Frank Thomas implies Jeff Bagwell and Ivan Rodriguez used PEDs

Just when you thought all the Hall of Fame talk was done until the ceremony in July, Frank Thomas goes and stirs everything up again.

Thomas, himself a Hall of Famer, was at the White Sox annual fan convention over the weekend, and had more than a few words about the Hall of Fame and PEDs. The New York Post was there and captured Thomas’ statements:

“They should be in now, as far as I’m concerned,” Thomas said. “They’ve let a few people in already we all know. It’s uncomfortable at this point. I’m sure this year’s going to be uncomfortable because we’ve got two great players going in, but they know. It’s no secret. If they didn’t do it, they would be stomping and kicking and in interviews saying, ‘I didn’t do it.’”

So this full quote is a little tough to unpack because Thomas doesn’t use anyone’s names. But here’s what I’ve deciphered. In the first sentence, he’s talking about Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, noted PED users who got a majority of Hall of Fame votes for the first time this year. He thinks that because the Hall of Fame has already let in a few guys who might have used PEDs, then Bonds and Clemens should be in, too.

So the first two sentences are easy to decipher. But then things take a bit of a turn. Thomas essentially accuses recent Hall of Fame electees Jeff Bagwell and Ivan Rodriguez of taking PEDs because they haven’t emphatically said that they didn’t.

Frank Thomas at his Hall of Fame induction in 2014. (Getty Images)

The fallacy is easy to spot: just because a player goes around saying they didn’t do it doesn’t mean they did. In fact, a player saying they didn’t take PEDs is often the result of someone else saying they did, because they want to defend themselves. There have been whispers about Bagwell for years, but there’s been nothing definitive. Rodriguez was named by Jose Canseco, but never tested positive and wasn’t mentioned in the Mitchell Report.

It’s fair to point out that there’s a lot we don’t know. Frank Thomas could have some inside information beyond his suspicion that Bagwell and Rodriguez took PEDs just because they said they didn’t. But the line between “suspected” and “proven” is as important as ever. Positive tests aren’t everything, but they’re obviously a good indicator of whether someone actually took PEDs around the time they were tested. And being named by Jose Canseco is certainly not definitive proof that someone took PEDs either. PED “suspicions” have kept people out of the HOF for a long time, and Thomas is perpetuating that.

But the tide is clearly turning. Clemens and Bonds both got a plurality of votes, Rodriguez is a first-ballot Hall of Famer despite the suspicions, and Bagwell has finally overcome the years of whispers. Things aren’t the same as they once were. Thomas clearly recognizes that, since he says that if a few PED users are in, they should all be in. But he thinks that they should be in a special wing. (It’s not clear if he thinks that suspected users should go in this wing, though going by his comments, signs point to yes.)

Frank Thomas in 2007. (Getty Images)

Thomas is a Hall of Famer already, and nothing changes that. But he wouldn’t be saying these things if he didn’t feel that the election of PED suspected players cheapens his legacy somehow. And that’s just silly. He’s worried that history will forget that Thomas says he never used, while others were suspected, and grade their baseball accomplishments without that curve. He’s worried about his legacy. Oh, and he’s also a little salty about money, and says other Hall of Famers feel the same way.

“Trust me, there’s a lot of internal talk going on,” he said. “A lot of guys that I respect that are real, true Hall of Famers, all they have is their legacy. They didn’t make this kind of money. … They’re not happy about this at all.”

And now Thomas seems a little conflicted. He started off saying that since a few PED suspected guys are in, they should all be in. But he also feels like including them cheapens his legacy, so he wants them to have their own wing or not be in at all.

This is a complicated issue to be sure. But the attitude about PED-associated players is changing. Baseball is a game that changes with the times, whether baseball itself admits it or not. Contracts that players got 30 years ago look significantly different than what players are getting in the present day, or even 10-15 years ago. And it’s a little unfair to assign the blame for that to PEDs. Just like it’s unfair to give anyone the title of “real, true Hall of Famers” as Thomas does.

Considering he spent a lot of his time in the majors as a designated hitter, there might be a few guys in the Hall of Fame who would deny Thomas that title. He thinks that PED users should be given their own special wing, but if that’s true, shouldn’t there be a wing for designated hitters and closers/relief pitchers, both of which are more modern additions to the game?

Absolutely not, and that’s the point. The Hall of Fame doesn’t exist to make distinctions between the best-of-the-best. It exists to celebrate the best of baseball in all eras, quirks and all.