Anyone who was able to observe the physical transformation that took place “within” the bodies of Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds (not to mention the countless others presumed to have taken Performance Enhancing Drugs) would have to (at least) admire the “intelligent dedication” that it must have taken to re-form those bodies with such symmetrical precision. Most on-lookers could hardly hold back personal desires to look that good in a baseball uniform. But, of course, now understanding the fraudulent manner in which “exaggerated power” was extracted from those bodies, most people (especially “baseball people”) disengage themselves from remarks or comments validating the natural abilities of those who may have enhanced their prowess by using P.E.Ds.

It’s hard to say whether, or not, Sammy Sosa would have attained “immortal” status in the world of Baseball had he gone the “Natural” route to stardom, but it is a good bet that both McGwire and Bonds would have become Baseball “Legends” under the auspices of their own physical and mental accoutrements. McGwire hit 49 Home Runs in the first Major-League season, with a body, while sturdy and powerful, far less muscularly ostentatious than “Ozark IKE” or “Lil’ ABNER”.  And Bonds, during the 1990s, and weighing in at 185 lbs, was the most prolific hitter in Baseball. And at the times that it is presumed each began taking steroids, they each incurred numerous bouts on the disabled lists while coping with the effects of the somewhat inexact science of artificially enhanced muscle development.

Although most “unscientific-minds” would accredit both McGwire’s and Bond’s successes with the use of P.E.Ds, they would be correct only in the categories as to the distances of their Home Runs and to those few home-runs that barely cleared the fence. For when they made good contact with their bats, the ball was going out, with or without steroids.

The main reason for their successes was undoubtedly their consistent practice of proper mechanics, with a scientific approach to hitting a baseball. There is no telling how good they would have been without steroids, but less injuries probably would have occurred without P.E.Ds.

That player who is closest to replicating the prowess of Bonds and McGwire (without steroids) is Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles. The ONLY thing he needs to do is get rid of his Shawn Green Tall and Opened stance – 

When the  pitch is delivered, he glides toward the plate and sets himself in perfect position. Unfortunately for him, it is too late to see the ball and follow it with exact precision. Barry and Mark, would have been set as the ball was leaving the pitchers’ hand, heads still, while unobtrusively “gathering” the momentum of the body to explode rapidly as the front foot planted firmly into the ground. (Nothing can  happen until the front foot is planted, so why have it suspended for any uncertain time.)

The back bent knee would drive forward as the front shoulder shrugged upward to start the flattening bat to proceed with the “turnstile” rotation of hips and shoulders. The front leg would straighten as the back-side momentum carried the weighted force along the twisting horizontal plane, the arms bringing the bat through the strike-zone with as much precision as the still but penetrating eyes could design.

If Chris Davis would start from this position , but avoid the stride completely, he would be more ready for any pitch thrown to him. Then he would simply plant his front foot, and let the rest of his swing occur in its otherwise majestic sequence.  With his natural power ( not needing to be steroid enhanced) Chris is the front-runner to legitimately replicate the Bonds’ mystique and carve out a niche in Baseball’s legendary “Hall of Heroes.” But only if he changes his false-impression of “proper hitting technique”!

He must incorporate a new stance, and approach to the ball with thought-processes and actions of the scientific application of the proper batting mechanics practiced most consistently by Barry, and Mark (the vanguard to such scientific-artistry being attributable  to Ted Williams).

It would be a shame if Chris Davis follows in the foot-steps of Shawn Green and fails to fulfill his Baseball Destiny. Chris, “’tis but a little thing, Dropped in the heart’s deep well; The good, the joy that it may bring, Eternity shall tell.”

Coming Soon: The ONLY practical way for M.L.B. to stop the “Bean-ball”!