Congrats to Jim Thome for 600 the right way!

[bulls23]

Thome hit his 599th and 600th career HR vs Detroit.

He's a class act and has reached this incredible goal the right way, unlike those juicers Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and A-Rod.

Of course, a lot of the media attention still remains fixated on a juicer whose has a slightly torn meniscus and participates in illegal gambling (i.e. poker playing).

And to those who say "he just a DH", where you think A-Rod will end his career?

[dbdynsty25]

Prove it. I don't believe for a second that any player in the late 90s didn't juice and as far as the great guy thing goes...everyone thought Kirby Puckett was a model citizen. That turned out well.

[Naples39]

Prove it. I don't believe for a second that any player in the late 90s didn't juice and as far as the great guy thing goes...everyone thought Kirby Puckett was a model citizen. That turned out well.

It's impossible to prove a negative like that.

I don't think Thome or Griffey used roids, and Thome seems like a good guy. It still makes me uneasy seeing numbers like this. In 100-odd years only 3 guys hit 600 HRs, Ruth, Aaron and Mays. Now 5 guys have done it in the last 10 years? (Thome, Bonds, Griffey, Sosa, A-Rod). Roids or no the era will remain a statistical anomaly that lessens the achievement of all who played in it.

[Lancer]

I think Frank Thomas was clean, based on the gut hanging out. Thome I'm not sure about. It's a crappy thing to say but DB is correct, we don't know how many were on the juice. I think that's why MLB / SELIG will never release the list, there's probably so many players on there.

[MizzouRah]

Prove it. I don't believe for a second that any player in the late 90s didn't juice and as far as the great guy thing goes...everyone thought Kirby Puckett was a model citizen. That turned out well.

I'm right with you, it's hard to trust anyone who played in the late 90's as "clean" in baseball.

It's sad, actually.

[Brando70]

Prove it. I don't believe for a second that any player in the late 90s didn't juice and as far as the great guy thing goes...everyone thought Kirby Puckett was a model citizen. That turned out well.

It's impossible to prove a negative like that.

I don't think Thome or Griffey used roids, and Thome seems like a good guy. It still makes me uneasy seeing numbers like this. In 100-odd years only 3 guys hit 600 HRs, Ruth, Aaron and Mays. Now 5 guys have done it in the last 10 years? (Thome, Bonds, Griffey, Sosa, A-Rod). Roids or no the era will remain a statistical anomaly that lessens the achievement of all who played in it.

The 100-year comparison is not really apt here because Mays and Aaron both did it within a couple years of each other. It's not inconceivable that a couple more players would do it again around the same time.

Bonds, Sosa, and A-Rod definitely tarnished the mark with their juicing, but if Thome and Griffey are clean, then they did it in an era where a lot of pitchers were also juicing.

[Brando70]

I also miss the fake Thome Twitter account that had gems like these:

I WOULD LIKE TO ADMIT TO THE USAGE OF HAM TO HELP ME HIT LOTS OF DINGERS

THE ONLY THING THE OL JIM JAM HAS TESTED POSITIVE FOR IS TOO MUCH WALLEYE ON A STICK

http://favstar.fm/users/JimThome

[Naples39]

The 100-year comparison is not really apt here becausie Mays and Aaron both did it within a couple years of each other. It's not inconceivable that a couple more players would do it again around the same time.

Bonds, Sosa, and A-Rod definitely tarnished the mark with their juicing, but if Thome and Griffey are clean, then they did it in an era where a lot of pitchers were also juicing.

Maybe the 600 homer club is too small a sample size, but anyway you look at it, homer numbers are ridiculously inflated from the strike to a few seasons ago. Just doesn't feel right when the rarity of the feat is so diminished.

[JackB1]

Thome hit his 599th and 600th career HR vs Detroit.

He's a class act and has reached this incredible goal the right way, unlike those juicers Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and A-Rod.

Of course, a lot of the media attention still remains fixated on a juicer whose has a slightly torn meniscus and participates in illegal gambling (i.e. poker playing).

And to those who say "he just a DH", where you think A-Rod will end his career?

How do you know Thome hasn't "juiced" ? Just cause he hasn't gotten caught........yet???

[Teal]

People tend to want to believe the worst, rather than the best, nowadays. Why is that? Why have we become so doggone cynical?

[pk500]

People tend to want to believe the worst, rather than the best, nowadays. Why is that? Why have we become so doggone cynical?

Because the three groups of people on Earth who receive the most media attention -- politicians, athletes and entertainment celebrities -- give us plenty of reason for cynicism.

Sadly, ordinary people doing extraordinary things don't breed ratings or hits on ET, TMZ, MSNBC or ESPN.

[Brando70]

People tend to want to believe the worst, rather than the best, nowadays. Why is that? Why have we become so doggone cynical?

When it comes to pro baseball in the past 15 years or so, you can't be too cynical.

Having said that, Thome's never been linked to steroids, and at this point, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

[Diablo25]

As far as more guys hitting 600 recently, yes the steroid issue comes into play but ballparks also changed dramatically (smaller) starting in the early 90's. Guys like Mays would have definitely hit more HRs in today's ballparks.

[XXXIV]

Prove it. I don't believe for a second that any player in the late 90s didn't juice and as far as the great guy thing goes...everyone thought Kirby Puckett was a model citizen. That turned out well.

It's impossible to prove a negative like that.

I don't think Thome or Griffey used roids, and Thome seems like a good guy. It still makes me uneasy seeing numbers like this. In 100-odd years only 3 guys hit 600 HRs, Ruth, Aaron and Mays. Now 5 guys have done it in the last 10 years? (Thome, Bonds, Griffey, Sosa, A-Rod). Roids or no the era will remain a statistical anomaly that lessens the achievement of all who played in it.

The 100-year comparison is not really apt here because Mays and Aaron both did it within a couple years of each other. It's not inconceivable that a couple more players would do it again around the same time.

Bonds, Sosa, and A-Rod definitely tarnished the mark with their juicing, but if Thome and Griffey are clean, then they did it in an era where a lot of pitchers were also juicing.

I like Thome and Griffey a lot and I want to believe they are not like those three clowns but they (and Im not talking just about the players. MLB and the media played along with that disgrace in a huge way) have made it so damn hard.

[toonarmy]

I don't for a second believe that Thome juiced. I believe him when he says he has never used anything he wasn't supposed to. His stats are pretty consistent since the first year he played. His body sure as hell has never looked like that of a juicer. There has never been any credible insinuation that he took steroids.

[dbdynsty25]

I don't for a second believe that Thome juiced. I believe him when he says he has never used anything he wasn't supposed to. His stats are pretty consistent since the first year he played. His body sure as hell has never looked like that of a juicer. There has never been any credible insinuation that he took steroids.

Rafael Palmerio agrees with you 100%.

[bulls23]

As far as more guys hitting 600 recently, yes the steroid issue comes into play but ballparks also changed dramatically (smaller) starting in the early 90's. Guys like Mays would have definitely hit more HRs in today's ballparks.

I give all the credit in the world to Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, but Thome had to deal with a lot of things Aaron didn't:

Pitchers on steroids
Specialist relievers
Deep farm system with more overall talent to pull from
Video research & Scouting advances.
Managers having every stat at their fingertips

There are pluses and minuses for each era, I'd say they all cancel out (except maybe steroid use)

There's prob more I can think of

[dbdynsty25]

I give all the credit in the world to Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, but Thome had to deal with a lot of things Aaron didn't:

Pitchers on steroids
Specialist relievers
Deep farm system with more overall talent to pull from
Video research & Scouting advances.
Managers having every stat at their fingertips

There are pluses and minuses for each era, I'd say they all cancel out (except maybe steroid use)

There's prob more I can think of

Haha...this is hilarious. How about racism and death threats? Yeah, Thome had to deal with SOOOOO much more than Aaron. Laughable.

[XXXIV]

I don't for a second believe that Thome juiced. I believe him when he says he has never used anything he wasn't supposed to. His stats are pretty consistent since the first year he played. His body sure as hell has never looked like that of a juicer. There has never been any credible insinuation that he took steroids.

Rafael Palmerio agrees with you 100%.

I really want to believe in Thome. I just see how those dochebags have made it so hard for anyone with half a brain to believe in all these numbers.

It really is a shame for guys like Jim and Frank that they had to play with those scumbags.

[XXXIV]

Aaron

That man has to be the most under recognized athlete in sports history.

[toonarmy]

I don't know any of these guys personally, so all I can base my opinion on is the evidence. There is zero evidence that Thome has ever used steroids. He has even escaped being mentioned by Canseco, lol.

As for Palmiero, the head of the Congressional subcommittee (Tom Davis) that questioned the baseball stars about steroids concluded,""I feel bad for him. I believe that he didn't know he was taking steroids. I think he told the truth. We conducted an investigation and that was the conclusion our investigators came to."

[pk500]

As for Palmiero, the head of the Congressional subcommittee (Tom Davis) that questioned the baseball stars about steroids concluded,""I feel bad for him. I believe that he didn't know he was taking steroids. I think he told the truth. We conducted an investigation and that was the conclusion our investigators came to."

It's always dangerous to trust a politician as an authority on anything other than corruption, campaigning and wasting taxpayer money.

[ScoopBrady]

I would like to know how much of a role pitch counts have had on HR's hit. Back in the day pitchers stayed out there a lot longer and likely served up more meatballs due to fatigue. They also pitched on shorter rest. Just food for thought, I just happen to think it's more than just steroids that has caused HR's to go up.

As far as Thome is concerned, I don't suspect him of using but nothing in this era of baseball would surprise me.

[Naples39]

Other than steroids, homers went up because of smaller ballparks, juiced balls, rapid league expansion leading to more inexperienced pitchers, better bats, and probably some other factors.

Farm systems haven't really changed, and advanced scouting swings both ways to aid pitchers and batters.

The pitch count obsession and bullpen shuffling probably makes it harder for batters, but also means top notch starters generally throw fewer innings putting less talented relievers on the mound.

Whatever the reasons, the difference in home runs is incredible. Using just one stat for example, number of 50 homer seasons by decade;
10s - 0
20s - 4
30s - 4
40s - 3
50s - 2
60s - 3
70s - 1
80s - 0
90s (pre-strike) - 1
1994 - 2007 - 23
More than half of the 50 homer seasons in baseball history came during the steroid era. Crazy.

All you can really do is compare players against their contemporaries, and see how they excelled past what their peers were doing. Thome compares favorably, but steroids or no 500, 600 homers ain't what it used to be.

[Diablo25]

Aaron

That man has to be the most under recognized athlete in sports history.

ABSOLUTELY. Just look at his numbers other than HRs and you will be stunned. His RBI numbers are sick.