Are we back to the good ole days in Major League Baseball where a base hit is really worth something and going from first-to-third on a single to right field is about good base running and hustle?

Why, you ask, do I pose such a question as the baseball season heads toward next week’s All-Star game in Yankee Stadium, the signal the halfway point has come and gone and the dog days of August are barking distance away?

Being a former minor league player and baseball junkie for more than four decades, I was curious to see just what affect the Mitchell Report would have on the game. Less than one full season in and seven months after the December release of the federal investigation on steroids in baseball, I believe we have an answer.

One of the top stories of the baseball season so far has been Josh Hamilton’s chase to win a Triple Crown for the first time since Yaz accomplished the feat in 1967 -- not a record home run chase.

I find it a bit ironic that Hamilton is at the center of one of the game’s best starts. Hamilton came on my radio show a few days after the Mitchell Report became public and vowed that he never used any of the juice. Did I believe him? Sure. Hamilton used plenty of other drugs and admitted to it, but guys who are 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds of solid rock with as much talent as the lefty slugger are supposed to belt dingers, not 5-9, 160-pound Brian Roberts or Brady Anderson.

What Hamilton did say was the Mitchell Report would not only put those players named, but those not named who were using on full-scale alert. More testing was on the way and additional consequences – both on the off the field -- for steroid users was in the cards.

In other words, the artificial power surge we’ve seen in MLB for more than a decade was about to come to an abrupt end. And, by all statistical information – and isn’t baseball really based on stats and not a team game – homers are down.

Chase Utley of Philadelphia is the NL leader in homers with 24 in 88 games, while Grady Sizemore of the Indians is the AL leader with 22. Paltry numbers compared to other recent seasons heading into the All-Star game.
 
And neither have been massive home run hitters early in their careers. Sizemore belted a high of 28 in 2006, while Utley had 32 the same season. Projected over the entire season at the current pace, Utley would hit 44 and Sizemore 41. Those totals would be the lowest since Matt Williams led the majors with 43 in 1994. Since both guys are not long-ball hitters by trade, neither will likely keep up their hot dinger pace over the next 60-70 games, meaning the MLB home run leader at the end of 162 games could be in the 30s.

Here’s another stat to ponder. Eight teams have hit 67 homers or fewer so far, while 18 have hit less than one home run per game. The Giants, without Barry Bonds, have just 57 homers in 89 games. Wow. Just two seasons ago, 21 major league teams hit at least a homer a game.

Is there any less excitement in baseball without Incredible Hulks? If you think so, check out the standings in just about every division. I’ll take the Tampa Bay story or Hamilton’s start over another 60-plus homer season from Bonds any day of the week.

And just think, there will be no Bronx jeers for Bonds on July 15 at Yankee Stadium.

The game is better off than a year ago without Bonds and his inflated power records. I want to know what you think.