Craig Counsell's 2018 Quote About PED Era Proves Prescient as Older MLB Hitters Decline

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell made a prescient observation in 2018 when he noted that the prevalence of performance-enhancing drugs in the early 2000s artificially extended the careers of older players, a phenomenon he called "the PED era fooled us a little bit." Data from 2026 supports this assessment: players 35 and older have contributed only 5.6 WAR through roughly the first third of the season, compared to 71.3 WAR in 2003. The dramatic decline in productivity among aging hitters reflects multiple contributing factors identified by the Associated Press, including the rise of analytical decision-making in front offices, league-wide increases in average pitch speed, and player inflexibility in adapting training techniques from their 20s to 30s. However, the article argues that mandatory PED testing—which eliminated the pharmaceutical advantages that helped older players like Barry Bonds (who won his last MVP at age 40 in 2004) maintain elite performance—remains an underacknowledged factor in this shift. The data suggests PEDs not only helped players recover from injuries but significantly enhanced on-field performance, making the comparison between the PED era and modern baseball fundamentally unequal.