What I have been reading lately #29

Asterisk: home runs, steroids, and the rush to judgment by David Ezra

David Ezra is a lawyer from southern California. In 2008, he wrote a book about Barry Bonds. His views about Barry Bonds are quite simple:

• Just because Barry Bonds is a rude, arrogant jerk, it doesn't mean that he used steroids.

• Just because Barry Bonds grew bigger and stronger over the years, it doesn't mean that he used steroids.

• Just because Barry Bonds suddenly started hitting a lot more home runs, it doesn't mean that he used steroids. (See the career home run statistics for any of the following players - Hack Wilson, Babe Ruth, Davey Johnson, Wade Boggs, Brady Anderson, Davey Lopes, Andre Dawson, or Roger Maris.)
• Just because Barry Bonds had some of his best seasons after turning 35, it doesn't mean that he used steroids. (See the career statistics for any of these players - Carlton Fisk, Darrell Evans, or Ted Williams.)
• Just because other baseball players have admitted to or been caught using steroids, it doesn't mean that Barry Bonds used steroids.

Ezra believes that there are other, more reasonable, explanations for the league-wide home run surge in the late 1990s and early 2000s:

• improved workout regimens
• maple bats
• harder, smaller baseballs
• elbow armor for batters
• smaller ballparks
• more teams/more bad pitchers
• use of video for training
• smaller strike zones
• fewer inside pitches

I tend to agree with Ezra and his arguments. On the other hand, I have often had a soft spot for many of history's villains.