Hall of Fame:
Frank Thomas, who ended his career with the A’s, is chosen along with Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine.
A great day for Frank Thomas was a rough day for Barry Bonds.
Not only did Bonds’ Hall of Fame candidacy lose support from last year, but Thomas said the home run king — or any player linked to performance-enhancing drugs — doesn’t belong in the Cooperstown museum.
“No, they shouldn’t get in,” Thomas said.
The Hall of Fame will celebrate who’s being inducted. Not who’s not. So in Cooperstown on July 27, it’ll be more about Thomas and Atlanta teammates Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, who were elected Wednesday, and less about Bonds, Roger Clemens and other tainted players who gained no momentum on the latest ballot.
Maddux received 555 of 571 votes (97.2 percent) cast by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Glavine got 91.9 percent and Thomas, who had a bounce-back year with the 2006 A’s,
83.7 percent.
“The year that really got me in the Hall of Fame today was 2006,” said Thomas, who joined the A’s after 16 seasons with the White Sox. “I was counted out by a lot of people. For me to go out there and have another MVP (type) season, it was an incredible feeling, and I enjoyed playing out there for the A’s. The fan base rejuvenated me that season.”
Bonds, the best overall player since Willie Mays who evolved into the best hitter since Ted Williams, received 34.7 percent, down from last year’s 36.2 percent. In a related note, Clemens got 35.4 percent, Mark McGwire 11 percent and Sammy Sosa 7.2 percent.
Rafael Palmeiro, who had 569 homers and 3,020 hits but flunked a PED test, dropped off the ballot with less than 5 percent. Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell, suspected in some circles (without clear proof) to have used PEDs, received 62.2 percent and 54.3 percent, respectively.
Thomas, who called for a stiffer drug policy during the height of the steroid era (as did ex-Giants infielder Jeff Kent, who received 15.2 percent of the vote), said he had heard from Hall of Famers at recent charity events about what has been known publicly for years, that Cooperstown members don’t want the PED guys in their club.
“They’ve got a strong stance against anyone who has taken steroids,” Thomas said. “They do not want them in. They don’t care when they started or when they did it. They do not want them in. For those guys, this Hall of Fame means a lot to them and they don’t want anyone who doesn’t deserve to be there 100 percent.” And Thomas’ stance? “I played against those guys,” he said. “To be honest, I’ve got to take the right stance, too. No, they shouldn’t get in.”
Thomas, who was bigger than his listed 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, played football at Auburn University and was “always the biggest and strongest guy out there since I came into the league” but he was not linked to steroids.
“Two people stand out in my mind, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds,” Thomas said. “I faced those guys early in their careers. I know the competitors they were. I know the type of players they were. As for what they did, I don’t think any of us will ever really know. But I can tell you what I did was real, and that’s why I’ve got this smile on my face right now because the writers definitely got it right.”
Maddux called Bonds the “greatest hitter I ever faced” but said his greatness didn’t start in San Francisco but in Pittsburgh. In other words, Hall of Fame-worthy before BALCO.
As a player rep to the union, Glavine fought hard against PED testing and later said he could have done more to curtail steroid use. “In time,” he said, “it’s going to be interesting to see if the feeling on all those guys changes at all.”
Craig Biggio missed election by two votes, his 74.8 percent falling under the 75 percent required for induction. Jack Morris received 61.5 percent in his final year on the ballot.
Maddux, Glavine and Thomas will be inducted with former managers Bobby Cox, Joe Torre and Tony La Russa, who were elected by the Expansion Era committee last month.