a few more thoughts...
this is another effect of the steroid era. Back in the 70's and 80's...a hitter was a slugger if he hit 25 home runs. But then 'roids kicked in en masse and 40 HR became the number. Guys that only hit 25 were considered lightweights in the power department. A first baseman or corner outfielder that only hit 300 career HR's is not considered worthy of the Hall of Fame
the supplements also raised the typical batting average of sluggers. 15 to 20 fly balls that were previously outs now sailed over the fence for home runs.
also Coors Field plus some of the other small ballparks skewed HR numbers as well.
perhaps on the flipside was the WGN (Cubs) and TBS (Braves) effect in the 80's and 90's. Players on those teams got a boost in reputation because they were on TV all the time. The legend so to speak exceeded the production. And conversely that hurt players from that era (particularly in the 80's) that weren't on national TV each week