Steroids

Last year, the mainstream sports media fell over itself declaring that Jason Giambi’s success was soley the result of steroid use, and that the presumed end of such use would inevitably lead to his collapse.

As of today, Jason Giambi is the best hitter in the American League.

It should be clear that whatever impact steroids have on baseball performance cannot be described in a simple, linear fashion such that steroids=more home runs. Indeed, this should have been clear years ago, as baseball performance (both on the mound and at the plate) has always depended on much more than the simple size of one’s muscles.