To the Editor:

Re “More Juice, Less Punch,” by Jonathan R. Cole and Stephen M. Stigler (Op-Ed, Dec. 22):

Someone supposedly once asked Ty Cobb, in his retirement, how he thought he would fare against modern pitchers. Mr. Cobb opined that he would hit about .300. Only .300?, he was asked.

Mr. Cobb answered, “Well, I’m 60 now.”

Similarly, the authors cite statistics to show that Roger Clemens’s E.R.A. was a little bit worse in the eight years, beginning when he was 36, after he is accused of taking steroids.

They say this shows that the steroids didn’t really help; however, the E.R.A.’s of virtually every pitcher in Major League history have deteriorated as they passed age 36, and almost all have quit the game by age 40.

Isn’t it therefore more likely that Clemens’s likely steroid use actually prevented a far greater decline in his E.R.A.?

Donald A. Tracy
Bethesda, Md., Dec. 24, 2007

Note from KBJ: I made the same point a week ago, although not as well.