Thome gets #600

[Hornsby]

Why did Biletnikoff cheat?

Hey, just my question.

You ever see the stickum that guy used? I keed, I keed...


BTW, I think that he was referring to convicted felon Barry Bonds...also #25 IIRC.

[Moonlight J]

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/more_sports/hr_feat_236swGnY6BWXLEOVJXY7FK

Thoughts on this?

Most of it really irks me

[B-Fly]

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/more_...6BWXLEOVJXY7FK

Thoughts on this?

Most of it really irks me

Yeah, it is written in an irksome way, but at the same time, I have never really thought of Thome as being at the same level as the likes of Bonds, Ramirez, A-Rod. But then I look at his career OBA/SLG/OPS and wonder why I haven't. Is the public perception of Thome as a baseball player actually harmed by his humility? Or has he really not been quite as great as his numbers would indicate?

[Moonlight J]

I despise articles that slap a guy for not ranking higher in MVP voting when it's those same writers penning those pieces that are responsible for that.

In 2002, Thome led the AL in OPS at 1.112 and was second in WAR at 8.1 to A-Rod, who finished with 8.2. Yet, Thome finished 7th in the voting because the Indians were 74-88 and 3.0 WAR Torii Hunter finished ahead of him.

"Well, how valuable is a guy for a team 14 games below .500?" -- Um, that's exactly what WAR shows you.

[amcg]

Fully agree with Jason's point and will add two more of which I've already seen evidence:

Praising Thome for having played the game clean yet also saying he didn't get lead the league enough times in particular categories. So by their own admission they reckon he was clean as opposed to others who used PEDs to inflate their numbers to record-shattering levels, but they downgrade him for not outhitting the steroid-pumped monsters. Em... yeah.

Downgrading Thome for having stuck around a long time "accumulating" stats. Last year at age 39 he hit 25 bombs with an OBP of .412 and slugged .627. Yes, he only played 108 games but over the season do you want to know how many players outslugged him and got on base at a better clip? Just one: Miguel Cabrera. That's not hanging around waiting for the end, that's some serious offensive performance.

By the way, I don't presume Thome was innocent. I don't presume he took PEDs either. But the list of people that I have sympathy for having played in the PED era starts and ends with Frank Thomas - if the rest of them didn't care enough to speak out then they can't complain.

[In the Corn]

This quote is from a column in the Star Tribune:

It is typical of Thome that my favorite memory of him would have remained unknown if Cuddyer hadn't shared it with me.

Thome and Cuddyer were swinging bats in the on-deck circle early in a game last August.

"Jim turned to me and said, 'You think this is what Gehrig and Ruth felt like on a Sunday afternoon in Cleveland?'" Cuddyer said. "I said, 'I don't know. We're about to find out.'

"I walked. He hit a homer. When he came around and touched home plate, I said, 'That's exactly how they felt.' So he gave me the bat he hit that homer with and wrote on there, 'This must have been how Gehrig and Ruth felt.'"

He would know.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/127912418.html

This quote tells me a lot about Thome. I was glad the Twins signed him last year and this year. Seems he always has played the game right and respects his place in the game. Lots of guys could learn him.

[joncarlos]

Yeah, it is written in an irksome way, but at the same time, I have never really thought of Thome as being at the same level as the likes of Bonds, Ramirez, A-Rod. But then I look at his career OBA/SLG/OPS and wonder why I haven't. Is the public perception of Thome as a baseball player actually harmed by his humility? Or has he really not been quite as great as his numbers would indicate?

He didn't do a lot of things to draw attention to himself like Manny did. That includes Manny being Manny but also playing in a major market and winning a pair of world series. I don't think it's necessarily the humility... he played for a bunch of teams and that breaks up his career a bit. He didn't hit for a high average and that hurts his mainstream appeal a little bit. He had a tendency to play with bigger personalities/celebrities (Manny himself, Rollins, Mauer, etc) and was happy to share the spotlight. The humility doesn't help, but I don't think it's the only problem.

[TranaGreg]

He didn't do a lot of things to draw attention to himself like Manny did. That includes Manny being Manny but also playing in a major market and winning a pair of world series. I don't think it's necessarily the humility... he played for a bunch of teams and that breaks up his career a bit. He didn't hit for a high average and that hurts his mainstream appeal a little bit. He had a tendency to play with bigger personalities/celebrities (Manny himself, Rollins, Mauer, etc) and was happy to share the spotlight. The humility doesn't help, but I don't think it's the only problem.

... plus the fact that he played the majority of his time in the AL Central (Cleveland & Minnesota & Chicago) as opposed to Boston, Los Angeles, or New York.