Starting this week, I will be taking a look at those still playing baseball and not golf and shuffleboard, and seeing who deserves to get a spot in the hallowed halls of the Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, NY. So why not start it off with a man who has just gotten 500 homers, Frank Thomas.

Since coming into the league 17 years ago, Frank Thomas has been a pitchers worst nightmare. He has hit in every ballpark from New York to New Madrid (AAA, it's in California). He had been the heart and soul for the White Sox and even now, playing with the Blue Jays, is a big figure in Major League Baseball. Over the course of his career, the Big Hurt has compiled an impressive overall batting average of .303, 501 (and counting) homeruns, and over 1,600 RBIs. A slugging percentage of .562, almost 1,600 walks, and a .422 on base percentage spells dominance at the plate for the big fella. He has gotten over 2,300 hits, though he has never gotten over 200 hits in a season. He never got the chance to win a World Series and never even took his team to the playoffs. Only in '92, '93, and '96 was he a full time fielding first baseman. Usually he was the DH. As a fielder, he was less than adaquate. He was sluggish in the field and never seemed to go all out when the time was needed for a key defensive stop. On the plus side though, he never made more than 15 errors a season. But some reports have him saying that he wasn't needed in the field because he was a hitting machine. And for all our purposes, that could be true, but it takes a serious blow to his HOF chances. I look for players who go all out, all the time on both sides of the equation. Let's look at the pros and cons before wrapping up.

PROS

• Never had less than 25 homeruns in a full season.
• Had over 100 walks from 1991 to 1998.
• Had a slugging percentage over .500 for 13 of his 17 seasons.
• 12 seasons of 130+  hits.

CONS

• Didn't play full time 1st basemen 14 out of 17 seasons.
• Never had a 200 hit season.
• Hasn't has a .300 batting average since 2000.
• Not the fastest car in the lot.

So in my review of Frank "Big Hurt" Thomas's career, he, in my opinion deserves a B+ and a spot in Cooperstown. Though I don't think that he is a first-ballot kind of player. I think that the first ballot Hall of Famers should be household legends, like Cal Ripken Jr., somthing that Frank Thomas is not. Great job Frank! :)