Fire Jim Thome As Another Steroid Era Casualty

Thome broke in just before steroid use exploded.

The steroid era claimed another casualty on August 15: Jim Thome.

Thome hit his 600th home run, which happened rather quietly for a milestone that used to guarantee not only hall of fame admission, but a place among the 4-5 best players ever. There was no "Thome watch," no "live look-ins" on ESPN every time he batted for a week. Some of that can be blamed on Thome's low-key personality and his team. Nobody likes Alex Rodriguez and he took steroids, but he still got regular media coverage during his chase for 600 because he plays for the Yankees (we'll fire ESPN's East-coast bias another day).

We all know the main reason Thome didn't get much fanfare and nobody is pretending otherwise. It's sad, and it's not right, because there have never been any real rumors about Thome and drug use. Even Jose Canseco never once mentioned him. But that's the fallout from the era - everyone is guilty, not even with the qualifier of "until proven innocent." Just plain guilty, with very few exceptions.

ESPN's Tim Kirkjian said that Thome will get into Cooperstown. Why should he? He's got at least Kirkjian's vote, but baseball writers have their own set of unresolved issues. First, they are notoriously fickle. How else to explain Bert Blyleven's admission after 13 years on the ballot despite having 300 wins? He must have had a great year on ESPN Classic in 2010.

Writers also see themselves as the gate keepers of baseball, which is totally ridiculous considering a violent racist (Ty Cobb) and an admitted cheat (Gaylord Perry) are enshrined in Cooperstown. So far, none of the major steroid era home run hitters are in the hall. Ken Griffey Jr. will be the first exception to that, and it's doubtful Thome will follow. He played through the entire steroid era, and even though his overall numbers are comparable to guys like Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle, even Kirkjian explains Thome's development from an opposite-field hitter to home-run hitter suspiciously. "When Thome arrived in the big leagues, he was an opposite-field hitter, he rarely hit a ball to the right of center field. But he got bigger and stronger as he aged, he learned to pull the ball, and soon was hitting homers deep into the right-field seats," Kirkjian wrote. Is that really an acceptable explanation to anyone today, even if it's completely true?

It's a shame that Thome is hurt by his era, because everyone speaks glowingly of him. But until baseball writers re-evaluate the hall of fame selection process, it seems Thome is destined to be lumped with McGwire, Sosa or Bonds, even if he is a good person who really didn't cheat.