6'2" and 180 is VERY thin. I'm 5'10" and thin and I weigh 170. At that height a person could gain a good 20 lbs before he starts to look bulky. I've discussed this at length on another baseball board. Here is a quote from another poster there comparing Gonzo to Maris:
Quote:
14, 28, 16, 39, 61, 33, 23, 26, 8, 13, 9, 5
13, 10, 15, 8, 13, 15, 10, 23, 26, 31, 57, 28, 26, 17*
(Maris vs. Gonzo).
Gonzo was a good player who's power was a harmed by the Astrodome. Like Maris learning to pull homers when he was traded to Yankee Stadium, Luis Gonzalez learned to aim HR's at Tiger Stadium's short upper deck in 1998 (23 HR's)--this skill carried over to Arizona.
Now I don't know if he was actually cheating--that's the problem with steroids: it undermines our confidence in the game b/c anyone can be accused of cheating. A great player is doing well b/c he's cheating, a marginal player needs to cheat to stay in the game, etc.
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*Gonzo's 17 last year should include that it was in less than 400 AB. With an extra 200, he would have been close to 25-30.
I wasn't watching baseball before the DBacks began so I missed out on Brady Anderson. Therefore, I really can't comment about him. Was there a sudden weight gain that year for him? A sudden jump in HR production doesn't mean the player was juiced, many players have had similar fluke seasons.
Weight gain isn't a definitive predictor of steroid use either. Look at what hollywood puts it's actors through. People are gaining 50 pounds for a role and losing it all in the span of a year and a half. You'd think that since these athletes are multi-millionaires they can get a trainer that can put them on a program that will allow them to put on a lot of mass as quick as possible without using illegal substances.
I don't mean to threadjack here. I just can't stand everyone making baseless accusations against everyone they want to. It just isn't fair to all the guys who are clean and even if someone wasn't, we have no way to prove they weren't.
Can steroids be the answer to why everyone listed above incresed and subsequently regressed? Sure, but there are lots of other reasons why:
Changes from pitchers parks to hitters parks
Changes with swing mechanics
Legitimate weight training
Natural progression of a player's career (most players start out low gradually peak and regress as they age)