A couple of years ago, no doubt after one of his injuries or contract crises with the White Sox, I wrote that Frank Thomas was a “borderline” Hall of Famer. It prompted some reaction, so I explained Thomas had my vote–I’m easy–but I wasn’t sure if enough of my peers respected him.
That 75 percent approval rating the Hall requires from the Baseball Writers Association of America is a tough standard. Just ask Jim Rice or Andre Dawson.
But when the White Sox play the Oakland Athletics this weekend, I’m planning to drop the qualifier. Instead of borderline Hall of Famer, I’ll go with “future” Hall of Famer.
This has nothing to do with Thomas’ anti-steroid stand. I’m as uncomfortable patting someone on the back for not using performance-enhancing substances as I am slamming someone–without evidence–for using them.
The fact is, with the absence of testing and the existence of undetectable steroids, we don’t know what most players did or didn’t do. All we know is how they have played, and it’s in the batter’s box that Thomas has erased any doubt about whether he belongs among the elite.
Who knew his move out west would be so good for him? He apparently has discovered the fountain of health.
Thomas has played 122 games–more than he did in his last two seasons in Chicago combined–and more than every Oakland player except Eric Chavez, Jason Kendall, Jay Payton and Nick Swisher. He has hit 36 home runs, raising his career total from 448 to 484, driven in 98 runs and–here’s the really stunning part–once again become a complete hitter, not just swinging for the fences as he did with the 2005 White Sox.
By doing so, he has added his name to the Most Valuable Player discussion.
No, he’s not going to win. The MVP is going to come from the trio of Jermaine Dye, Justin Morneau and Derek Jeter.
If you say you saw this coming, you are a liar. Thomas was hitting .178 and had only seven home runs through May 20. But by hitting .320 with 29 homers and 78 RBIs in 88 games since then, Thomas has stepped forward as the leading hitter for an Oakland team that is putting on its usual second-half kick.
The A’s have gone 32-13 since July 25 to run away with the American League West, with Thomas’ production vital for an offensively challenged team that ranks 11th in runs (682), 13th in hits (1,279) and ninth in home runs (160).
Commentators no longer can say Oakland, like Detroit, is a likely playoff team without an MVP candidate. They have one, and he is a familiar one.
Thomas, the greatest hitter in White Sox history, won the MVP in 1993 and ’94 and finished second in 2000, third in 1997 and third in 1991.
Since the BBWAA started electing MVPs in 1931, only 10 other players have finished in the top three at least five times. It’s quite a list.
Barry Bonds, nine times. Stan Musial, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle and Henry Aaron, seven times. Willie Mays, Yogi Berra and Joe DiMaggio, six times. Mike Schmidt, Alex Rodriguez and Thomas, five times.
If Thomas somehow should slip into this year’s top three, not out of the question if he keeps hitting like he has recently, he will have as many top-three seasons as Mays, DiMaggio and Berra. White Sox fans were lucky to have seen him hit for so long, even if the outside noise made it hard to focus on his skills after he won the batting title in 1997.
When Thomas came off the disabled list with a bang last June, hitting 11 home runs in a stretch of 66 at-bats, he told reporters he wanted to play long enough to hit 500 home runs. That seemed a reasonable goal for a few weeks, until he went back on the disabled list with a second stress fracture in his left foot.
Thomas now angles for a contract extension from the Athletics, who seem likely to give it to him. You still wonder how long he can stay healthy, wincing as you watch him lumber around the bases on legs that might be too small for his large body to support, but he seems a good bet to become baseball’s 21st 500-homer hitter some time next spring–most likely in Oakland, definitely somewhere.
Thomas was along for the ride with the White Sox last October, unable to play because his left foot remained in a walking boot. The Sox made a wise decision to cut their ties with him last winter, trading for Jim Thome rather than counting on Thomas to stay healthy.
But he’s going to the playoffs with the A’s, and this weekend gets a chance to leave his old team on the side, watching him. That has to be an appetizing prospect. History says not to count Thomas out.
Remember his first game against the Sox back in May? He was 3-for-5 with two long home runs. It was a performance worthy of a Hall of Famer.
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progers@tribune.com
