Jim Thome-Hall of Famer?

[joeyballsack]

He has 542 dingers so does he make the cut?

[El Mudo]

Career OPS of .966 and career OPS + of 148, plus an EqA of .322 of and no real suspicion of steroids....



Its a pretty definitive first ballot "yes", especially in this era

[razorboy]

I agree he is HOF. Fair or not, I kind of doubt first ballot. The BBWAA is kind of a consortium of morons.

[K.C.]

Yes. No cloud of steroids...the writers will be looking for guys free of suspicion to promote out of this era.

Thome's in.

[Ritalin]

I say no. I know he'll get in with his numbers, but was he ever one of the greatest players of his era?

Not to me.

[drjoek]

I say he gets in but not first ballot

[sarsbusdriver]

I say yes. He's a dominant slugger for a sustained period of time.

By the way, He's less than 400 strikeouts from Reggie's alltime record.

[epo]

No. Its the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Very Good.

[Earlshog]

His career is not over yet. If he stays always from injury he will wind up with 600 (he may pass Griffey who is on his last legs). That would put him number 4 non juice all time. He had a good average for a power hitter and knocked in a tons of runs. He is in.

[joeyballsack]

I think he is going to have trouble getting in because of the inflated HR #s of his era and the fact that he was not really too strong defensively.

Then again, from everything I have ever read, he seems to be a genuinely good guy which may help him with the baseball writers.

[burrben]

yes

[Earlshog]

I think he is going to have trouble getting in because of the inflated HR #s of his era and the fact that he was not really too strong defensively.

Then again, from everything I have ever read, he seems to be a genuinely good guy which may help him with the baseball writers.

If you are talking clean players (which seems to be how the HOF vote will be based going forward, agree with it or not) He will, baring injury, end up as either number one or two of his era as far as homers.

Also his fielding is underrated. He was not Don Mattingly but he was an average to dare I say above average first baseman (at least when he was with the Phillies, I really did not watch him much with Cleveland).

[EddieMoscone]

I say no. I know he'll get in with his numbers, but was he ever one of the greatest players of his era?

Not to me.

I haven't thought about it much, but list better first baseman than Thome from 95-99. Probably not many (especially if you remove roid boys Bagwell, McGuire and Palmeiro). I'm almost positive he'd be in the top 2 or 3.

[BrentfromTN1]

I grew up in NorthEast Ohio and I loved Jim Thome when he was with the Tribe. I still follow him of course and he really is a great guy. I think he should be in the HOF. It would have helped if the Indians would have won one of the World Series that he was in in '95 or '97.

[Freitag]

WordUpThome: HI MY NAME IS JI

JIM THOME

AND HOW DO YOU DO


He's in for that alone.

[TheMojoPin]

WordUpThome: HI MY NAME IS JI

JIM THOME

AND HOW DO YOU DO


He's in for that alone.

Damn right.

Plus he's likely going to be around until he hits #600. Doing that combined with his personality, all around very good to excellent (and consistent) offensive numbers and reputation as a good guy almost makes him a lock.

[BeerBandit]

He and Frank Thomas both get in. They were both fearsome for a decade +.

[razorboy]

He and Frank Thomas both get in. They were both fearsome for a decade +.

The Big Hurt was a different class of hitter than Thome.

[El Mudo]

I say yes. He's a dominant slugger for a sustained period of time.

By the way, He's less than 400 strikeouts from Reggie's alltime record.


Strikeouts aren't a bad thing

No. Its the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Very Good.


Nice cliche.

This:

Career OPS of .966 and career OPS + of 148, plus an EqA of .322

= Pretty darn great

Granted, his WARP3 is 84ish, but he's spent a lot of years as a DH

[EddieMoscone]

The Big Hurt was a different class of hitter than Thome.

When Thomas was in his prime, he was one of the best hitters of all time, not just of his era.

[Chip196]

An All-Star starter twice, Slugging percentage leader once, HR leader once, OBP leader once. Never finished first in any other significant category. I know he compliled a lot of stats, but this definitely hurts him if I were voting.

[El Mudo]

When Thomas was in his prime, he was one of the best hitters of all time, not just of his era.


No joke....in the strike year he played 113 games, had an OPS+ of 211, and a non adjusted OPS of 1.217 which is just mind bogglingly insane

He slugged .729 that year and had an OBP of .487...wow

Can I also mention he had an EqA of .391 that year? *smacks forehead in disbelief*


He's another guy that should get in easily on the first ballot

[TheMojoPin]

Yeah, Thomas was fucking unreal. Even though I hated the White Sox, I loved seeing that guy hit in the 90's.

[stinkbud]

I think Thome is a no brainer for the HOF, 2nd ballot

What cap would Thome wear?

His biggest years were with the Indians, but he won a ring with the White Sox

As an Indians fan, I want to see him wearing Chief Wahoo's smiling face.

[Ritalin]

I liked that Sox team with Jack McDowell, Robin Ventura and Big Frank.

He won MVPs in 93-94, and then finished second in 2000 to Jason Giambi, the filthy cheating juicer. So he should have 3 MVPs.

And, if you think Thomas juiced, bear in mind that he called for drug testing in 1995, and was the only active player to cooperate with compiling the Mitchell report. He did so voluntarily. (thanks wikipedia)

A couple of conclusions: first, when the reigning AL MVP publicly calls for drug testing in 1995, there's no way Bud Selig can ever say that he didn't know there was a problem. Scumbag used car salesman liar.

Second, when you look at Thomas' career, you really see a Hall of Famer and the contrast between him and Thome is stark. I don't care if Thome gets to 600 HRs. I don't care that he made 500. I know he'll get in, but his career just wasn't Hall of Fame worthy.

[razorboy]

I think Thome is a no brainer for the HOF, 2nd ballot

What cap would Thome wear?

His biggest years were with the Indians, but he won a ring with the White Sox

As an Indians fan, I want to see him wearing Chief Wahoo's smiling face.

He's an Indian.

[Earlshog]

I think Thome is a no brainer for the HOF, 2nd ballot

What cap would Thome wear?

His biggest years were with the Indians, but he won a ring with the White Sox

As an Indians fan, I want to see him wearing Chief Wahoo's smiling face.

He did not win a ring with the White Sox, he was on the Phillies in 2005

[TripleSkeet]

500 Home runs + no suspicion of steroid use = HOF in my opinion.

[TheMojoPin]

Second, when you look at Thomas' career, you really see a Hall of Famer and the contrast between him and Thome is stark. I don't care if Thome gets to 600 HRs. I don't care that he made 500. I know he'll get in, but his career just wasn't Hall of Fame worthy.

Respectfully disaree.

Even in this day in age I think getting to 500 home runs makes one HOF-worthy, much less 600.

Thome isn't an all-around elite hitter, but getting to 600 is something so few can do.

[K.C.]

Yeah, Thomas was fucking unreal. Even though I hated the White Sox, I loved seeing that guy hit in the 90's.

True.

He didn't have quite the longevity as Thome did, though. There's a pretty substantial drop off in his numbers from 2000 onward, because of injuries, although he had a couple great season in there.

But, Thomas EASILY makes the Hall.

They'll both get in fairly easily, I think.

[Suspect Chin]

I think he is in, but probably not first ballot.

Another thing to consider: Thome says he will play two more years. Who do you project to be his competition or in his induction class in 2016?

A few possibilities: Sheffield, Shilling, Jeff Kent, Bonds, Mussina, Biggio?

Maddux, Griffey, Glavine, Pedro Martinez, will likely be in by then.

[cougarjake13]

His career is not over yet. If he stays always from injury he will wind up with 600 (he may pass Griffey who is on his last legs). That would put him number 4 non juice all time. He had a good average for a power hitter and knocked in a tons of runs. He is in.


i know you're saying he may pass him but here's my opinion

thome 37 yrs old 542 homers
grif jr 38 yrs old 611 homers



thome is only a yr younger and trails by 69 homers

whenever grif retires thome would have to play at least 2 more years just to catch him


i dont see him doing that but i think he'll get to 600

[BeerBandit]

An All-Star starter twice, Slugging percentage leader once, HR leader once, OBP leader once. Never finished first in any other significant category. I know he compliled a lot of stats, but this definitely hurts him if I were voting.
It's hard to lead the league when you're up against steroid freaks. I know he was never the best, but he was a damn scary hitter. I think more for the stigma than the numbers or accolades, he deserves to get in. Sure that Indians lineup was rough top to bottom, but the meat of it was Manny and Thome.

[cougarjake13]

i think the cloud of the steroids era could either hurt or help him


if they lump him in with them he wont get in


if they believe he wasnt they may tout him as an anti steroids guy ( actually i think grif jr will carry that mantle)

[Chip196]

It's hard to lead the league when you're up against steroid freaks. I know he was never the best, but he was a damn scary hitter. I think more for the stigma than the numbers or accolades, he deserves to get in. Sure that Indians lineup was rough top to bottom, but the meat of it was Manny and Thome.

I guess I am not saying he shouldn't be in, but I wouldn't vote him in first ballot.

[cougarjake13]

I guess I am not saying he shouldn't be in, but I wouldn't vote him in first ballot.

so what changes from first ballot to the next 2,3, or 5 ??


his stats stay the same ??

[Chip196]

so what changes from first ballot to the next 2,3, or 5 ??


his stats stay the same ??

Since the BBWA use the voting process to rank the players as they go in, I was just saying how I would put him in following the current standards. They use "first ballot" as an honor.

I don't think it's the best way to do it, in fact, I think the HOF should probably be cut in half with it's overall amount of players, and something should be done to change the voting process. If a player only had one year of eligibility that would be interesting.

[cougarjake13]

Since the BBWA use the voting process to rank the players as they go in, I was just saying how I would put him in following the current standards. They use "first ballot" as an honor.

I don't think it's the best way to do it, in fact, I think the HOF should probably be cut in half with it's overall amount of players, and something should be done to change the voting process. If a player only had one year of eligibility that would be interesting.

oh i know wasnt condemning you



just saying in general if a guy is good he should get in on first ballot

time shouldnt change anything


sometimes guys get in cause theres no clear cut guys to vote in that yr nad it makes no sense


has there ever been a year where no one gets voted in ?? i'd respect them more if that has happened

[Chip196]

oh i know wasnt condemning you



just saying in general if a guy is good he should get in on first ballot

time shouldnt change anything


sometimes guys get in cause theres no clear cut guys to vote in that yr nad it makes no sense


has there ever been a year where no one gets voted in ?? i'd respect them more if that has happened


It really is a great discussion because there are so many problems through the whole thing. Bill Simmons wrote a great article about how the HOF should be build like a pyramid. He had worked out rules for how you would jump to higher levels. It will never happen but was a fun idea to think about.

There are still writers who will vote no for people purely based on the idea "if Babe Ruth wasn't voted in unanimously, no one should be". Like you wrote earlier, is the guy a HOFer or not? So someone is going to vot no for Maddox ... someone voted no for Ripkin Jr. ... The whole thing is a mess.