Zeeck
Sneaky
So this morning, when Mitchell reported to Congress, he noted that only one active baseball player agreed to talk to him about steroid use in baseball--Frank Thomas. That got me to thinking. . . . .
Every White Sox fan from the 90's and the otts (I think that's what they're called) absolutely loved Frank Thomas. After all, he's the single best player in White Sox history, and arguably (in light of Sosa's stats) the most prolific hitter in Chicago's history. However, despite the love for Frank, every single fan also recognized him as being one of the most selfish players in the league, a bad team-mate, and a malcontent when it came to front-office matters.
Now, in light of all the steroids scandals, his selfishness back in the early 90's that got him that bad reputation should have served as a harbinger of what was to come. When it came time to renew (or extend, can't remember which) his contract, Frank wanted the money that sluggers like Giambi, Sosa, McGwire and Bods were getting. When management refused to give him that kind of money because his stats didn't match up with those guys, he spouted off to the media, blasting not only the front office, but many players in the major leagues, accusing them of using steroids and having an unfair advantage over him. Yet, at that time, everyone just took it as sour grapes and Frank was just another "me" guy.
A few years later, baseball decided to do random drug testing in order to determine just how prevalent steroid use was in the league. If the number of players testing positive reached a certain percentage, the league was going to initiate testing. If a player refused to submit to the testing, it would be considered a positive result. I remember Frank wanted every one of his teammates to refuse to take the test so that they would sway the percentage of positive results. They didn't, the percentage wasn't met, and testing wasn't instituted.
All through his career Thomas has insisted he didn't use steroids. The first round of congressional hearings, he willingly volunteered his testimony, albeit by phone because he had a leg injury or something. Now it comes out that he was the only active major leaguer to willingly talk to Mitchell about steroid use in baseball.
So, all in all, the guy is still probably a "me" guy, he is still probably hard to get along with in the clubhouse (after all, there were many more incidents than the ones I described), but it's funny to look in retrospect at the things this guy got blasted for here in Chicago by management, by the media and by the fans, when all along it looks as if he was right, that the other players numbers were inflated, that steroid use was rampant, and that he did deserve a top contract at the time.
Just my thoughts for the day, now I have to go read up on insurance law.
Every White Sox fan from the 90's and the otts (I think that's what they're called) absolutely loved Frank Thomas. After all, he's the single best player in White Sox history, and arguably (in light of Sosa's stats) the most prolific hitter in Chicago's history. However, despite the love for Frank, every single fan also recognized him as being one of the most selfish players in the league, a bad team-mate, and a malcontent when it came to front-office matters.
Now, in light of all the steroids scandals, his selfishness back in the early 90's that got him that bad reputation should have served as a harbinger of what was to come. When it came time to renew (or extend, can't remember which) his contract, Frank wanted the money that sluggers like Giambi, Sosa, McGwire and Bods were getting. When management refused to give him that kind of money because his stats didn't match up with those guys, he spouted off to the media, blasting not only the front office, but many players in the major leagues, accusing them of using steroids and having an unfair advantage over him. Yet, at that time, everyone just took it as sour grapes and Frank was just another "me" guy.
A few years later, baseball decided to do random drug testing in order to determine just how prevalent steroid use was in the league. If the number of players testing positive reached a certain percentage, the league was going to initiate testing. If a player refused to submit to the testing, it would be considered a positive result. I remember Frank wanted every one of his teammates to refuse to take the test so that they would sway the percentage of positive results. They didn't, the percentage wasn't met, and testing wasn't instituted.
All through his career Thomas has insisted he didn't use steroids. The first round of congressional hearings, he willingly volunteered his testimony, albeit by phone because he had a leg injury or something. Now it comes out that he was the only active major leaguer to willingly talk to Mitchell about steroid use in baseball.
So, all in all, the guy is still probably a "me" guy, he is still probably hard to get along with in the clubhouse (after all, there were many more incidents than the ones I described), but it's funny to look in retrospect at the things this guy got blasted for here in Chicago by management, by the media and by the fans, when all along it looks as if he was right, that the other players numbers were inflated, that steroid use was rampant, and that he did deserve a top contract at the time.
Just my thoughts for the day, now I have to go read up on insurance law.
