Today, Frank Thomas became the 21st player in MLB history to hit 500 home runs. The question immediately arises--is Thomas a hall of famer.
The case against him is not so much a direct case but an indictment of the whole era. Basically does the steroid era make Thomas's impressive numbers...well...not so impressive. Does 500 homers still matter?
I think it still does but in my mind Thomas was a hall of famer even before he reached 500 home runs. In fact the steroid era ultimately helps him. The fact remains that Thomas has never been linked directly or indirectly to steroids. His numbers look legit and I think not having a ballooned numbers only reinforces the notion that his stats are on the up and up.
The bottom line is that Thomas was putting up impressive (even monster) numbers prior to the Steroid Era (post '95 strike). This led him to back to back MVP awards ('93 & '94). He has finished in the top 5 in MVP voting 4 other times (including last year). Granted since 2001 his career has been hit or miss with seasons almost completely non-existent--many due to injuries. And to be kind he has a reputation even in Chicago of being a selfish brat. Personally he has never done my much for me.
Nevertheless he is a first ballot hall of famer. He was one of the most feared hitters in the AL for many seasons. Just consider that his career batting stats are as follows: .303(BA)/.423(On-base)/.562(slugging). That is impressive...no matter the era.
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3 comments:
Way to go out on a limb Maddux--The Big Hurt's a first ballot hall of famer. No shit. Yes, he was 2 time MVP, has 500 HRs now, the stats, blah blah blah; but what matters the most to me was what you said, he was one of the most feared bats in the league for, what? an 8 or so year stretch? Honestly, this was before my time (baseball-wise at least), but he was the most dominant right-handed batter from that era, wasn't he? And behind probably Griffey and maybe the pre-steroids Bonds, one of the most dominant bats of the 90s, period. Now, if you really want to impress me with an argument, convince me that Craig Biggio deserves a spot in the Hall.
You want to talk about 90s bats, two words...
Bash Brothers
It's funny you'd say that--about 2 minutes after I posted that reply I thought of Canseco. But, like Rafael Palmeiro, I'm throwing him out of my consideration because he's a documented juicer. So, to get back to one of the points I think Maddux was making, I guess to me the numbers aren't as important as your impact on the game and... not cheating. Which also leads into my belief that Biggio isn't a HOF'er--has he ever even been the best player on his own teams? Or maybe I just hate the Astros and so I never game him a chance--I'm curious to hear an argument on his behalf (other than he's been pretty good for a really long time and had the good fortune of staying healthy so he put up some big numbers).
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