An article on Editor and Publisher points out that Bonds' large arm apparatus may have contributed to his consistency and power.

Michael Witte, an illustrator who has worked with The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated and The Wall Street journal, argues that Bonds has been aided by the armor on his right arm. Bonds claims that it protects his arm, but others have argued that it allows him to get closer to the plate in order to reach the outside pitch. Witte says that it has benefited him in other ways as well, markedly by keeping his arm locked and adding more weight to power the ball. There is no scientific data, but Witte does make an interesting case.

This wouldn't be the first time athletes have used devices to lock in their form. Basketball players use shooting sleeves, golfers practice with clubs that collapse if their form is off, and I even had a stiff joysticked Playstation 2 controller that aided my Tiger Woods '04 swing. To each his own...

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