BASEBALL Schmidt voices opinion

He says it's not steroids, but the parks, bats and balls make the difference.
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) -- Mike Schmidt refused to blame steroids for the increase in home runs in the major leagues -- or for his diminishing stature on the career homer list.
"Leave steroids out of it," Schmidt said Sunday. "There's a simple explanation why the home run totals are what they are, and the guys that are hitting would agree with me -- it's park size, hard baseballs and hard bats."
Since the Hall of Fame third baseman retired in 1989 with the seventh-most home runs (548), he has been passed by four players -- Barry Bonds (703), Mark McGwire (583), Sammy Sosa (574) and Rafael Palmeiro (551). Several others could move ahead of Schmidt in the next five years.
"Guys are passing me like I was a car on the freeway," said Schmidt, a spring training instructor for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Add up to more homers
Schmidt estimates the smaller ball parks and the equipment help elite power hitters add 10-12 home runs more per season than those of his generation -- or about 150 more career homers.
But he's quick to note that he isn't bitter over the evolution of the long ball.
"That's an honest answer. That's not a chip on the shoulder [or] an old timer whining about things," Schmidt said. "We're not blaming the kids that are playing the game now. They are great hitters. They are further along fundamentally as hitters at this point in their careers than we were in the old days. Everything is better about the game now. They are bigger, stronger and they work out harder."
Schmidt also insists these changes make it harder to compare players from different eras.
Different conditions
"We all know any discussion about whether Henry Aaron is a better hitter than Barry Bonds is ridiculous because of the conditions under which both played," he said.
"The environment in which they played is so totally different, you can't compare."
When it comes to selecting players for the Hall of Fame, Schmidt said players need to be judged against their peers and that statistical thresholds are less crucial.
For the second straight time, the revamped Veterans Committee did not select anyone for the Hall.
"Isn't it funny? I guess we're not letting anybody in," said Schmidt, who voted for 283-game winner Jim Kaat and Joe Torre. "I think it should be tough to get in. A Hall of Fame player is the best at his position for a long, long time.
"If I had my way, no one would ever get in the Hall of Fame again," he said.