I am no Barry Bonds apologist. I am not from the Bay Area. But here’s what I do know: Major League Baseball itself was unintentionally complicit in supporting Barry’s chase for history. The real culprit, as argued by Kennesaw State University economist J.C. Bradbury, is league expansion.

Bradbury points out that in the mid-1990s, MLB added new franchises in Tampa Bay, Miami, Colorado and Arizona, thus expanding the total number of teams from 26 to 30. Over one hundred former minor league players suddenly found themselves playing baseball in the big leagues. Marginal utility players were rewarded with everyday spots in the batting order. And a whole class of pitchers that hadn’t quite made the cut before were now middle relievers and bottom-of-the-rotation starters. Bradbury goes further, citing Harvard biologist Stephen Jay Gould, who argues that increased variance in the quality of ballplayers created opportunities for great performances, like Barry’s 70 homeruns in 2001.

For a few years, there was a whole group of major league ballplayers who by previous standards had no business being in the big leagues. All Bonds did was take advantage.

But, that is not the end of the story. The late 1990s also saw a rapid increase in the number of foreign players in the Major Leagues. Whereas before 1990s, the rate of growth of baseball’s talent pool was roughly equal to the rate of growth of the American population, during the 1990s, the number of potential ballplayers exploded. The expansion of the 1990s gave these new international superstars a place to play. In the long-term, each spot on a major league roster will be more hotly contested than ever before, despite expansion.

But Barry Bonds happened to be playing baseball at a special time in its history. Look around the league today, and most of the superstars are foreign-born: Albert Pujols, Ichiro, A-Rod, Big Papi, Johan Santana, Jose Reyes—the list goes on and on. In the late 1990s, the foreign expansion had not quite hit. In 2007, 246 major league players had been born outside of the United States, accounting for 29% of the league. In 1997, only 19% of ballplayers were foreign-born. For a few years, there was a whole group of major league ballplayers who by previous standards had no business being in the big leagues. All Bonds did was take advantage.

And, as the talent pool of ballplayers continues to expand, one would expect for the gaudy offensive numbers of the late 1990s and early 2000s to become a thing of history, leaving behind a record book riddled with footnotes that warn of juiced balls and steroids. Barry Bonds and his drug-taking cohorts, whoever they may have been, will all be further vilified, as the correlation between decreased production and increased steroids testing will seem too enticing for the media, and for the fans. Major League Baseball will take all of the credit, claiming that a successful testing regime is the culprit of the deflated offensive numbers.

I love the game of baseball, and I hate the cloud that steroids have placed over the game. However, performance enhancing drugs have been around the game for a long time, and they will be around for a long time to come. I understand that there does seem to be some qualitative difference between the amphetamines of the 1960s and the designer steroids of the 1990s, but I think as fans we have to accept that some players would do anything to get an edge, to get a paycheck. Hell, so would we. But, better drugs didn’t get Barry to 756 and they won’t get him to 800. Barry Bonds was a superstar ballplayer who played at a time when offense was at an all-time high. And, there is nothing but league expansion (and, therefore, the commissioner’s office) that can be blamed for that.

Scott Ganz is a Research Assistant in economic and fiscal policy at the American Enterprise Institute and a lifelong baseball fan.

Image credit: Photo by flickr user brunkfordbraun.

Main page feature image of Bonds by flickr user cybertaur1.