Farmer Fred Talks Baseball

One afternoon as I walked by, Saw Fred staring at the sky. I stopped and shouted out a “Hi!” Fred gave me a wave and beckoned me nigh. I had no place I had to be. So, I wondered over for to see, What it was Fred wanted of me. Would you like a beer? I have a few on ice right here. So, we sat beneath a maple tree And this is what Fred shared with me. “I’ve been cogitating on some numbers. Ruth hit 60 back in 27 Took till 61 for Maris to hit 61 Ford Frick gave it the asterisk Because baseball went from 154 to 162 Games that is, and it took Maris all 162 The record to break Now it held up till 98 When Sosa and McGwire hit 66 and 70 In 99 they hit 63 and 65 respectively All of this was undone in 01 When Bonds hit 73 All these homeruns seemed an anomaly Then Conseco spilled the truth All these guys were on the juice In plain and simple terms To break the records, they defeated Each of them had actually cheated Numbers often tell a story When numbers shift in great proportion There is always an explanation for the distortion.” Then Fred reached down and grabbed a stick. Waved it around as if he were performing a trick. Next, he started writing on the ground, When he was done, I looked down and found: 52.6 53.3 50.2 55.2 49.0 51.2 56.7 58.2 54.9 55.7 66.8 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Now what is this I inquired of Fred? This is what Fred said. I first voted in 1980 So, each year’s voter turnout I have listed. See in 2020 the numbers shift in great proportion And I can only think of one explanation for the distortion.