Plot of the Week 2

Here is a plot showing the top offensive performances by year for MLB, divided into the American League (AL) and National League (NL), and NBA.  For baseball, I plot the home run leaders for each year since 1947.  For basketball, I plot the scoring title winner's points per game.  Because the NBA is played over 2 calendar years, I plot the year that the season started in (i.e., Kevin Durant just won the scoring title for 2011-2012, which is plotted as 2011).

A few quick notes on this graph:

• There is a lot of variability - good luck trying to predict the number of home runs the leader will have after this season.
• 1961 was a great year for individual performances:
• Roger Maris hit 61 home runs
• Wilt Chamberlain averaged 50.4 PPG
• There is a clear rise in the number of home runs between 1995 and 2008-ish, representing the  steroid age.  There is no increase in scoring for the NBA during this time frame.

Now's the time to sound really smart and comment about what I may have missed.