To start with, this guy was huge. His bat was huge. His impact was huge. The likelihood of this monster walking into the Hall of Fame is also… (guess what? )…Huge.
Frank Thomas was amongst the most feared hitters of the 1990s. It may be safe to say that only Ken Griffey Jr. struck more fear into the minds of American league pitchers. From 1991-2000 the 6’5” 260lb. first baseman won two consecutive American League MVP awards (’94, ’95), was a five-time All Star, and batted over .340 three times.
Thomas’ multifaceted attack of power, patience, and prowess places him amongst the immortals as one of the most dominant hitters of all time; and a sure-fire candidate for Cooperstown.
In the strike-shortened 1994 season, “The Big Hurt” finished the season with 38 long balls and over 100 RBI. Not many people can do that in 162 games; let alone 113.
While Thomas’ numbers dropped dramatically with age, he still managed to maintain a .301 career batting average. Including that stat only makes his 521 Home Runs, 1704 RBI and 2468 Hits seem that much gaudier.
Frank Thomas finishes his 19 year career ranked 19th in career homers, 22nd in RBI, 11th in On Base Percentage, and ninth all-time in Walks. He has a World Series ring from the 2005 White Sox title year. Though he only played 34 games that season due to injury, he still managed 12 big flies and 26 RBI and was a powerful bench presence.
It is true that he had very limited ability at first base and fit the mold of a career DH far better. However, his defense wasn’t the liability some may have called it – He was just big and lacked range. There are far worse fielders in Cooperstown.
Thomas always seemed to perform better when penciled in as the first baseman rather than as the DH. And since the role of a career DH is a relatively new concept with Hall of Fame voters, the fact that he spend more time at First Base than as a Designated Hitter before 2000 should help him.
I have compiled a short list of “Hall of Fame First Baseman whose numbers compare favorably to Big Frank’s. Just about all of these guys would have loved the option of DHing – had it been around in their day. Despite missing time do to WWII, Johnny Mize and Hank Greenberg posted comparable seasons and career stats.
(Other Hall of Fame First Basemen like George Sisler, Harmon Killebrew, and Eddie Murray can also be figured into such lists.)
Photo: Sports Illustrated - Archival image
Big Frank and Steroids
The steroid debate is going to be an issue surrounding every new Hall of Fame candidate who played in the 90s and ‘2K-0s. Frank will become eligible in 2014. For Frank Thomas however, the questions have pretty much already been answered.
He was part of the player panel – by video phone – for the 2005 congressional investigation. His actual participation was quite minimal however. He was not on the panel due to suspicion. Thomas had been an ardent opponent to steroids in baseball. While with the White Sox he made efforts to encourage all of his teammates to openly test for performance enhancing drugs. …In some cases, possibly pushing too hard.
He has been poked and pricked several times and I’m sure the Chicago media would have exposed something by now had anything come out of the tests. I whole-heartedly believe he is clean.
The sagging numbers at the end of his career, similar to those of players like Ken Griffey Jr. and Pitcher Greg Maddux are refreshing signs of honesty. While some players are seen having resurgences of prior abilities, some players’ numbers still look the way those of a 40 year old man should.
Thomas has never been shy about his stance on steroids and performance-enhancing drugs. For that matter, he’s rarely been shy about anything. The gentle giant discussed his views with Maxim Magazine in 2008:
“[In November 2007, Thomas] became the only active major-league player to willingly cooperate with the [Mitchell] investigation. The reasoning was simple. “I’m completely innocent,” says Thomas. “I haven’t cheated, I haven’t considered cheating. I’m all natural and always have been. So why should I hide and protect the players who cheated? I’m thrilled to say to the world—‘I’m clean! Believe in me!’ ”
– Staff Writer. Frank Thomas is “The Natural.” (Maxim Magazine Online: 23 June 2008.)
His stance on steroids and PEDs should definitely help his HOF chances; especial because it takes some very serious concerns off the table. With names like Harmon Killebrew, Johnny Mize and Hack Wilson in the Hall of Fame, I figure Frank Thomas is pretty much a sure thing.
Hall of Fame
The only thing that will work against The Big Hurt is the extent to which he played as a DH. In 2010, seven-time All Star and two-time batting champion Edgar Martinez got less than half of the required votes for HOF induction (36.2 percent). Martinez played 11 of his 18 seasons as Seattle’s Designated Hitter. He compiled a .312 career batting average and over 500 doubles and is a definite candidate for the Hall, but the DH-only status is going to hold him back.
Big Frank’s numbers do glow brighter than Martinez’s but due to his role in the batting order, how much brighter?
During the last seven seasons of his 21 year career, Hall of Famer Paul Molitor appeared primarily as a DH. Molitor was never a great fielder – like Thomas – but did play a defensive position as much as he designated hit. He also had 3,300 hits, something Thomas doesn’t have, and something that basically guarantees a plague in Cooperstown.
Photo: FrankThomas.com and Reebok International - 1996
Thomas was utterly dominant in the 1990s and deserves to be included amongst baseball’s immortals. Whether he is a first ballot submission or the DH title weighs him down for a couple years, I think it is safe to say one of the greatest hitters ever has decided to hang up his Reeboks this week.
February 17th, 2010 at 2:56 am
TEAR!!!! Im so sad he is retiring. Awesome article!