Homeruns, 1998 vs. 1934, and Greenland

Homerun Weather

Homeruns are down all around baseball this year. While there were 11 players that hit more than 40 homeruns last year, only four are on pace this year -- and, overall, the entire league is on pace to hit 578 fewer homeruns than last year. So what does this have to do with global weather?

Some speculate that the COOLER weather this year may have something to do with it. From a recent ESPN article: "Lawson contends that offensive cycles generally span decades (the 1930s, '50s and '90s were particularly kind to hitters) and are related to climate changes. In a nutshell, hot, thinner air helps a baseball travel farther. Cool temperatures and denser air are a deterrent to offense."

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=2973727

CYCLES. Cool temperatures. Recall the Cleveland-Seattle series that got SNOWED out earlier this year? Or that 64 degree game start temperature in Philadelphia on the 10th of August?

1934 vs. 1998

But I thought we were in the middle of a warming trend? What about all those charts that show temperatures skyrocketing over the next 20 some-odd years? Got me. 1998 was touted as the hottest year on record which means for the past ten years we've been beneath that peak. So that's not upward. However, it's come to light that 1998 wasn't the hottest year on record. That distinction actually belongs to 1934.

http://www.norcalblogs.com/watts/2007/08/guest_weblog_a_report_from_the.html
http://washingtontimes.com/article/20070813/COMMENTARY08/108130024/1012/commentary
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/246027

It interesting that the global warming activists have been so narrow-sighted. the 1930's were littered with scorching temperatures, droughts (recall the Dust Bowl?), and drastic weather shifts during the winter (these days that would be called "unpredictable" and a sure sign that warming was active).

http://kyky.essortment.com/dustbowl_rcmk.htm

And go figure that the 1930s are cited above as an active period for homeruns. What's actually a bit ironic is the fact that during the 20's and 30's there were journalists writing about global warming -- or whatever they may have called it back then. I wonder what they thought when the world didn't melt away. Maybe they forgot when WWII refocused their attention?

http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070814/NATION02/108140063

Greenland Trends

Perhaps the fears of our ancestors stemmed from reports of warming in Greenland, a trend that lasted from 1881 - 1955 -- you know, when there was the big craze for cross-country treks in SUVs. Temperatures in Greenland have actually been cooler since than during that time frame and, in fact, one report cited an increase in ice in Greenland's interior.

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.Blogs&ContentRecord_id=175b568a-802a-23ad-4c69-9bdd978fb3cd