Frank Thomas vs. Jim Thome
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by user Joebook
After the 2005 season, the Chicago White Sox parted ways with the greatest player in the history of their franchise. Frank Thomas is the all-time leader for the Sox in many offensive categories, including HR, total bases, doubles, RBI, walks, runs, etc. Thomas signed with the Oakland Athletics, marking the first time in his 17-year career that he changed cities.
The White Sox traded popular CF Aaron Rowand to the Phillies for slugger Jim Thome, marking the end of the Frank Thomas era in Chicago. Thome was coming off an injury-marred 2005 season, which was the first year since 1995 that he didn't have at least 30 home runs.
Thome got off to a fantastic start, compiling 30HR and 77RBI by the all-star break. The White Sox were hot and felt that they upgraded their offense with the star DH.
Thomas struggled out of the gate, hitting .190 in April and only .238 at the break. His 19HR led the team, but the A's were in need of more offense in the second half of the season.
Since that time, Thome has put up .269-11-25 compared to Thomas' .320-19-59. The White Sox have a sub-.500 record since July 13 and the A's are in first place.
Compare their season totals:
Thomas: .279-38-105 with 74 runs, a .957 OPS and a BB/K ratio of 1.04
Thome: .287-41-102 with 105 runs, a 1.015 OPS and a BB/K ratio of 0.73
But the most important numbers of all don't show up on the stat page.
Thome's base salary? Just more than $14 million. Thomas? $500,000.
So would the White Sox have been better off keeping Frank Thomas?
Due to the fact that Thomas wore out his welcome with White Sox GM and hard-ass Kenny Williams, probably not. Thome is a clubhouse guy, and one of the genuinely good guys in baseball. His acquisition after the re-signing of Paul Konerko did wonders for the organization's view of improving a World Series winner.
The numbers are partially misleading, because Thomas will receive incentives that will pay him nearly $5 million, and the Phillies are eating part of Thome's contract. Thome is also two years younger than the Big Hurt, and that probably was part of the decision.
The other key to look at is Rowand's replacement in center for the White Sox. Rookie Brian Anderson has struggled with the bat all season. He's a future Gold Glove winner, but the offense at the bottom of Chicago's lineup has been awful. Anderson was hitting .192 at the all-star break, and has done little since.
I'm not going to say that I wasn't excited when the Sox brought Thome in, but watching Thomas light up the scoreboard in Oakland proves that the two players, when healthy, aren't far from each other... except that Thome will be in Peoria, IL in two weeks watching Thomas hit bombs in the playoffs.
Date
Wed 09/20/06, 12:56 pm EST
