Hello everyone. I am physically disabled and I use voice recognition software. Unfortunately recently I had a computer crash, and all of the names I had custom added over the previous three years had been lost (I know, I really, really should have backed it up). I upgraded the software I was using, and have found out that I can add a custom word list. So instead of getting "on the airbase as" every time I say Javier Baez, once I had added the list, it should be correct. I appreciate it.

Quick precursor: I am a Giants fan who spent my formative years watching Bonds break baseball in the early 2000s, so I may be biased.

I think most baseball fans do recognize that Bonds' numbers do put him as the best (or at least top 3) player of all time. Even the most ardent supporters of firing all steroid users into the sun will say that 762 is a larger number than 755.

However, my frustration with discourse surrounding Bonds is how his career is invalidated because of steroid use. This is dumb for several reasons:

(as a quick note, I will now be referring to all steroids, greenies, amphetamines, HGH, etc as PEDs, or performance enhancing drugs, to hopefully keep my arguments about different eras less confusing).

1. It is commonly believed that Bonds started using PEDs in 1999, both as a way to help him recover from a knee injury, as well as due to jealousy of the attention that Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire were getting in the home run chase of 1998. Assuming this is correct, Bonds was still the best baseball player of the 90s and a surefire inner-circle Hall of Famer if he retired after the '98 season. OPS+ (adjusted on-base plus slugging) is a metric that measures how much better a player is offensively than average. 100 is set as average, and every point deviating from 100 is a percentage off the average. From 1990-1998, Bonds posted a 181 OPS+ (or 81% better than average in that timeframe). That was the best mark of that era, and would be 4th all time total career OPS+ behind Babe Ruth (206), Ted Williams (191), and Oscar Charleston (184). Ken Griffey Jr, the best comparison for Bonds in the 90s posted a 154 OPS+ in the same timeframe.

2. EVERYONE used PEDs from the late 80s through the early 2000s. Yes, I mean everyone. No, I don't have any proof that your favorite player used PEDs. But the culture surrounding Major League Baseball at the time implicitly allowed players to gain any chemical advantage that they could. People knew about this. The Simpsons made a joke in the softball episode where Mark McGwire asked the residents of Springfield if they wanted to know the truth, or wanted to watch him hit home runs. The truth of the matter is, Major League Baseball owes its life to the PED-fueled home run races of the 90s after the strike-shortened 1994 season. Though use of various PEDs (not all, mind you) were against the rules, no commissioner was going to enforce the ban, suspending the players that were saving baseball from t

Hello r/baseball!

I'm John Thorn, the official historian of Major League Baseball—and, today, a featured player in the launch of MLB’s “Quick Question” YouTube series. Ask Me Anything!

PROOF

I have loved baseball all my life, growing up as a Brooklyn Dodgers fan but shifting grudgingly to the Mets long, long ago. I have always found a special joy in the game’s storied past. The deadball era gripped my interest some 40 years ago and then I retreated into the 19th century, with a focus on baseball’s formative years.

Today’s Quick Question video is about the evolution of ballparks, but feel free to ask me anything that interests you as a fan—from what it was about Fenway Park that inspired the Yankees to go out and get Babe Ruth (yes, ballpark effect was perceived even then) to how it feels to have the greatest job in the world, apart from center field for the Angels.

MLB is relaunching their YouTube channel to feature tons of original, insightful and fun content, starting with Quick Question today. Be sure to keep up with their channel to see everything coming (including me in more Quick Question episodes.): http://youtube.com/mlb

Looking forward to your questions!

1:02 ET - I'm ready to go!

2:03 ET: I'm finishing up! Thanks so much everyone

Welcome to r/baseball's Players of the Week feature! We have one Voter from each team, and we vote each week on the best hitting and pitching performances in both the American League and the National League. This week (August 5th through August 11th) we had 29 Votes.

Our Voters are charged with a simple question: Which MLB players had the best week in each of our four categories?

All stats are from Baseball-Reference.com's excellent Daily Game Log Finder tool.

We Are Hiring: We are currently in need of a Voter from the Boston Red Sox. If you can commit to Voting each Monday (during the Regular Season) and believe that you have a good awareness of the entire League, please send me a DM!

Mobile-Friendly Week 20 Results

American League Hitter of the Week: Jorge Soler

Power City, Baby: In an otherwise uneventful season, Jorge Soler has given Royals fans a lot to be excited about, as he nears the Royals' long-held HR record from Mike Moustakas' 36-HR campaign in 2018. MLB.com breaks down the looming record and what it means for the righty.

From The Voters: "Using my homer vote on Soler. Watching him one handed and off balance sling shot breaking balls out of tbe park has been the highlight of a frustrating year." - u/JackieStealsHome

From The Voters: "Ok so like, I'm pretty sure that Mike Tauchman isn't actually better than Mike Trout, but he has a .411/.482/.822 slash line since the All-Star Break so I can't be completely sure." - u/aweinschenker

National League Hitter of the Week: Aristides Aquino

Trust me, I checked