PEDs not only improve your bat speed, but they also allow for faster recovery, game to game. You are more fresh for the next game. This is crucial to a long 162 game season. Especially late in someone’s career (Bonds).
“PEDs not only improve your bat speed”
You can’t find the studies anymore. But Nicotine does slightly improve reaction time just outside the statistical noise range.
Enough so that a .250 batter might get to say .260. Also helps shortstops, etc. get a better jump on a hit ball.
So I wonder if chewing tobacco was the original PED.