On this date three years ago, the Blue Jays released Frank Thomas. He retired after a brief return engagment with the Athletics, hitting .301/.419/.555 in a career that should garner Hall of Fame consideration. Here's some links for the evening…
- TCU left-hander Matt Purke is out indefinitely with a sore shoulder according to Stefan Stevenson of The Star-Telegram. He will be evaluated by Dr. James Andrews later this week. Purke, who was expected to be one of the top picks in this June's draft, spoke to MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith last month.
- Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic says (on Twitter) that the Diamondbacks don't have interest in, or room on the roster for Brandon Wood.
- Jeremy Bonderman recently visited his former Tigers' teammates during their trip to Seattle, writes MLB.com's Jason Beck. The right-hander told reporters that he feels "great," and that he plans to visit the Tigers in Detroit in a few weeks. That would seem to indicate he isn't close to signing with a team.
- In a piece for ESPN Insider, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus breaks down some factors that are considered when a prospect is promoted to the big leagues or a higher minor league level.
- ESPN The Magazine published a list of the highest paid athletes from 182 countries. A dozen MLB players make the list, but that comes nowhere close to the number of soccer players making big bucks.
For the sake of my alma mater (the Frogs), my hopes of the Astros getting the kid in June (and him being able to pitch), and for Purke’s sake in general…I really hope that shoulder injury is nothing serious. A lot of people called him out for not accepting that signing bonus from the Rangers, but it will be sad news if he actually suffers a serious injury that winds up costing him millions
he did accept the rangers offer but the mlb nixed the deal
Oliver Perez made more money than Jorge De La Rosa and is from Mexico, I find this list false!
If Frank Thomas doesn’t get into the HoF there is no justice in this world.
I feel the same way about Barry Bonds.
I guess that depends on if you care about steroid users getting in or not.
I should probably start this off with a disclaimer: I have absolutely no reason to believe Frank Thomas was on steroids nor do I have any plans on saying he was.
I certainly think Thomas should be a no questions asked first ballot HOFer since even in an age of hitters he certainly qualified as elite. However, does anyone else wonder if because of the age that he played in some voters might be less inclined to let him into the Hall right away?
Frank thomas should garner consideration. ARE YOU TAKING CRAZY PILLS!!!!!!!!!!! Frank Thomas is a no doubt 1st time unanamous hall of fame inductee or the voters have lost their damn minds. The most dominant hitter for a decade a man with 2 mvps (3 since he was robbed by roidraging giamib in 2000) . His 94 season that was cut short by the strike is nothing short of absolute legend, video game play doesnt create the type of season he had, not to mention he is the only slugger of the last 30 years that absolutely passes my eye and common sense test on the steroid issue, Frank adamattly wanted testing, wanted to talk to officials and politicians, he didnt come up with some english is my second language crap like sosa, no lets only talk about the future garbage like mcgwire, he was out front of the entire issue saying bring it on thats a man thats innoscent.
Give the voters blue steel. That should get the Big Hurt some more votes. If that doesn’t work maybe try le tigre.
Just because we have chiseled abs and stunning features doesn’t mean we too can’t not die in a freak gasoline fight accident.
man….i’d love it if Purke fell to the cardinals in the draft. How awesome would that be. The two top lefty and righty prep pitching prospects from 2009 draft end up with the same team. Though one has to wonder how serious the shoulder is…the simple mention of shoulders can drop a players stock uncontrollably. Last year, Anthony Ranaudo from LSU was thought of as a top 5 prospect and he fell to the high/mid 30s because of it.
It’s how the Twins ended up with Kyle Gibson and Alex Wimmers.
Hopefully Purke is pitching soon. I love watching him and Cole.
I’ll have to see the class before I say first ballot but Frank is a no doubter.
given the fall off in talent in the bluejays staff – Romero, Morrow & Drabek, a arm like Bonderman would be worth taking a flyer on.
Hopefully, the Rangers will get another crack at Purke if teams pass on him because of worries about his shoulder.
Um could garner hall of fame , wait wtf , after all the cheats and liars who didnt speak english all of a sudden, and those who didnt know what kinda cream was getting rubbed into there injuries that all of sudden healed in a minute , this guy should be hof first ballot , so what he wasnt media friendly , compare him to anybody before the steriod era and he’s freakin first ballot , i like this web site but , better recognize
As far as I’m concerned all the steroid revelations about other players have vaulted Frank Thomas past ‘possible HOF’ into a complete lock.
The real question is if Frank Thomas is the single greatest hitter of his generation? I posit that he is, with Jim Thome coming in second.