really good watch: ua-cam.com/video/y8InFV3_AQc/v-deo.html&ab_channel=BaseballDoesn%27tExist
WHY TF ARE YOU OBSESSED WITH OPS+? Just do OPS like everyone else in baseball wtf
We wouldn't be unique if we were like everyone else.