Frank Thomas never has been afraid to speak his mind. The Big Hurt called out Alex Rodriguez and other players with PED pasts.
“Things spiraled out of control in the late ’90s, 2000s era, and it’s sad because Alex was such a great talent,” Thomas said Thursday at the Waldorf-Astoria — where he formally was introduced, along with Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, as the next inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
An arbitrator will rule any day on Rodriguez’s 211-game suspension.
“I can’t speak for Alex and what he has done,’’ Thomas said. “I just hope baseball does what’s right. I know the type of player Alex was. This is a sad day today that we are talking about this and just what baseball has come to. We’re sitting here talking about Alex going to court and arbitrators deciding on his future. Honestly, with that type of talent, why are we there right now?
“No disrespect to Alex because I respected him as a player, if these things are true, it’s a sad, sad day.”
He’s so right.
Thomas is looked upon as baseball’s Mr. Clean and proudly stands behind all 521 of his home runs. He also stands behind other Hall of Famers who want no performance-enhancing drug cheaters in Cooperstown.
“We live this life with rules and regulations,” he said. “You break the law, you go to jail. In baseball, you break the law, you’re not going to the Hall of Fame, that’s just the way it is right now.”
Thomas addressed the Mike Piazza situation. Despite hitting more home runs than any other catcher ever, Piazza has not yet made the Hall. Piazza is slowly moving up the ladder in his quest to get 75 percent of the vote, clawing his way from 57.8 percent on the ballot last year to 62.2 percent in his second year.
Piazza, like a few other candidates, never actually failed a test but have been suspected of PED use. That makes their cases for the Hall a bit tricky.
“The thing is, a lot of people suspect it,’’ Thomas said of candidates such as Piazza. “If people are starting to suspect things, then someone is fueling that fire.
“I’m just so glad, today, getting in the Hall of Fame that I made the right choices. There are no shortcuts, you got to work your butt off,” Thomas said. “We’re going to the Mount Rushmore of baseball. I’m so happy and proud.”
Thomas has been at charity events with some of the biggest legends in the game the past two years and talked about the likes of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.
“I had that debate with [Hall of Famers] about a couple players and they said, ‘Yeah, we understand how good they were, but they made that decision to do what they did and we don’t want them in Cooperstown.’ That was eye-opening for me because a couple of those guys being investigated and everything else, are two of the greatest players we’ve ever seen.’’
Bonds and Clemens lost ground this year among Baseball Writers Association of America voters.
“It’s sad that they are not going to be in the Hall of Fame probably, but I have to respect the leaders and the Hall of Famers because their legacy is what they have,’’ Thomas said. “They said, ‘Don’t be feeling sorry for [them]. This is Cooperstown. There is a reason we have rules and regulations, and the people here earned it the right way, and we are not going to let guys in that did drugs. That’s just the way it is.’
“They’re harsh about it,’’ Thomas said. “The PED era kind of hurt me a little bit because people didn’t understand how big my career was at certain times because guys were hitting 50 and 60 who didn’t deserve to hit 50 and 60. I’m not mad at anyone. I’m the youngest member of the Hall of Fame right now. I’m floored to hear that. I’m humbled to hear that.’’
Yes, the Big Hurt and his strong opinions and beliefs will be around for a while.