So true. Yet many will not hear it.

I dont know why it offends some so much.

Everyone from that time frame is under suspicion

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Yeah, I wouldn't bet on Frank being juiced, but I'd bet a lot that Thome was. Who really knows though?

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Ecclesiastes 5:8

Agreed. Some require more suspicion than others. Frank Thomas and Sammy Sosa are at the complete opposite ends of that spectrum.

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My intent was to say Frank wasn't skinny(as a poster opined), probably was never skinny, as Thome obviously was. My opinion that Frank didn't juice was based on his complaining about the lack of a level playing field.

Agreed. Frank never came to spring training looking like a muscled Michelin Man.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Thome was never skinny. Maybe he was lean, but he was never skinny. You should admit that you don't know what you're talking about.

"Another poster." Hmph. Fucking dago.

Sorry, Tommy.

saw Thome once at the Verizon store in Willowbrook when he was on the white sox. smaller in person than you'd think

_________________
'Your AT&T Universal Card has arrived'? Oh God, Kick-fucking-ass, I got a Master Card! I don't believe it, man. Life is kinda cool sometimes.

245 6'2" on his baseball card. 200 on his rookie card

His rookie card when he was 20 yrs old?!?

OH MY GOD A PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE GOT BIGGER AND STRONGER IN HIS 20'S!!!!!!! THAT NEVER HAPPENS!!!!!! HE'S A JUICER!!!!

HE WAS 200 WITH LEAD SHOES WHEN HE WAS 20!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Early Thome looks 175 tops.

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Tin foil theory falls apart with two words: Mark McGwire.

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IMO the only person from that era who is completely free of any suspicion is Frank Thomas. From day 1 he was leading the movement for mandatory testing. He was more outspoken against PEDs than any other player of that era.

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Thats great that he was, but that does not remove him from suspicion.

Some times in reality people say things with the mouth that they do not live up to with their actions.

Some men take vows before their friends and family to love, honor, protect....and end up abusing those they love.

I dont know whether Frank juiced or not, I hope that he did not. But just saying he didnt do is not enough for that time period especially considering everything else going on around him during his time in college and in the major leagues.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

That is the great CRIME that the Sosas, Bonds, McGwires, Palmeiros, Clemens, Pettites, etc. laid on baseball. These pricks cheated when they didn't have to and their cheating fucked up the reputation of a lot of good players. ANd the worst part to me, of this bullshit is the terrible effect that this crap had on vast younger players, quite a few that I coached and played against.

Steroids was the absolute WORST thing that ever permeated sports, especially baseball. I saw 15-17 year old kids on roids and HGH as a coach. It was obvious. And a lot of high school coaches and parents knew it was going on and supported it.

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

This is it. Done.
It's a lot easier to look back and spew out shit, but Frank WAS outspoken when it mattered. He's been consistent the whole ime and his size is also pretty consistent.

Thome....his best defense is the fact that his power numbers were always there. Yes....the "aw shucks, golly gee" thing is probably exaggerated, but never heard anything of the contrary to Thome to dispute that he is that genuine.

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Unexpected power surge at age 30. Before that he averaged 33 HR a year. The next 5 full years, averaged 46. What a coincidence the power surge was right smack dab in the height of the steroid era.

Barry Bonds power numbers were always there too.

Thome didn't pass the eye test and he didn't pass the stat test. The test that matters, he never took.

Aw shucks, he juiced.

No problem He juiced. Frank...don't think he did.

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Are we certain that the steroid era wasn't also combined with a juiced ball era? Could explain someone like Thome's power surge but not the Bonds or Brady Anderson ones.

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Elections have consequences.

The surge in home runs had more to do with the ball being tricked up than roids or HGH.

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

The accusations of a juiced ball began in 2000. In that year, Frank's career high in HR. 43. So it's a fair point. The problem is who's stats do we trust in determining whether it's juiced people, juiced ball, or a combo? Frank's the only position player who bitched, and his stats from 2001 tell us nothing because he was getting hurt...a lot.

its also key to remember steroids don't make you a better hitter. if you've never been able to hit a curveball or catch up to heat, no supplement is going to fix that.

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'Your AT&T Universal Card has arrived'? Oh God, Kick-fucking-ass, I got a Master Card! I don't believe it, man. Life is kinda cool sometimes.

Steroids absolutely make you a better hitter.

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about as much as taking someone who never played golf and buying the most expensive clubs will get them on the Tour

_________________
'Your AT&T Universal Card has arrived'? Oh God, Kick-fucking-ass, I got a Master Card! I don't believe it, man. Life is kinda cool sometimes.

175 is completely absurd, he was never anywhere near that. Thome is 6'4" and he was never super skinny, if he were 175 he would look anorexic. He started out trim and gradually put on weight over the years. He was never Bonds or Sosa, guys who were very skinny and put on a ton of muscle mass in a very short period. Thome also always had tremendous power, he wasn't some singles hitter who suddenly started hitting 50 home runs. Thome in 1995 didn't look that much different from thome in 2005.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kT26ngNFlM

Above is a link to Thome's 1st career home run 27 years ago in 1991 when he was 21 years ago. Thome is not the rail some of you are claiming he looked like in his early career, even in his first year in the big leagues he looks like a big, strong home run hitter. The video is an example of the power he already possessed, his first home run is a bomb into the upper deck in Yankee Stadium.

Even for you this is a stupid ass comment. Thome should be hated as much as Bonds and Sosa but he isn't because he's white? That's complete bullshit. Thome never had any connection whatsoever to steroids. He was never involved with BALCO as Bonds was, he never was caught cheating with a corked bat as Sosa was, he never completely transformed his physique in an off-season as both Sosa and Bonds did, he never conveniently forgot who to speak English when called to testify in front of Congress. Thome also never went from 36 to 66 home runs or went from one of the great players in the sport to an invincible baseball god in his late 30's and early 40's as Bonds did. Thome peaked as a power hitter from ages 30-32 which is completely reasonable. Also, Giambi, Clemens, and McGwire are every bit as disgraced as Bonds and Sosa. All 5 players are viewed as cheaters and frauds. Bonds and Sosa are not disgraced because of their race, they're disgraced because they quite clearly juiced and neither one has come close to admitting it.

Thome was 6'2
Look at his 91 rookie card bowman..he's a buck 75.

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He's been listed at 6'4" for a long time, I don't give a damn what some baseball card says. That could easily be an old listing from his high school days. Either way Thome was clearly a big guy from the very beginning, even in his rookie year. It's complete idiocy to claim he was a fucking buck 75, at his height he would look like a complete rail and he never did.