Former Cleveland Indians slugger Jim Thome was inducted into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot. That was an absolute mistake.
On January 24, the MLB Hall of Fame announced their latest class. Four players were voted in by the writers, with Chipper Jones, Trevor Hoffman, and Vladimir Guerrero getting their due. Former Cleveland Indians slugger Jim Thome was also inducted into the Hall, the second player to be inducted in his first attempt this year.
The problem is, Thome was not the type of player that one would associate with being inducted on the first ballot. His numbers are certainly Hall of Fame worthy, as he produced a .276/.402/.554 batting line, hitting 612 homers and driving in 1699 runs. Over the course of his 22 year major league career, Thome was noted as a feared slugger, a player that could change the game with one swing of the bat.
While Thome was certainly a very good player, one could certainly make a case that he was a compiler. He was certainly consistent, hitting 20 or more homers in 16 seasons, but only led the league once. In fact, if we take out his times leading the league in walks and strikeouts, Thome was a league leader only four times, leading in homers, slugging, OPS, and total bases once each.
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Those numbers bear out with his black and grey ink scores, a way to rate probable Hall of Fame players. The average Hall of Fame hitter has a 17 score in black ink, denoting the amount of times he led the league in a category. Thome has a 13, with the vast majority being in walks and strikeouts. His grey ink is at 118, a solid number and one that does show he was a consistent power threat. However, even there, he falls short, as the average Hall of Famer has a 144 score in grey ink.
Then there was the old eyeball test. Back on those excellent Indians teams in the 1990s, Thome was, at best, their fourth best player. Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, and Manny Ramirez outshined Thome in the lineup, their greatness more evident. He remained overshadowed throughout his career, making only five All Star Games and finishing in the top five of the MVP vote once. Thome never really seemed elite.
Of course, the Hall of Fame is subjective. Players like Jack Morris and Jim Rice may seem to be questionable members, their performances throughout their careers borderline for enshrinement at best. Those players, and a player like Thome, are certainly worthy of the Hall of Very Good. For Thome to coast in on the first ballot, especially when players like Guerrero were unable to, is odd.
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Former Cleveland Indians star Jim Thome was a very good player, and his statistics may point towards his worthiness for being enshrined in the Hall of Fame. He just should not have made it in on the first ballot.