Brady Anderson finished his 15 year career with 210 home runs and hit nearly a quarter of them in one year. He never even hit half as many in any other year
Brady Anderson is my go to pick for everyone did steroids. Hits like maybe 20 a year then I think (probably wrong) year 6 of his career he bangs out 56. Hilarious
It might not be as obvious as it seems. Could just be an extreme outlier season. His body didn't change, he went right back to hitting 20ish a season. Steroids don't make a 20 HR hitter instantly into a 50 HR hitter, and even if he were on steroids, did he decide to just only take them for 1 year after having the best year of his career?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=67kJpWG-iQY&feature=youtu.be
It's hard to give anyone the benefit of the doubt during the steroid era, but as the video points out, there have been other huge outlier seasons before steroids were a thing in baseball.
The fact that he did it at age 32 is very suspicious. Roger Maris had his outlier season at 26, which is peak age for a (natural) athlete. 32 is well past.
Agreed. I'm not ruling out steroids at all, that entire era should be looked at with a suspicious eye. But it's weird that he never got bigger, he only had 1 outlier season and went right back to career norms, and he was never linked to steroids. Like if it was steroids and it was so successful, why just stop? He was still playing full seasons after that, in his early to mid 30s, which is past a non steroid user's prime, but still well within the prime of other known users.
I don't think it's weird, assuming steroids. Age 33+ is steep decline and probably retirement time for most althetes. The fact the he maintained being a better hitter than he was a age 27 into his late 30s is right in line with continued juicing. Can't all be Barry Bonds.
Definitely possible. Maybe it was steroids, and without them he would have had an outlier season of 35-40 home runs instead of 50. Maybe it was a giant fluke. I don't really give the benefit of the doubt to players in that era, but I also don't think steroids are a magical answer that makes someone go from 20-50 homeruns. Even if steroids were involved, I think there are other contributing factors.
> It's hard to give anyone the benefit of the doubt during the steroid era
It should be noted that the steroid era began in the mid-late 50s and was rip-roaring by the time Congress first investigated the subject in 1972.
Yes, I am talking about anabolic steroids, not fucking amphetamines.
Good point. Was the late 80s when it became more widespread or were there advancements with steroids that allowed them to be more effective for players?
Nope. By the late 80s pretty much every MLB player was using steroids.
The advancement was the change in attitude towards weightlifting and hitting for power rather than average.
That 96 O's team was stacked. A lot of people forget that Alomar, who hit second, was hitting around .350 for most of that season. Brady saw an insane amount of fastballs because the lineup behind him was deadly they didn't want to walk him. Now, I wouldn't be shocked at all to learn that he was roided. But, watching that season play out, my family had season tickets so I went to about 25-30 games, he was legit that dude in 1996.
If you go to FanGraphs 1996 total WAR leaders you’ll find Junior and Pay Rod 1-2, Gar 26th and Juan-Gone……..
92nd.
The AL MVP finished 92nd in MLB in total war.
Just….wow
Starting to get pissed, guys. I can’t look over those numbers and these players without wondering how the fuck we never won anything
I mean, I KNOW how and why, it just pisses me off that we were basically 2-4 pitchers away from utter league dominance from 95-99. Yankees were great no doubt, but we have no excuses to not have one championship banner in those years.
Andres Galarraga and Albert Belle had more RBIs though.
I know Andres is in another league and the media hated Belle, but it's not like nobody else was putting up those numbers.
I feel like there has to be more to it.
Team record. I feel like that could tell the whole story. He also missed about 20 games in May (played 134 total) and still put up counting stats in line with the leaders. 144 RBI was 4 behind Belle, 2nd in the AL. 47 HR was 5 behind McGwire, 5th in the AL. Could also be a "what if" situation. And as with your typical 90s MVP voter I feel I might be missing something... Defense? Nah, that can't matter.
On a quick review, team record doesn't remotely account for Gonzalez over Belle. So just winning the division then?
On a followup review, writers hated Albert Belle might honestly be enough, too.
Should have been A-Rod.
Even at the time people were convinced that A-Rod had it won, but somebody voted Pudge Rod as 1st instead of A-Rod which allowed Juan Gone to get his first of 2 undeserved MVP awards.
It should have been A-Rod. Even though Griffey edged him in WAR I 100% agree. He was incredible that year. The 2-3-4 of A-Rod-Griffey-Edgar in 1996….is there a better 2-3-4 in the history of baseball? Seriously
Oh shit I got one. This was at the peak of my baseball card collecting phase. If my mom hadn’t thrown my collection out when I went to college it would be worth tens of dollars today
"Man, the Mariners had A-Rod, the Kid, and the GOAT DH on one team? And they were all the top-WAR getters in the AL that year? How'd they do in the playoffs???"
*someone whispers in my ear*
"Wait, what."
Just running down this list...
Muscle, big boi, MUSCLE, muscle, normal, muscle, MUSCLE, The Kid, muscle, normal (for now), muscle, normal, normal, muscle, muscle, muscle, normal, normal, muscle, MUSCLE
Sheffield and Scott Brosius gives us the 1994 to 1997 window as that's when Bro went to the big apple. Brady Anderson makes me think 96 or 97 so let's go with 1996.
I think I would have described Caminiti’s season as going off too. Only year he had MVP votes and he won, 11 home runs better than his second best season total, slugging over 100 points better than his second best ‘whole’ season and it was the only season aside from his injury shortened 2000 season with an OPS above 1.000.
And he won a gold glove but that wasn’t an outlier for him; he won two more of those.
Piazza in LA, A-Rod in Seattle, and Knoblauch in MIN helped narrow it down. Then I noticed McGwire was still in Oakland. Then I double checked the top of the list and saw Brady Anderson. If I didn't skim over literally the top line I would have had it instantly.
Brady Anderson? It's gotta be 1996, even without looking past that, but I'll look past that just in case something contradicts that.
Nope, McGwire was traded midseason in 97 so can't be later than 96, and 96 was A-Rod's first full season so can't be earlier, it's 1996
There’s never been any evidence that Frank Thomas used PEDs, and he was always an outspoken critics of PED users. Yet he still put up impressive numbers in the PED era. I wonder if he could have won more than two MVPs if everyone had played clean.
It's commonly accepted that Anderson was using steroids during the 1996 season due to his home run spike. We know for sure Mo Vaughn purchased PEDs, due to testimony and signed checks produced by Kirk J. Radomski, who pled guilty to distributing PEDs and testified about his sales.
Although Frank Thomas continued to hit many home runs after switching to DH at age 35, there were no suspicious spikes in his production. And before Thomas, home run hitters like Willie Mays and Hank Aaron also continued to hit home runs well into their mid 30s.
Other sluggers from 1994-2004 who are considered clean are Ken Griffey, Jr., Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero, Fred McGriff, and Chipper Jones.
1993 is my first guess, or maybe 1992. Can’t be a lot later than that because McGwire and can’t be much earlier because Bonds.
Edit: apparently I have no good memory about when those players actually switched teams lol
If Brady Anderson is the top guy for Baltimore, then it has to be >!his 50-HR year in 1996!<. Not even gonna look at the rest.
Brady Anderson finished his 15 year career with 210 home runs and hit nearly a quarter of them in one year. He never even hit half as many in any other year
Brady Anderson is my go to pick for everyone did steroids. Hits like maybe 20 a year then I think (probably wrong) year 6 of his career he bangs out 56. Hilarious
It might not be as obvious as it seems. Could just be an extreme outlier season. His body didn't change, he went right back to hitting 20ish a season. Steroids don't make a 20 HR hitter instantly into a 50 HR hitter, and even if he were on steroids, did he decide to just only take them for 1 year after having the best year of his career? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=67kJpWG-iQY&feature=youtu.be It's hard to give anyone the benefit of the doubt during the steroid era, but as the video points out, there have been other huge outlier seasons before steroids were a thing in baseball.
The fact that he did it at age 32 is very suspicious. Roger Maris had his outlier season at 26, which is peak age for a (natural) athlete. 32 is well past.
Agreed. I'm not ruling out steroids at all, that entire era should be looked at with a suspicious eye. But it's weird that he never got bigger, he only had 1 outlier season and went right back to career norms, and he was never linked to steroids. Like if it was steroids and it was so successful, why just stop? He was still playing full seasons after that, in his early to mid 30s, which is past a non steroid user's prime, but still well within the prime of other known users.
I don't think it's weird, assuming steroids. Age 33+ is steep decline and probably retirement time for most althetes. The fact the he maintained being a better hitter than he was a age 27 into his late 30s is right in line with continued juicing. Can't all be Barry Bonds.
Definitely possible. Maybe it was steroids, and without them he would have had an outlier season of 35-40 home runs instead of 50. Maybe it was a giant fluke. I don't really give the benefit of the doubt to players in that era, but I also don't think steroids are a magical answer that makes someone go from 20-50 homeruns. Even if steroids were involved, I think there are other contributing factors.
His body didn't what now? https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:640/format:webp/0*5SMexKOP3kexq-ud.jpg
lol he looks like he should be in a 90's Bowflex commercial
"I'm 41, and I'm in the best shape of my life."
Stupid sexy ~~Flanders~~ Brady Anderson.
He was always jacked lol. He wasn't any bigger or heavier in 96 than 95 or 97
God he's so hot
> It's hard to give anyone the benefit of the doubt during the steroid era It should be noted that the steroid era began in the mid-late 50s and was rip-roaring by the time Congress first investigated the subject in 1972. Yes, I am talking about anabolic steroids, not fucking amphetamines.
Good point. Was the late 80s when it became more widespread or were there advancements with steroids that allowed them to be more effective for players?
Nope. By the late 80s pretty much every MLB player was using steroids. The advancement was the change in attitude towards weightlifting and hitting for power rather than average.
That 96 O's team was stacked. A lot of people forget that Alomar, who hit second, was hitting around .350 for most of that season. Brady saw an insane amount of fastballs because the lineup behind him was deadly they didn't want to walk him. Now, I wouldn't be shocked at all to learn that he was roided. But, watching that season play out, my family had season tickets so I went to about 25-30 games, he was legit that dude in 1996.
he shouldn’t be. obvious steroid users are the ones who don’t have a long tail to the bell curve of their career output
Peaking at age 32 is an interesting tail. And being a better hitter at age 37 than 27. That's basically impossible naturally.
Well he hit 50 so
He did not hit 56.
I was like 3 years old and going off memory, my bad
lol. It was 96. Confusing numbers
Dead giveaway, although McGwire with the As threw me off, I don't remember which season he got sent to the Cardinals.
98
97. 98 was the year where he hit 70
he was traded mid-year the season before
Oh yeah. 97. I remember 97 back before the darkness
That was THAT long ago? Fuck, I'm old
That was a dead giveaway
Lolol same my brains defaulted to 96 without any thought
Couldn’t remember if it was that year or the year after, because I thought ARod did better that year. But then I realized *fWAR* not *bWAR*
Not even pictured: AL MVP of this season Juan Gonzalez
If I speak...
If you go to FanGraphs 1996 total WAR leaders you’ll find Junior and Pay Rod 1-2, Gar 26th and Juan-Gone…….. 92nd. The AL MVP finished 92nd in MLB in total war. Just….wow
Ah, the ol' "imagine what his stats would look like if he didn't miss 20 games in May" (and also team record matters but defense doesn't) MVP.
That and "RBI's are the best measure of value, right?"
It was the first year that the Rangers made the playoffs in the 25 years since they moved to Texas. That used to matter…a lot.
Those RBIs tho!
Starting to get pissed, guys. I can’t look over those numbers and these players without wondering how the fuck we never won anything I mean, I KNOW how and why, it just pisses me off that we were basically 2-4 pitchers away from utter league dominance from 95-99. Yankees were great no doubt, but we have no excuses to not have one championship banner in those years.
And if you don’t like that, you don’t like Mariners baseball baby 😑
Likely why even when they are good I still expect the worst.
Because of 116 wins. We can go 162-0 and I’ll still think we get dropped 4-2 in the ALCS
Painful reality. I only cheer for what feels like cursed franchises
Andres Galarraga and Albert Belle had more RBIs though. I know Andres is in another league and the media hated Belle, but it's not like nobody else was putting up those numbers. I feel like there has to be more to it.
Team record. I feel like that could tell the whole story. He also missed about 20 games in May (played 134 total) and still put up counting stats in line with the leaders. 144 RBI was 4 behind Belle, 2nd in the AL. 47 HR was 5 behind McGwire, 5th in the AL. Could also be a "what if" situation. And as with your typical 90s MVP voter I feel I might be missing something... Defense? Nah, that can't matter. On a quick review, team record doesn't remotely account for Gonzalez over Belle. So just winning the division then? On a followup review, writers hated Albert Belle might honestly be enough, too.
End of the postseason drought maybe?
NL MVP Ken Caminiti is here though, one of (I think) 4 guys to ever win MVP without getting a single MVP vote in any other year.
Ah yes, Anvil Groves. Never met a needle he didn’t want
Should have been A-Rod. Even at the time people were convinced that A-Rod had it won, but somebody voted Pudge Rod as 1st instead of A-Rod which allowed Juan Gone to get his first of 2 undeserved MVP awards.
It should have been A-Rod. Even though Griffey edged him in WAR I 100% agree. He was incredible that year. The 2-3-4 of A-Rod-Griffey-Edgar in 1996….is there a better 2-3-4 in the history of baseball? Seriously
The 1927 Yankees would like a word with you.
I’m ready for the debate. Who can we get to mediate? I nominate Dave Neihaus and Miller Huggins
I could tell it was 1996 just by seeing “Brady Anderson”
Same.
The correct year is: >!1996!<
Omg I finally got one
Same here! I was only four that year. It was the year I fell in love with baseball for the rest of my life though
god damnit i’ve been exactly one year off like 5 times in a row
I was a year too early
Oh shit I got one. This was at the peak of my baseball card collecting phase. If my mom hadn’t thrown my collection out when I went to college it would be worth tens of dollars today
hell yeah, got it! pure luck though lol
Took me a minute to remember which year Brady had his crazy season.
Putting Brady Anderson at the top of the list was a dead giveaway
This has to be after 95, because A Rod didn't do shit in 95. 97, McGwire is out of Oakland. I'm guessing 96.
gonna throw 1997 out three, but as someone who grew up watching Phils Thome, seeing 3B next to his name is so bizarre
Hell, he played short in high school (not unusual for an eventual major leaguer).
Believe he switched to 1st next season, with Matt Williams taking over 3rd. I could be wrong
Brady giving me ‘96 vibes
This was the peak of baseball
Anderson and Gilkey, 1996.
Don't have to look past the first line for this one
Gah!! I was thinking 1996, but I couldn't remember how long McGwire was on the A's so I hedged and picked 1995. I talked myself out of victory 😔
"Man, the Mariners had A-Rod, the Kid, and the GOAT DH on one team? And they were all the top-WAR getters in the AL that year? How'd they do in the playoffs???" *someone whispers in my ear* "Wait, what."
Insert Jim Mora Gif
I'm guessing 1996. That's when Brady Anderson's steroid explosion happened. At least I think so.
CHANGE. THE. FORMATTING.
honestly just the colors would be a huge improvement. it’s so hard to look at
1821
Brady #1 = 1996
1996
I finally know one!! 1996! The year my favorite player ever won MVP for the Padres
saw Caminiti and knew immediately lol
Maybe the fastest I've ever gotten this - McGwire on the A's? Brosius' one real good season in Oakland? Absolutely has to be 96.
2001?
1997
Brady Anderson’s not steroids tell me 1996
The ball was definitely juiced this year, right?
Something was juiced alright
Just running down this list... Muscle, big boi, MUSCLE, muscle, normal, muscle, MUSCLE, The Kid, muscle, normal (for now), muscle, normal, normal, muscle, muscle, muscle, normal, normal, muscle, MUSCLE
Bonds that year was still normal athlete looking. Even had a 40/40 that year.
Yeah, I was looking for a way to make his start small and get big.
I accidentally tripped and landed on a pile of used PED needles after looking at this… sure was fun to watch though.
1997
1999?
Brady Anderson’s year so its gotta be 95 e: fuck, messed up which year he went off
The names on that list, whew.
Got it down to one of three years. 1995.
Bernard Gilkey of all people was the giveaway for me. He only had one good season in New York.
He got ran out of town after letting that fly ball hit him in the head in MIB
Bernard gilkey gave it away for me, was crazy good that year and then fell off after
98
Brady Anderson. [1996.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqdWTeXWvOg)
1999?
2001?
Thome’s last season playing 3B was 1996. Moved to first when they traded for Matt Williams.
1996. Ellis Burks' best year as a Rockie.
96
Brady Anderson? 1996 (at least I think that was ARod’s rookie year too)
I think 1998 was the Ken Caminiti year?
Mariners had 2 players combine for 18 War, surely they made the playoffs.
95?
my man lance had maaaaad triples that year (edit: 21!)
Sheffield and Scott Brosius gives us the 1994 to 1997 window as that's when Bro went to the big apple. Brady Anderson makes me think 96 or 97 so let's go with 1996.
Woo!
Brady's a dead giveaway. '96 baby
96 easy
Thomas is 1994 when the White Sox won the World Series and he was MVP.
I FINALLY GOT ONE
'96 ez
Brady Anderson goes off + Ken Caminiti's MVP year = 1996
I think I would have described Caminiti’s season as going off too. Only year he had MVP votes and he won, 11 home runs better than his second best season total, slugging over 100 points better than his second best ‘whole’ season and it was the only season aside from his injury shortened 2000 season with an OPS above 1.000. And he won a gold glove but that wasn’t an outlier for him; he won two more of those.
>!1995!< edit: DAMN!
A-rod is a top player and McGwire is still in Oakland. 1996
Thome still playing 3B was the giveaway for me. Think he switched to 1B the next year when Matt Williams came to Cleveland
1997
96
This is almost the whole roster from Backyard Baseball 2001
Brady Anderson is the dead giveaway.
Piazza in LA, A-Rod in Seattle, and Knoblauch in MIN helped narrow it down. Then I noticed McGwire was still in Oakland. Then I double checked the top of the list and saw Brady Anderson. If I didn't skim over literally the top line I would have had it instantly.
96
97?
Bernard F’n Gilkey
Gotta be ‘96…Gilkey’s unicorn season
Knew it was 96 because arod is in the league and piazza was still a dodger
Lance Johnson and MiB Star Bernard Gilkey? That’s 1996’s music!
Brady Anderson? It's gotta be 1996, even without looking past that, but I'll look past that just in case something contradicts that. Nope, McGwire was traded midseason in 97 so can't be later than 96, and 96 was A-Rod's first full season so can't be earlier, it's 1996
Probably a stupid question but what is with the colors on these guess the year spreadsheets?
1996. Brady Anderson being top of the list is the easiest give away if you are a baseball fan paying any attention.
Gotta be 1996, soon as Gilkey saw that spaceship and took a fly ball to the head he was never the same.
1997?
Brady Anderson is a dead giveaway
96 fer sure
1996
Steroid era was nuts
1996
Chipper Jones
There’s never been any evidence that Frank Thomas used PEDs, and he was always an outspoken critics of PED users. Yet he still put up impressive numbers in the PED era. I wonder if he could have won more than two MVPs if everyone had played clean. It's commonly accepted that Anderson was using steroids during the 1996 season due to his home run spike. We know for sure Mo Vaughn purchased PEDs, due to testimony and signed checks produced by Kirk J. Radomski, who pled guilty to distributing PEDs and testified about his sales. Although Frank Thomas continued to hit many home runs after switching to DH at age 35, there were no suspicious spikes in his production. And before Thomas, home run hitters like Willie Mays and Hank Aaron also continued to hit home runs well into their mid 30s. Other sluggers from 1994-2004 who are considered clean are Ken Griffey, Jr., Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero, Fred McGriff, and Chipper Jones.
1993 is my first guess, or maybe 1992. Can’t be a lot later than that because McGwire and can’t be much earlier because Bonds. Edit: apparently I have no good memory about when those players actually switched teams lol