Is Frank Thomas a First Ballot Hall of Famer?

Now that the Toronto Blue Jays have released perennial slugger Frank Thomas for no real good reason, analysts across the country are talking about how much of a lock for the Hall of Fame Thomas is.

One analyst on ESPN Radio claimed, “He is without a doubt a first ballot Hall of Famer.”

Thomas may be one of the best hitters of the 1990’s, but he is certainly not on the same level as Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. (the most recent first ballot Hall of Famers).

Thomas has had a solid career and while many are mentioning him in the same sentence with the likes of Mel Ott, Ted Williams and Babe Ruth, he doesn’t exactly stack up to those legendary players when the whole picture is taken into account.

If a person is looking simply at statistics then Thomas should be in the same sentence as those greats, but when time periods are taken into account, Thomas may not even be in the same paragraph.

With ballparks smaller than ever and an emphasis on the long ball taking hold with nearly every club, one has to wonder if Thomas’ numbers can translate through baseball time periods.

Personally, I would put Thomas in the Hall of Fame and would vote for him every year he was on the ballot. (This is the technique ESPN’s Jayson Stark told me he uses and it makes more sense than anyone else’s.)

The problem for Thomas is that there are many people who do not vote for a person every year they are on the ballot. They believe some players are first ballot Hall of Famers and others are not. Thomas is most likely not going to swing these votes.

The six time All-Star is amazingly forgotten about when talk of the top nineties hitters, or home run hitters for that matter, comes up. The problem with this is that he is one of the few large hitters from the nineties who have not been suspected of taking steroids.

He won the hearts of the baseball writers before when they voted him the MVP of the American League twice, but those times seem forgotten except by those die hard fans on the south side of Chicago.

To be a first ballot Hall of Famer, many believe that a player has to rank very high on the career list of players in many categories.

(Thomas ranks 70 th in runs scored, 39 th in total bases, 53 rd in doubles, 18 th in home runs, ninth in walks, 27 th in intentional walks, 24 th in extra-base hits, 31 st in times on base and fifth in sacrifice flies according to Baseball-Reference.com.)   Unfortunately for Thomas, he is playing in an era when hitting 500 home runs (Thomas has 516) does not necessarily punch your ticket to the Hall.

What happened during the past week between Thomas and the Blue Jays says more about the Jays’ front office than it does Thomas.

While it may not be right for a player to complain publicly about how much they are playing or where in the lineup they are slated, a team should not release a player for one incident.

Thomas has no history of being a clubhouse cancer and has always been considered a great teammate.

If Thomas’ career is over and no one else takes a chance on him, he will no doubt have a plaque in Cooperstown within the decade. It’s just a question of whether he can get there in five years.

In Related News:

If the Blue Jays are looking for a new designated hitter, they may need to look no farther than the “all-time” home run king, Barry Bonds, who remains without a job. Bonds claims that he still wants to play and that it would only take him a couple of weeks to get his legs back under him in the batter’s box.

KelsdadAll-Star

586 days ago

Score -2

No

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BilljordanivSoccer Kid

586 days ago

Score 0

Thanks for your opinion. Would you put him in the Hall, but not on the first ballot?

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KelsdadAll-Star

586 days ago

Score 0

Personally, I wouldn't put him in, and my reasons are the same as not putting in Jim Thome...the DH.

Thomas stopped being a full time position player in 1997, (his rookie year was 1990). In essence, he only played 8 full seasons as a complete player. While there is no questioning his skills offensively, the sole reason he has reached the numbers he has is because of the DH, which in my opinion is an unfair advantage. It is far easier to maintain a level of offensive performance when you're not out on the field busting your ass defensively when it's 100 degrees, or raining, or a day game after a night game. And let's also not forget Thomas was a below average defensive player, that little tidbit needs to be considered as well.

If you take the DH out of the equation, two things would have happened, he either would have been out of the game long ago, possibly before he was even HOF eligible, or he would have played at a far less offensive production rate because of having to play the field. Look at Fred McGriff's numbers, here is a guy not many people consider HOF worthy, yet his career games total is very similar to Thomas's, and his offensive production, while not to Frank's now, likely would have surpassed Thomas' had he been a full time defender.

While I think both Thomas and Thome will be elected, I don't believe either to be HOF caliber players. They accumulated statistical numbers because of a rule that not even all of baseball recognizes.

It's called the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Very Fortunate.

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Manny StilesMajor Leaguer

585 days ago

Score 0

Is Edgar Martinez getting into the hall, KD?

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KelsdadAll-Star

585 days ago

Score 0

Absolutely not. No chance.

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BilljordanivSoccer Kid

585 days ago

Score 0

Good argument. The DH is hard for me to digest because if they go in, they should go in as a DH.

One problem with Thomas is (if you've read Moneyball) that he played better when he was playing first base for the White Sox than when he was the DH. It's too bad that he didn't get more time. Obviously later in his career he became a defensive liability which is yet another problem with comparing him with the likes of Ruth and Williams. They didn't have an opportunity to prolong their career by sitting on the bench during half of the game. Edgar Martinez is not in the Hall for me either because he was only a DH during his entire career.

That said...I think he will get in. Not the first ballot, but he will get in.

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KelsdadAll-Star

585 days ago

Score 0

He was playing better at first than at DH because he was healthy, and even in his prime was a poor fielder. One DH in the Hall (Paul Molitor) is enough, thankyou.

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BilljordanivSoccer Kid

585 days ago

Score 0

I would have to agree with you on that. The Sox also played better with him in the field as well. It's already rediculous that DHs are getting paid like full time players and being considered for the MVP. They don't need to be in Cooperstown.

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Anonymous Fanatic #1

497 days ago

Score 1

Thats absurd to say that Designated Hitters do not need to be in Cooperstown. You can't ignore the offensive stats he has posted over the years. Should we keep closers out too since they only come in for a few outs occasionally at the end of the game therefore eliminating M.Rivera probably the best closer ever? Or how about we keep out every pitcher that pitched in the A.L. since they didn't have to bat because that is rIdiculous that they get paid like full-time players. You realize how stupid that sounds? He is the all-time leader for homeruns at the DH position and that is only counting the hrs he hit while being penciled in at DH. I could go on all day but that is just some food for thought.

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BilljordanivSoccer Kid

453 days ago

Score 0

The designated hitter isn't the issue here since he would be entering the hall as such, but one would assume that if a player is a designated hitter, they should hit better than anyone else because that's all they do.

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Anonymous Fanatic #2

80 days ago

Score 0

doesnt matter if he a DH or not it all comes down to is he worthy and was he a good enofe player which he was good but idk bout the hall but he should be atleast brought up in the topic he was good enofe for that

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Anonymous Fanatic #3

60 days ago

Score 0

I find it ridiculous that people argue against The Big Hurt simply due to his position as designated hitter towards the end of his career. If it's a position in the league it should be regarded as any other. He didn't create it, he just played. Someone has to! I have to agree with the similar thoughts of Anonymous Fanatic #1 and that of pitchers who close or don't hit. In addition, the DH argument is just ludicrous if you look at the beginning of his career and what he accomplished while playing on the field. There I clearly see the collapse of the entire argument against him being a designated hitter. The man could still post good offensive stats while playing defense. There is no question. Position is a strategy choice for a team for one reason or another. Not a weapon to be held against someone.

In addition, his stats are phenomenal and only lose their luster in the HR area when compared to mostly Steroid using players recently. I think the comparisons to Ruth, Ott, and Williams are warranted. He is there on paper so why disregard him? Because the aforementioned are legends of the game? I know a certain nostalgia is associated with that, but that is something impossible for Thomas to have, being a modern era player. It is something he can only have and will have with many, many years. How can that be held against him. If you wish to, you then turn upside down the entire basis on which we elect players. Statistics. If you put nostalgia into the argument no modern era player can be compared to the likes of someone legendary like Ruth. Unless you watched the other men play and saw something most of us have not in our lifetime you have no right to make a comparison on the grounds of time periods.

I think the cynicism of his DH position will hurt him from being a first year ballot Hall of Famer, but I think he belongs and will be there at some point for certain. In addition, I feel that knowing he is clearly not a steroid using player is something that will be on his side when ballot time comes. He was a clean and great player from his time. I can't wait to see him and Griffey in.

- Justin -

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