The two statistics that stand out most are his Slugging Percentage and his Barry Bonds like Home Runs per At Bat rate. In a 500 at bat season, he’s on pace to hit an astronomical 59 home runs. Not too shabby for a player that has averaged only 8.8 home runs per season. When asked about his play after hitting his 12th home run in his 29th game he said:

“I don’t know. I’m not really changing anything, my approach or anything. I just try to hit the ball hard somewhere and they’re starting to fly over the fence.”

Lets look at it a different way. Babe Ruth hit a home run every 11.67 at bats. Over Mauer’s 6 year career, excluding this year, he has hit a home run every 46.79 at bats. This season he is hitting a home run every 8.5 at bats. In the steroid era, this is a red flag.

Check out his jump in home run rate.

Check out his jump in slugging percentage.

It’s hard to look at Joe Mauer’s change in power as a natural progression. It is likely that Joe’s big bat will cool down as the season plays on, but baseball and steroids go hand in hand and people will always wonder.

Related posts:

1. Big Mami?
2. Up Up And Away
3. Not So PERfect