In 2013, former Mariner Wladimir Balentien broke Sadaharu Oh’s 49-year old single-season homerun record in Japan, hitting 60 homers over the course of a 144-game schedule. The story trickled out to US news services with an asterisk firmly attached. The narrative went something like this: yes, he broke the record, but only because the ball was juiced. In fact, once …
