Home runs used to mean something. But after shorter fences, rabbit balls, and toothpick bats, the home run was the only thing that mattered in baseball. (Granted, the better shape the players were in was a good contributor to this.) That fact led directly to the steriod era, which further distorted the value of the home run. Baseball is wounded forever by fascination with the big-number home run totals, just as basketball has been irrevocably demeaned by the slam dunk and the 3-point shot.
Home runs used to mean something. But after shorter fences, rabbit balls, and toothpick bats, the home run was the only thing that mattered in baseball. (Granted, the better shape the players were in was a good contributor to this.) That fact led directly to the steriod era, which further distorted the value of the home run. Baseball is wounded forever by fascination with the big-number home run totals, just as basketball has been irrevocably demeaned by the slam dunk and the 3-point shot.