The tendency to evaluate baseball by adding up the sum of a team’s individual players’ performances lends itself seamlessly to fantasy leagues.

The Dodgers’ Matt Kemp has made a legitimate run at the National League Triple Crown this season.  On top of that, he has also stolen 40 bases, good for second in the N.L.  If you are looking for a fantasy stud in the outfield for next season, your list starts with Matt Kemp.

As impressive as Kemp’s 2011 season has been, it actually pales in comparison to some of the greatest offensive seasons by outfielders in recent memory. I decided to stroll through the virtual archives of baseballreference.com to try to put Kemp’s superb numbers into some historical context.

What outfielders in seasons past have racked up more impressive stats than Kemp has this year?

Taking this concept further, what are the best fantasy baseball seasons ever at every position?

Unlike fantasy football, in which the object is typically to rack up as many points as possible (with each on-field achievement linked to a static point value), fantasy baseball’s best performing teams have consistently excellent performers in each stat category. Determining the best of all time in fantasy baseball isn’t as simple as looking at the single season touchdown record.

I decided to try to assemble the greatest possible fantasy baseball team ever, by taking single seasons at every position (C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, 3 OF, 1 Utility, plus 5 starting pitchers and 3 relief pitchers) and adding up the stats to create one mega-juggernaut.

I laid down a few conditions before starting:

• Only seasons from 1980-2011 are eligible, since fantasy baseball started, in its modern form, in 1980.
• I’m only including one season from any player.  I’m only including this rule to keep things interesting and give credit to the maximum number of players.
• Outfielders are designated simply as “outfield.”  There is no specification of which outfield position was played.  For example, I can choose three left fielders if I decide they possess the best three fantasy seasons ever for outfielders.
• I’m choosing these players based on the standard categories in fantasy baseball – batting average, home runs, RBI, stolen bases and runs for hitters, and wins, strikeouts, saves, ERA, and WHIP (walks plus hits/innings pitched) for pitchers.  I know it’s not exactly saber-friendly, but these are the stats fantasy leagues were built on and that most continue to use today.
• The idea is to add up all of the statistics for the team and have it be able to best any other combination of players’ seasons in at least 6 of the 10 scoring categories.
• I haven’t examined every possible combination to see if my team is unbeatable based on the criteria I have chosen.  I simply did a lot of research and chose the seasons I was most impressed by and tried to make my statistics as well rounded as I could.
• I challenge any readers to create their own teams to see if they can beat my team in at least 6 out of 10 categories.  Post your own teams or glaring omissions I may have made in the comments below.

Now that the technicalities and rules have been explained, let’s see who had the most absurd fantasy seasons in the last 31 years!

Catcher:

Mike Piazza – 1997 – Los Angeles Dodgers

.362 BA, 40 HR, 124 RBI, 104 R, 5 SB

This was the easiest position to decide since there have been precious few spectacular seasons from catchers.

All 5 stats were at least ties for his career high, which is saying something because no one at the position has ever mashed like Piazza.

He finished 2^nd in MVP voting in 1997, but he is second to no one when it comes to the best fantasy season ever supplied by a backstop.

Also considered – Ivan Rodriguez – 1999 (.332/35/113/116/25) and Joe Mauer – 2007 (.365/28/96/94/4)

First Base:

Todd Helton – 2000 – Colorado Rockies

.372 BA, 42 HR, 147 RBI, 138 R, 5 SB

It was as difficult to select a first baseman as it was easy to select a catcher.  I chose the 2000 edition of Helton because of his strong performance in all categories, and especially because of that gaudy batting average.

Fantasy baseball does not discriminate against statistics regardless of their accelerants (read: Coors Field).  Though 42 is a lot of homers, it falls well short of some other big power seasons (including Helton’s own 2001 total of 49).

I decided I could make up the differential in home runs lost by not choosing Mark McGwire’s 1998 season at other positions.

Also considered – Helton – 2001 (.336/49/146/132/7), McGwire – 1998 (.299/70/147/130/1), Albert Belle – 1996 (.311/48/148/124/11), Albert Pujols – 2006 (.331/49/137/119/7) and Andres Galarraga – 1996 (.304/47/150/119/18)

Second Base:

Roberto Alomar – 1999 – Cleveland Indians

.323 BA, 24 HR, 120 RBI, 138 R, 37 SB

Alomar was never a power hitter, but he did supply some pop in ’99.  His home run, RBI and runs were all career highs.  Throw in a very good stolen base number and a solid batting average and you’ve got the makings of the best fantasy season ever from a second baseman.

Outside of runs, other players at the position had higher totals in each category, but no one was as consistently excellent across the board as Robbie.

Also considered – Alfonso Soriano – 2002 (.300/39/102/128/41), Bret Boone – 2001 (.331/37/141/118/5), Jeff Kent (.334/33/125/114/12), Craig Biggio – 1998 (.325/20/88/123/50) and Ryne Sandberg – 1990 (.306/40/100/116/25)

Shortstop:

Alex Rodriguez – 1998 – Seattle Mariners

.310 BA, 42 HR, 124 RBI, 123 R, 46 SB

Remember when A-Rod was a speed-demon, capable of posting a 40/40 season?  I do, and he was a shoo-in for this spot.  No other shortstop in the fantasy era, and maybe ever, produced like Rodriguez during his Seattle and Texas days.  His move to New York and its accompanying position change to third base has always been sad to me, as it robbed the fantasy game of a dominant power and speed combination at shortstop the likes of which we had never seen.

This year’s best fantasy shortstop, depending on your team’s needs, was either Troy Tulowitzki or Jose Reyes.  1998 A-Rod out-slugged Tulo (to date, he does have a few games left) by 12 homers and 19 RBI, hit for a higher average (.310 to .302), scored 42 more runs, and stole 37 more bases.

Reyes, meanwhile, was injured for a chunk of the season and has managed a fantasy line of .329/5/40/98/36 in 122 games.  Depending on what your team’s makeup was for 2011, Tulowitzki or Reyes could have been your top shortstop, but A-Rod’s 1998 season almost tops both of the top 2011 seasons combined.

Also considered – N/A

Third Base:

Chipper Jones – 1999 – Atlanta Braves

.319 BA, 45 HR, 110 RBI, 116 R, 25 SB

In the midst of the Braves record-setting string of division titles, Jones was the switch-hitting, 5-tool player who bolstered the offense and gave the starting pitchers enough breathing room (not that they needed much) to relax.

Despite stiff competition and a relatively low RBI total, Chipper gets the nod here because of his surprising stolen bases and strong number of runs scored.  It’s worth noting that had the 1981 season not been shortened by a strike, Mike Schmidt (.316/31/91/78/12 in 102 games played) likely would have been the choice.

Also considered – Adrian Beltre – 2004 (.334/48/121/104/7), Ken Caminiti – 1996 (.326/40/130/109/11), Vinny Castilla – 1998 (.319/46/144/108/5), Mike Schmidt – 1980 (.286/48/121/104/12) and George Brett – 1980 (.390/24/118/87/15)

Outfield:

Barry Bonds – 2001 – San Francisco Giants

.328 BA, 73 HR, 137 RBI, 129 R, 13 SB

Remember when I said I would make up for the home runs I left on the table at first base?  Well, here you go.

Like first base, the outfield is cluttered with great seasons.  It was really tough to leave out some all time great players (Griffey, Vlad) and the fantastically ridiculous Rickey Henderson (130 steals in 1982!).

There are a handful of Bonds seasons I could have included (and would have, had I not self-imposed the one-season-per-player rule), most notably 1993 and 2002.  I went with the record-setting big fly year that worked everyone into a frenzy and ultimately ramped up the nation’s concern over performance-enhancing drugs.

Remember, fantasy cares not about what forces are behind a statistic’s achievement, only that it goes into the official score.

Outfield:

Sammy Sosa – 2001 – Chicago Cubs

.328 BA, 64 HR, 160 RBI, 146 R, 0 SB

Slammin’ Sammy sure wasn’t running a whole in 2001, but that’s probably because he spent most of his time doing a slow trot around the bases.  That, or he was so massively juiced up that he was incapable of more than jogging.

Joking aside, Sosa racked up the second-most RBIs since 1938 (Manny Ramirez had 165 in 1999).  His .328 average and 146 runs scored were also differentiators.  His average was 20 points higher than his massive 1998 campaign, too.

Sosa, like Bonds, had a few seasons worthy of inclusion on this list.  The lack of steals hurts, but my next two selections help make up that gap while not sacrificing power or average.

Outfield:

Larry Walker – 1997 – Colorado Rockies

.366 BA, 49 HR, 130 RBI, 143 R, 33 SB

Our second beneficiary of the Coors Field effect is Larry Walker.  That, or cutting his mullet had dramatic effects on his numbers.  Either way, in 1997 Walker combined power, speed and average like no player in the last 30 years, possibly ever.

His 33 stolen bases help cover the shortage left by Rickey Henderson’s absence and Sosa’s goose-egg.  And that .366 average is second only to Helton for best on the hypothetical team.

Also considered – Bonds – 1993 (.336/46/123/129/29), Bonds – 2002 (.370/46/110/117/9), Sosa – 1998 (.308/66/158/134/18), Ramirez – 1999 (.333/44/165/131/2), Rickey Henderson – 1985 (.314/24/72/146/80), Henderson – 1982 (.267/10/51/119/130), Vlad Guerrero – 2002 (.336/39/111/106/40).

Utility:

Ellis Burks – 1996 – Colorado Rockies

.344 BA, 40 HR, 128 RBI, 142 R, 32 SB

Yes, I included a third player who benefited from the Coors Field launching pad.  But Burks had one of the most well rounded seasons ever in 1996.

Plus, the randomness of Ellis Burks appearing on this list was appealing to me.  He’s clearly not in the same conversation as the other position players in any other context.  That’s part of what makes fantasy sports so fun, though.  When you get a guy later in a draft that puts up video game numbers it gives the owner an even greater sense of satisfaction.

Also considered – All of the players considered at each position, plus Edgar Martinez – 1995 (.356/29/113/121/9).

All told, the offense ended up with:

.339 BA

419 HR (average of 46.5 per player)

1180 RBI (131 per player)

1179 runs (131 per player)

196 stolen bases (approximately 22 per player). 

Pretty incredible stat line, huh?  Of course, some categories can be easily tweaked to beat my totals (home runs and steals are easy to manipulate), but when you load up one stat, typically a couple others suffer.  This combination is the best setup I found for all stats.

I’d like to see yours, too.  Let me know how I did in the comments, and if I missed a great season by someone, tell me about it.

Part 2, featuring the pitching staff, is coming soon. [Update: Click to view the best possible fantasy baseball pitching rotation.]

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Follow on Twitter @keithmullett 

www.commercialgradeblog.com

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Image Credits: zimbio.com, baseballevolution.com, thecubreporter.com, sfgate.com, totalfoot3.com, postandcourier.com, espn.go.com,  baseballreference.com, fanbase.com, fanpop.com

]]> http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2011/09/the-greatest-fantasy-baseball-team-possible-part-1-hitters/feed/ 4 http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2010/01/cubs-fans-sammy-sosa/ http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2010/01/cubs-fans-sammy-sosa/#comments Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:10:46 +0000 Jerod Morris http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/?p=10116 Throughout the course of the day I engage in or passively read various email and forum conversations with other sports fans of the Midwest variety. A lot of these conversations tend to center around Chicago sports because, well, it’s the biggest market in the MSF realm.

One recent conversation that particularly piqued my interest is the question of how Cubs fans should/would receive Sammy Sosa in the event that he returns to the team or city in a manner similar to how Mark McGwire has returned to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Allow me to present a few of the more compelling arguments that I read on both sides. I will then give my opinion and provide you with an opportunity to give yours.

First, the original post from Another Cubs Blog that started the “should Cubs fans receive Sammy warmly” debate (because, as I’ve learned, there is always an “original post that started it all“):

We already know what Cubs fans would do if Sammy Sosa showed up at a Cubs Convention. There would undoubtedly be a large round of boos and I’m pretty sure some of those in attendance would throw knives at him. Unlike every other fan base, the Cubs fans are incapable of appreciating good players. Instead, they like the Ryan Theriot’s and Mark DeRosa’s…

…I don’t know what it is about Cubs fans, but they are a weird bunch of people. If Sammy Sosa spent the majority of his career with the Cardinals, he’d already be getting standing ovations by the Cardinals fans. Actually, I’ll put money on the Cardinals fans giving Sosa a standing ovation before the fucking Cubs fans do.

And here are a few of my favorite responses, from some of your and my favorite Chicago bloggers:

JD from Not Qualified to Comment:

I like Sammy.  He is a victim of his era and while I’m not  saying I condone what he did, he definitely saved baseball. At what cost is another issue, but if it wasn’t for him I honestly wouldn’t have come back to the game.

The Zoner from Zoner Sports:

If you had to “come back to the game”, I’m not sure if you were truly into it in the first place. I cheered my brains  out in ’98 and was at a bunch of those games. But after the cork, the  walkout and the increased realization that he was full of roids, I have absolutely no reason to cheer him ever again. At least not now.

Rex Jaybels from i94 Sports:

I cheered for him too, but I don’t see him as a victim of his era. He made a decision to do what he did and he is making the decision not to come clean about it. He will always be a part of some fond memories I have of the Cubs, but as for giving him some rousing standing ovation now, I’m not sure that I would. Then again, I’m not sure when I would ever have the opportunity as I find conventions and things of that nature a tad creepy. It just seems like the author was trying to condemn all those who don’t have this overriding love of Sosa. He seems to be a self-hating Cub fan.

Joe Cubs Fan from <<<insert any link to any Cubs forum/blog here>>>

I just want to see the Cubs win a World Series title before I die. But I know it won’t happen. Boo-hoo. At least our stadium rocks! Ivy…yeah!

Okay, so I made the last one up. But the other three are real responses from real Cubs fans/observers that I think sum up with disparate opinions that the Cubs fan base holds about the greatest statistical achiever in its franchise’s history.

Here is my opinion, which I will frame by bringing the discussion a little bit closer to home: what if it came out that Frank Thomas had used steroids during his time with the White Sox?

(And, for the record, Frank is one of the few people left for whom it would absolutely shock me if any reports surfaced that he’d used ‘roids. Read this if you want to know more about my feelings for the The Big Hurt.)

Now, I know that it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison between Frank Thomas and Sammy Sosa, but it’s relatively close.

No, White Sox fans did not have to suffer through the ignominy of Frank’s final years being dogged by steroid speculation. In fact, Sox fans have always been able to stick their noses up in the air just a little bit with the knowledge that our greatest hitter is almost universally assumed to have been clean.

However, reports of Frank’s selfishness throughout his career and the way that he left town – at odds with GM Ken Williams – on his way to becoming a Designated Hitting Mercenary for the A’s and Blue Jays did rub some fans the wrong way. So in that sense, there are at least some similarities between the two cases.

For me, even if it was revealed now that Frank Thomas had been juicing his whole career, I would stand and cheer for him…once. I would want to thank him for the time, energy, hard work, and especially the memories he provided me over the years. Steroids or not, those moments were real, even if something happens now to make me look back on them differently.

But that’s where it would end. As they say, “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”

Once trust is broken between a fan and a player, the onus is on the fan to allow or disallow the player back into their good graces. I wouldn’t actively hate or admonish Frank, but I would certainly keep him at arm’s length…after I left him know, one time, that I appreciated the achievements he was able to attain. Over time, I’m sure that the memories of Frank as Sox star and his accomplishments would mean far less than they do now, but not so much so as to be rendered totally insignificant or negative.

So obviously I understand and can relate with both sides of the Cubs fans’ arguments, and in this case I don’t think the middle ground is such a bad place to be. Like most things in life, the ultimate resolution for most people probably lies in the gray area.

It’s a little bit like when a relationship ends, even if it ends badly. Hopefully, after time has been able to heal the most exigent post-breakup wounds, two people can remember what brought them together in the first place and at least appreciate the good times that were shared. You never really forget a betrayal, and sometimes you may not even be able to forgive, nor do you need to actively participate in the person’s life anymore, but hate, anger, rancor, and regret are viruses that infect the soul. So even if you don’t believe logically or mentally that a person deserves forgiveness, it ironically is often the best action you take from a selfish standpoint.

So why not take it?

My advice to Cubs fans if Sammy Sosa does ever make a Big Mac-like return to the Windy City: at least cheer the man once and show some appreciation for the his achievements as a Cub.

That closes a squeaky, creaking door and allows you to either a) open up a new one and forge a new fan-player relationship, or b) keep it closed and move on. Either response is correct, all based on your personal feelings.

Forgive, don’t forget, as they say. And despite all of his faults and transgressions, even Sammy Sosa deserves to cheered and thanked by Cubs fan for one – and probably only one – more day.

What do you think? (The first question is for Cubs fans, the second question is for everyone else. Obviously you can answer both and screw up the final totals, but why in the hell would you want to do that?)

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* – Sammy Sosa cheater sign photo credit: AP via SI.com

* – Sammy Sosa ovation photo credit: Al Tielemans via SI.com

Incredibly, Sosa actually specifically addresses the notion that he may have somehow wanted to look like Michael Jackson. For the record, I don’t think anyone thought Sosa wanted to look like Jackson specifically, just that he might have been dealing with a similar skin pigmentation disorder or appearance issues.

Here is an excerpt from the ESPN story that describes Sosa’s response to the skin whitening speculation:

“It’s a bleaching cream that I apply before going to bed and whitens my skin some,” said the former slugger during the “Primer Impacto” program at the Univision Spanish network.

“It’s a cream that I have, that I use to soften [my skin], but has bleached me some. I’m not a racist, I live my life happily,” said a smiling Sosa during the interview.

….

“What happened was that I had been using the cream for a long time and that, combined with the bright TV lights, made my face look whiter than it really is. I don’t think I look like Michael Jackson,” Sosa said.

“I’m going to market it, I’m a businessman,” Sosa joked about the mysterious cream, about which he revealed only that it was bought in Europe.

We have obviously dabbled in some speculation regarding the cause of Sosa’s skin whitening, and there really is no point in getting into it more. Sammy says that he’s using a “bleaching cream” and that it whitens his skin some, and there is really no reason not to believe him.

And as anyone who has bleached their clothes knows, bleach tends to remove color. So the conclusion that we can draw from his statement is that either Sosa is, in fact, deliberately trying to alter his skin tone. And there are really only two possible explanations for why: it could be because of personal identity issues or a skin disorder, perhaps one like vitiligo that can cause patches of pigmentation loss and that he may want to cover up by lightening all of his skin.

So we’re basically back where we started with the speculation.

There is really no need to get into it any further. It is a personal choice of Sammy’s and he can do as he pleases. Since I was one of the first sites to post the pictures on Saturday, I just wanted to give Sosa’s side of it know that he’s spoken out.

If you want to delve further into the issue, you will find a variety of theories as to why Sosa’s skin is turning whiter in the content and comment sections of our first and second post about this story.

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* – Sammy Sosa photo credit: Big League Stew

According to NBCChicago.com, there is a plurality of Chicagoans whose primary reaction to seeing the startling new Sosa picks is laughter. As of 1:33 am CT on November 8th, 41% of responding readers voted “laughing” as their response to seeing the new Sammy. This overwhelmingly topped “sad,” “bored,” and “intrigued,” which were the only other options to receive 10% or more of the vote.

Ironically enough, people from Philadelphia apparently have a little more compassion — or at least curiosity — regarding the new Sammy. Despite have a sports fan base that is renowned for its nastiness (ex. booing Michael Irvin while he lay motionless with a neck injury), the reaction with the plurality of the votes was “intrigued” at 41%.

Below are the screenshots if you’re the kind who likes documented proof of things. First is the Windy City, where the winds that once blew in fawning favor of Slammin’ Sammy obviously have not recovered from his inglorious exit from the city.

And here is Philadelphia, where the “City of Brotherly Love” monicker sometimes gets questions, but does at least appear to be somewhat apt in this case. At a minimum, there is less “brotherly mocking” than what Chicagoans are exhibiting.

Who knows, maybe both have small sample sizes and the numbers will be different in the morning. But I have to say that even knowing the hard feelings that existed in Wrigleyville after Sammy’s exit, I would have expected a little more compassion or at least patience than a plurality of laughter…especially when juxtaposed against the numbers from Philly.

Plus, it gave me something to write about while I wind down after dinner-and-a-movie night and prepare for bed.

I will tell you this: I side with the Philly people on this one.

I’ve been shocked, dismayed, and clearly very curious considering this is my third post on the Sosa subject…but I have not once laughed about Sammy’s new appearance. He is either trying to cover up a pigmentation disorder or purposefully trying to lighten his skin for some sort of psychological reason — no, I don’t buy the “it’s bad lighting!” nonsense — and I don’t consider either option funny.

The pictures are jarring.

It’s been a while since Sammy Sosa has been in the public eye, and we all remember a much darker version of him than what we are seeing in this current pictures. (Not to mention, as Big League Stew pointed out earlier this evening, when did Sammy start wearing green contacts?)

The obvious question in the immediate aftermath of these pictures making their way around the web is, what might be the root cause of Sammy’s paleness?

I decided to do a little digging — admittedly with a hypothesis that steroid use might have something to do with it — and found some interesting information.

Note 11/9: There has been a lot of traffic to this post and some very insightful and informed comments posted. Make sure you read the comments and take into account the fact that I’m not a doctor, but just an interested observer looking for explanations and trying to address the questions/comments I’m getting and reading.

Notice that I am not saying definitively that steroid use by Sammy caused whatever issue he’s going through now. And no one knows if it’s vitiligo, “skin rejuvenation”, etc. I just decided to search for some connection on the steroids angle and open up a forum for discussion since that was a lot of people’s first instinct.

Sammy Sosa with his wife at at a Person of the Year ceremony in honor of Juan Gabriel at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas on Nov. 4. (Getty Images)

Hypothesizing that vitiligo might be the root cause of Sammy’s white appearance was a pretty obvious initial direction, and pretty much everyone who has posted about this has mentioned vitiligo (a skin disorder that claims Michael Jackson as its most famous victim).

However, I always assumed that contracting vitiligo was all based on genetics and hereditary issues. The truth, as I’ve come to learn while researching tonight, is that scientists and doctors are still unsure exactly what causes vitiligo.

The prevailing hypothesis seems to be that genetics play a major role in one’s chances of experiencing vitiligo symptoms, but there is also plenty of empirical evidence to suggest that single events and/or lifestyle choices can contribute as well.

Furthermore, there appears to be at least some evidence suggesting that steroid use could be one of the lifestyle choices that increases a person’s likelihood of becoming symptomatic with vitiligo.

Quick aside: I am obviously not a doctor, nor have I done anything more detailed than sift through various Google searches looking for a possible connection between steroids and vitiligo. I am not posting this as an explicit endorsement of the idea, but rather because I found it interesting and thought you might too. I trust you to take the information and make up your own mind.

Steroid.com, as you might expect, purports itself to be “the world’s most visited anabolic website”.  According to Quantcast, Steroid.com get around 125K visitors per month. Not too shabby, especially when the discussions center around activities that are, for the most part, illegal.

I found two forum discussions in particular that seem to suggest a possible connection:

Posted in Anabolic Steroids Q&A: White Blotches / Skin Pigmentation

Initial post: I have just finished my third cycle, after the last 2 cycles blothces on my skin, mainly my face and head have appeared, almost like loss of pigment on my skin. It begins approx 3-4 weeks after I have finished my cycle. When my face goes red from exercise or whatever these blothces are increasingly more noticeable. Does anyone have an idea what is causing this? Or can anyone recommend anything to combat it?

Forum poster response: Fluctuating hormones as the cause would be my guess. Do some google searches on vitiligo and hormones, testosterone, thyroid, etc. You’ll find some info out there.

Posted in Member’s Cycle Results: Melanotan and vitiligo

Initial post: Hi all i have a mate with vitiligo he has white hair eye brows and facial hair and white patches all over his skin. This started about 5 years ago and he has had a hard time with it!

The website Mesomorphosis.com also has a steroid forum where the topic of vitiligo has come up, in this case with a guy asking specifically about white splotches on his penis. Here is one of the responses:

in addition to the other comments here, i’d consider getting your estradiol and test levels checked, ur hormones can effect ur pheomelanin and eumelanin levels. and check if ur diet might be high in phytoestrogens or other endocrine disruptors.

Obviously I do not frequent these forums so I cannot vouch for the historical accuracy of the posters I am excerpting here. And a couple of discussions about vitiligo in a couple of steroid forums does not draw a direct line between steroid use, vitiligo, and Sammy Sosa’s apparent Michael Jackson starter kit.

However, here are a few more things that we do know about vitiligo:

From Medicine.net (and echoed numerous places elsewhere) regarding the use of anabolic steroids:

Notify your doctor if you develop: vomiting, skin color changes, swelling of the feet or ankles.

From WebMD.com regarding the prevalence of vitiligo, which is far more prevalent than I thought:

Vitiligo affects up to 2% of the population, and it is estimated that two to five million Americans have the condition. In most cases, vitiligo develops early in life, between the ages of ten and 30 years. Ninety-five per cent of those affected will develop the disorder before age 40.

For the record, Sammy Sosa turns 41 on November 12th of this year.

And finally, from MayoClinic.com regarding one of the common treatments of vitiligo, which will sound familiar to many Michael Jackson fans:

Depigmentation may be an option for you if you have vitiligo that covers more than half of your skin. Depigmentation therapy lightens the unaffected parts of your skin to match the areas that have already turned white. For this treatment, you apply a medication called monobenzene ether of hydroquinone twice a day to the areas of your skin that still have pigment. Treatment continues until the darker areas of your skin match the already-depigmented areas.

Ultimately, the only conclusion I can make is that there really is no definite conclusion to make. All we have are pictures to go off of. And while they may say 1,000 words, they aren’t telling us specifically what is going on with Sammy’s skin color.

Certainly the general consensus of the sports blogosphere is that Sammy is dealing with vitiligo or something like it, but we’re sports bloggers…not doctors.

I’ve tried my best to do some learning tonight so that I can at least discuss the topic in an informed manner, which I feel an obligation to do since I helped to give the story some momentum earlier this afternoon.

For me, the most intriguing question is if we will find out anything regarding whether Sammy’s confirmed steroid use might have contributed to whatever he is dealing with now.  Something tells me we won’t, and that this story will fade as we move into the weekend and get distracted by football.

However, if there is a connection, can you imagine how powerful of a statement to young athletes Sammy Sosa could make without even saying a word?

If the road this story ultimately travels manifests some connection between steroids and vitiligo (or skin pigmentation changes in general), it will just add one more layer in the case that can be made to young people imploring them to stay away from PEDs.

There is a certain level of vanity required for someone to make the decision to use steroids. No one with any semblance of vanity can look at these pictures of Sammy Sosa and not be both shocked and a little horrified.

Then again, maybe Sammy had dressed up as a vampire for Halloween the weekend before these pictures were taken and just hadn’t showered yet. For his sake, I hope so.

I just doubt it strongly, along with everyone else I’ve seen post about this tonight.

Update 9/9: The Chicago Tribune got ahold of a former Cubs employee who is still in contact with Sosa and says that Sammy is “not trying to be Michael Jackson.” Rather, he is supposedly going through a skin rejuvenation process that “women have…all of the time.”

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* – Sammy Sosa photo credit: Getty Images via Big League Stew

Does anyone know what is going on with Sammy Sosa?

As Traina’s tweet wonders, did Sosa get a facelift? Botox? Is he possibly dealing with vitiligo (the disease Michael Jackson suffered from that causes splotches of pigment-less skin)?

I am wondering if any of our readers knows of an explanation for Sosa’s drastically altered appearance.

Update: here is a link to our subsequent post on this topic, exploring a hypothesis that Sammy’s new pale look could be the result of vitiligo-like symptoms caused by steroid use.

This is clearly not a lighting issue or anything of that nature. Sosa looks completely different, and you can see him here and here at the same event in different light.

Despite the fact that I hate the Cubs and never was a Sosa fan, I’m not posting this to poke fun at Sammy. It just completely took me aback when I saw the pictures and I wanted to share. I imagine post people’s reaction will be similar and I’m hoping someone can shed some light on the reasoning or explanation behind it.

I don’t really know what else to say.

Quick update: Just sent this post over to my co-worker and his first reaction was to say, “that’s not Sammy Sosa! It must be photoshopped.” I thought so too at first, expect that the links supplied above show Sosa looking the same in pictures taken by many different photographers.

Here is a bigger version of the thumbnail picture above:

Another quick update. Here is a picture that was just sent to me of Sammy Sosa from May of 2009. He’s obviously a little more plump than we remember him (which is to be suspected), but you can see the obvious difference in his skin pigmentation:

One possible explanation posited by a number of readers: a really bad makeup job. I suppose that is possible, although if you look at this picture in particular, his hand is same color as his face. Why would he get makeup on his hand? Not sure the makeup explanation really flies.

Update 9/9: The Chicago Tribune got ahold of a former Cubs employee who is still in contact with Sosa and says that Sammy is “not trying to be Michael Jackson.” Rather, he is supposedly going through a skin rejuvenation process that “women have…all of the time.”

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* – Sammy Sosa looking white photo credit: PRN / PR Photos via Exposay.com

* – Sammy Sosa in May photo credit: Reuters via DayLife

From a recent article by Jerry Crowe of the Los Angeles Times:

Thanks to Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, etc., fans outside St. Louis must wonder, ‘Do we celebrate Albert Pujols or suspect him?’ . . .

Pujols has batted four times with the bases loaded this season and three times has hit grand slams. . . .

In his only other at-bat with the bases loaded, the St. Louis Cardinals slugger delivered only a two-run single. . . .

Sadly, it makes you wonder. . . .

Now, being from the Midwest and never having lived in LA, I was unfamiliar with Jerry Crowe’s work before seeing this article. However, I have to assume that he has proper journalistic training and some level of understanding for the “professional ethics” and “standards of decency” that were trotted out time and again over the past couple of weeks since I wrote about Raul Ibanez.

Geoff Baker and Ken Rosenthal know what I’m talking about.

I honestly don’t even know what to say. It’s not like this article by Crowe is an isolated example of some mainstream sportswriter going rogue and speculating about specific players using steroids. As was chronicled in the myriad posts written about the Raul Ibanez “controversy”, there are countless examples of media members making claims very similar to what Crowe has written above and similar to the article I wrote that touched off such a fire storm.

And I am not highlighting Crowe’s article because I disagree with him or think he is wrong to speculate. Albert Pujols is in my own personal group of players (along with Raul Ibanez, Derek Jeter, and a few others) that I believe in the most, but no one would truly surprise me anymore. I don’t think that Albert Pujols is on steroids, and his statistical consistency as well as what I’ve read about his high level character are two reasons why; yet, I certainly can understand why people would speculate, and the thought has definitely crossed my mind that it’s a reasonable possibility.

So I have no problem with what Crowe wrote. That’s not the point.

What I just find to be hilariously ironic, especially after another viewing of the Outside the Lines video a couple of nights ago, is how righteous and arrogant Ken Rosenthal was and how many of his peers came across the same way in their responses to what I wrote. Believe me, I’m glad they did because it helped to drive traffic to our site and give us a brief little brush with “fame” and exposure, but their larger points about how the blogosphere is ruining sports writing just seem more and more laughable with each post I read like Crowe’s above.

For some reason, bloggers took a tremendous amount of external criticism in the aftermath of Raul Ibanez’s comments about my post. And, come to think of it, I wonder if Albert Pujols is going to publicly scream at Jerry Crowe for his “pathetic” speculation. Perhaps not, since I assume Crowe wrote it from the LA Times offices and not from the dark nether regions of his mother’s basement.

But the truth of it all is this:

1. Bloggers didn’t create the steroid problem in baseball, baseball did. So getting angry at me or anyone else who writes about it honestly and genuinely is terribly misguided. That’s like having a water pipe burst or break at your house because the plumbers did a shoddy installation job and getting mad at the cable guy for talking about how wet your floor is.
2. Bloggers certainly didn’t create steroid speculation on our own. Journalists have done it for years (it just came far too late, I’m afraid). As I said above, I don’t have a problem with it. I just have a problem with people accusing the honest, hard-working, passionate sports fans who blog of being “unprofessional” and “unethical” and “attention whores” and “lacking standards of decency” and the multitudes of other trite criticisms we hear, when the “journalistic standards” (whatever that term even means) to which we are ostensibly being held (although most of us never claimed to be setting out to uphold them) are not even being upheld by their own peers.

There are fair criticisms and critiques from professional writers that we should listen to because they can make our content better, but I just hope that if Ken Rosenthal or Geoff Baker reads Jerry Crowe’s column that they roll their eyes, think it’s ridiculous, and write 5,000 word articles lambasting Crowe for his lack of integrity. (And I wonder if Crowe reached out to Pujols before “hitting publish.” He has “access.” Sadly, it makes you wonder…)

It just makes the last couple of weeks look like a disingenuous charade from a group of people who feel threatened by bloggers and the uncertain future of their industry. And it makes all of the righteous indignation seem like nothing more than a bunch of verbose and ironic nonsense.

Tom Fornelli, the author of FoulBalls.net and a writer for FanHouse, said it best as you can read in the excerpt below. And since his article is the one that alerted me to this story, and is the reason I am writing about it, I will both mention him by name and link to his article. (You see, journalists, in the blogosphere we have our own code of ethics and integrity and *gasp* actually follow it!).

It does make me wonder. It makes me wonder what exactly the difference is between what Jerod Morris did on a blog and Jerry Crowe did in the Los Angeles Times. Frankly the only difference I see — aside from the fact Morris did actual statistical analysis and Crowe just threw his opinion out there — is that Crowe speculated about a specific player’s steroid use in a major newspaper that I’m sure has a far greater reach than MidwestSportsFans.com, yet for some reason I doubt there will be as much of a reaction to it.

I guess responsibility only applies to those without press passes.

I have nothing else to say about this story.

By the way, for a funny little anecdote about Sammy Sosa and his obsession with the Sammy Sosa Gun Show, here is another great post by Fornelli at FanHouse. Has a player ever fallen from beloved and respected to resented and laughed at more precipitously than Sammy Sosa? It would be sad if every problem Sosa has faced was not brought on by his own selfishness, personal choices, and the ineptitude of the union and league that he was a part of.

And if you still want more MLB content to read, the good folks over at Sparty and Friends put together a nice piece regarding MLB contraction.

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My apologies again for the lack of activity this week. Work has been extremely busy and my two best friends from college are in town so my time at night to write has been limited, but it sure has been great catching up. We ate dinner at Fogo de Chao last night. Ridiculously expensive and ridiculously worth it. See if they have one in your city and go right now. It’s amazing.

And on the very bright side, my previously ill dog is almost fully recovered from surgery and will be completely back bouncing around like his old self in about a week. Thanks again to everyone who sent emails and tweets with kind and supportive words. They were all very much appreciated.

Have a great day everyone.

The NEW YORK TIMES IS REPORTING that Sammy Sosa tested positive for steroids in 2003. Here is your excerpt, none of which was written or speculated about by me, but rather comes directly from a New York Times report that is putting this information forward as confirmed fact:

Sammy Sosa, who joined with Mark McGwire in 1998 in a celebrated pursuit of baseball’s single-season home run record, is among the players who tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in 2003, according to lawyers with knowledge of the drug-testing results from that year.

The disclosure that Sosa tested positive makes him the latest baseball star of the last two decades to be linked to performance-enhancers, a group that now includes McGwire, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and Rafael Palmeiro.

…

The 2003 positive test could also create legal troubles for Sosa because he testified under oath before Congress at a public hearing in 2005 that he had “never taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs.”

If you would like a blogger’s reaction, hop on over to our good friend Josh Q. Public to see what he had to say about the report that Sammy Sosa testing positive for steroids. We’re laying off steroid talk around here for a while.

Needless to say, this is another sad, sad day for baseball fans everywhere. One more hero for whom speculation proved true and whose accomplishments will forever be tainted. Way to go players, the union, and Major League Baseball.

The fact that no one is surprised by this is YOUR fault and nobody else’s.

Update: One more thought. I know there are going to be a lot of I-told-you-so’s and jokes going around and all of that stuff, especially in light of everything that happened last week with the Raul Ibanez story. And I know that I’ve always been a Sosa and Cubs hater. But let me make one thing one clear:

I HATE this story. Hate it.

Yes, I suspected all along that Sosa was on steroids, and in fact I would have bet money that he was had I been forced to. (This, remember, is the complete of opposite of what I’ve maintained about Ibanez, who I believe is clean.) And even though the video below called Sosa out two years ago, way before any proof had been gleaned, I take zero satisfaction in a story like this.

It sucks, and it sucks bad.

The Summer of Big Mac and Sammy was such a great experience, such a great memory; and I can only imagine how special it much have been for Cardinals and Cubs fans. And perhaps everyone had already given up the purity of that memory before today, but even in that case this story is still a big, fat kick in the junk with a steel-toed boot for any baseball fan.

I know that we’re all cynical in this day and age, but in our hearts we all still have that innocent, pure baseball fan inside of us who watches the game with child-like wonder — the one who first fell in love with the game way back when.

This story is yet another insult to that part of me. And I’m fucking sick and tired of it.

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“Enjoy” the video, which sadly seems to become more relevant with each passing year, month, and day:

(And once again, for the record, this song is NOT purporting that Derek Jeter ever used PEDs. Listen to the words! “But not Yankees #2!” Not sure how many times I have to explain this to people…)

With only a few days before the calendar turns to September, the likelihood of a White Sox-Cubs World Series is still possible. It is so rare to have both teams in contention for playoff spots this late into the season. Thus, you will have to forgive White Sox and Cubs fans if they jump ahead of themselves a bit and daydream about a Windy City Series.

Who would have the advantage in a South Side-North Side battle? Let’s go to the tale of the tape, knowing what we know right now, for a completely objective, totally unbiased, and unequivocally fair analysis:

[Update: If you do not take the following opinions expressed by our author seriously, perhaps this opinion will sway your thinking.  That's right, none other than our future President agrees wholeheartedly that the White Sox are better than the Cubs.  Just thought you should know.  Now on the with the Tale of the Tape!]

Current Record: Chicago White Sox 74-56 | Chicago Cubs 80-50

Advantage: White Sox.

Now, you may wonder how an analysis claiming to be objective could reach such a conclusion. It’s very simple: The AL is better than the NL. 74 wins in the American League is actually the equivalent of 82 wins in the NL. Don’t believe me? There is plenty of sabermetrics to back me up. Click here Cubs fans…it is verified fact.

Manager: Ozzie Guillen | Lou Piniella

Advantage: White Sox. This is actually pretty easy. Ozzie has won a World Series with his current team during the current decade, while Piniella’s lone title came in 1990 with the Reds. Plus, Ozzie is a much better rapper. No one can understand what the hell he is ever saying, a prerequisite for solid MC’ing.

Stadium: Comiskey Park | Wrigley Field

Follow this undeniable string of logic: Wrigley Field has ivy…the most commonly known form of ivy is poison ivy…the Cubs are cursed (synonym: poisoned) and have not won a World Series in 100 years. Hence, your overrated dump of a stadium is part of the reason for your drought. Comiskey Park (or U.S. Cellular Field, if you must) has shot off fireworks in a World Series game in the last 5 years

Advantage: White Sox…go cry in your beers you dirty Bleacher Bums. Comiskey is the clear winner. Plus, I’d much rather spend time on 35th Street than Wrigleyville, but that’s just the testosterone talking.

Out of Nowhere Star: Carlos Quentin | Geovanny Soto

Let’s see…Carlos Quentin has an OPS of .975, has hit 36 HRs, has 99 RBIs, and is hitting about .800 in clutch situations. I’m exaggerating, but he does have more game-tying or game-winning RBIs from the 7th inning on than any other hitter in baseball. Geovanny Soto has an OPS of .869, has hit 19 HRs and driven in 71 runs while playing a tougher defensive position. But while he gets extra credit for playing catcher, he loses all credit for having this picture on the Internet in which he looks like a lesbian softball player. Come to think of it, are we sure he’s not? Wrigleyville is kinda freaky like that…

Advantage: White Sox

500 Home Run Hitters on Current Roster: Ken Griffey Jr. & Jim Thome | None

Advantage: White Sox (that was easy)

The A.J. Pierzynski Factor: The White Sox have him | The Cubs don’t

Look, A.J. Pierzynski is not a “better” player than Geovanny Soto. He isn’t a great hitter, he won’t wow you with stats, and he has a pretty rag arm. But he is an absolute winner. He made a head’s up play against Tampa Bay this weekend to stay in scoring position and eventually score the winning run, and we all remember what he did against the Angels in the 2005 playoffs. And those are just two examples. A.J. makes clutch plays and is an absolutely indispensible member of the White Sox for the intangibles he brings. Oh, and suck it Michael Barrett. Are you even in the Majors anymore?

Advantage: White Sox

Greatest Player of This Era: Frank Thomas | Sammy Sosa

Another shameless plug for the unnecessarily long and in-depth analysis I did of Frank Thomas and Sammy Sosa…but I started this blog so really the whole thing is just one big shameless plug for my drivel. (Writer’s Note: I actually did try to be legitimately objective in that one. Seriously. I promise, and I’m not trying to be sarcastic.) Feel free to waste an hour of your life reading it, or just look at the next line.

Advantage: White Sox

Voice of the Team: Hawk Harrelson | Harry Caray

Hawk Harrelson is the man, and even though Harry Caray is a baseball legend, the fact that Hawk knows what is going on more than 30 percent of the time gives him the tie breaker (though, admittedly, it probably is not much more than 30 percent). Plus, Hawk created the greatest home run call of all time (Yeeessss!), along with coining such incredible nicknames as The Big Hurt, El Caballo, and The Milkman. (Yes, that is actually Herbert Perry. Melvin Mora was apparently too busy thinking about his next steroid injection to help Herbert out.)

And again Cubs fans, before you start whining like you did when I dissed Wrigley Field that Harry Caray is a legend, and the voice of baseball, and blah blah frickin’ blah, remember one thing: He was with the White Sox before he was with you. Just like Sammy Sosa. Seriously, get your own heroes. Stop pilfering from the Superior Side. And Mark Grace sucked. (Thanks a lot for Jon Garland though. I hope you enjoyed Matt Karchner…I’m sure Garland enjoyed winning a World Series.)

Advantage: Way back, it could be, it is…You can put it on the board…White Sox!

World Series Titles During the Lifetime of Anyone Reading This: 1 | 0

Any explanation would just be rubbing it in. But who cares, let’s rub it in anyway. (And anytime you have a chance to diss Cubs fans by showing a World Series parade in Chicago that they will never experience, while also laughing at the cheesiness of Steve Perry, well it’s an opportunity that must be taken.)

Advantage: White Sox.

So there you have it sports fans. Nine categories. All nine in favor of the White Sox. After an unbiased analysis grounded completely in fact it is clear that the Chicago White Sox would have the upper hand in a South Side-Back Side matchup in the World Series.

Besides, it’s really a moot discussion anyway. The Cubs will never make it that far. We all know what you’ll do in the playoffs (if you can make it…)

Frank Thomas and Sammy Sosa are two of the greatest icons in the long and storied history of Chicago sports. I do not remember what inspired me, but I have been obsessed over the past three days with objectively figuring out who had the better career. I finished my in-depth analysis of The Big Hurt and Slammin’ Sammy today and posted it over at HubPages. (It’s a lot easier to utilize pictures and videos with their format. Plus, hopefully the article can attract an audience and then get people to see our site.)

Here is the link: Frank Thomas Versus Sammy Sosa – Who Was Better?

Check it out when you get a moment. I apologize in advance for the length, but I did not want to leave any stone unturned. I will not give away the conclusion here…but if you do not feel like reading my 4,000-and-some word opus on the subject, just scroll to the bottom and you can read my conclusion.

I always hated Sammy Sosa, especially once it became clear that he was a steroid-abusing cheater, but his talent and ridiculous numbers cannot be ignored. And while Big Frank pissed me off from time to time, especially with how he acted during the end of his tenure in Chicago, he will always be one of my all-time favorite players. There was nothing better than Frank smashing a 1st inning homerun or killing a line drive off the wall for a double. He may have been a little bit of a whiny baby…be he’s still the Big Hurt and the greatest White Sox player of all-time in my estimation (until 10 years from now when the torch gets passed to Carlos Quentin…he hit #34 today!!!).

Feel free to read the article and then come back to post comments and have a debate. There are few debates for true Chicago sports fans with the ability to inspire the passion and enjoyment of this one.

So who do you think was better – Frank Thomas or Sammy Sosa?