5 Reasons Why Frank Thomas is A First Ballot Hall of Famer

The White Sox did the right thing Sunday and honored the greatest hitter in White Sox history Frank Thomas. Frank Thomas was everything the modern superstar was: selfish, controversial, and larger than life. But Thomas was also something else: the best pure hitter of his generation and a first ballot hall of famer. I’ll explain why.

1. He was clean – This is debatable I’m sure but the fact of the matter is there has never been so much as a whisper about Thomas doping. Canseco, who played with the White Sox for a season, and has been responsible for outing so many people in baseball never accused Thomas of using which should speak volumes. Thomas was always a big kid and his numbers never suggested he was juicing. He once went from 24 to 41 homeruns but his RBI’s only went up 13 in that time. His numbers did what they should have done: they leveled out and stayed consistent until old age and injury caught up with him. Playing in the Steroids era is enough to make everyone take a bigger and closer look.

2. 30/100/100/100 – That’s 30 home runs, 100 runs, 100 RBI and 100 walks. Frank Thomas did it 7 times in his career. Ted Williams did it 6 times. 9 times he hit 30 and drove in 100. Mickey Mantle did it twice. Thomas had 10 season where he hit over .300, the same amount of times Willie Mays did it.

3. .419 On Base Percentage – This is remarkable. His on base percentage ranks 21st all time, 20th if you disregard Barry Bonds inflated numbers. He also ranks 18th on the all time home run list but if you take out the players who were juicing, Thomas would rank 12th. He ranks 22nd on the all-time list in RBI but could rank as high as 18 had it not been for juicing. He’s 10th in walks and he ranks 71st on the all time list for runs scored, not a bad place for a slow moving first baseman.

4. Top 50 War – In his career Frank Thomas was worth 75 more wins than your average replacement. That’s good enough for 42nd all time. He’s 39th all time in total bases ahead of Mickey Mantle and Roberto Clemente. He ranks 24 all time in slugging percentage. And he ranks 15 all time in on-base plus slugging. His career numbers compare to that of Jimmie Foxx and Mickey Mantle, two no doubt about it hall of famers.

5. Forget the Field – There is no need to concern yourself with the fact that Frank didn’t field his position. We measure greatness by awards so is it important the he play the position or play it well. Assuming Manny Ramirez had been clean would his hall candidacy be more legit than Thomas because he was a defensive liability but at least he played? Most guys who can hit are barely asked to play their position. Sure, Gold Gloves help. Junior has 10, Torii Hunter has 9, Maddux has over 12 but when it comes down to it you shouldn’t have to have one to get in. If the DH isn’t a real position than it should be eliminated but you shouldn’t ask someone to do it and then not acknowledge how great they were at it.

August 29, 2010 – Michael Cahill The White Sox did the right thing Sunday and honored the greatest hitter in White Sox history Frank Thomas. Frank Thomas was everything the modern superstar was: selfish, controversial, and larger than life. But Thomas was also something else: the best pure hitter of his generation and a first [...]