Peter D. said:
Thome to me is baseball's version of Chris Osgood. As you say, the numbers are there, but when thinking of Jim Thome, you don't automatically think to yourself, "Now that's a Hall of Famer."
It's not the comparison I'd use just because whereas I think Osgood making the HHOF would rank up there with Clark Gillies or Glenn Anderson as one of the worst decisions they ever made, Thome isn't that bad. Osgood
doesn't really have the numbers outside of the worst possible statistical measurement of a goaltender's ability. Thome's numbers are uniformly good. His career OBP is .403, career SLG is .558. His career OPS+ is 147.
Osgood would be making it entirely on the backs of his teammates. The issue with Thome is that his average season was 35-40 homeruns and 100 RBI's at a time when the Brad Fullmer's of the world were hitting 30 homeruns with 90 RBI's. Thome's career WAR is just at 71.1.
A good comparison with Thome, to my mind, is Jeff Bagwell. Bagwell put up numbers that, if he'd put them up in any other era, would have seen him as a first ballot HOFer. As is he only got 41.7% of the vote. Bagwell's actually a tough comp for Thome. Bagwell has slightly better numbers, won more awards and was a good defensive 1B. Bagwell's career WAR is 79.9. HOF voters may be impressed with the raw HR numbers but that's about all Thome has going for him compared to some of the other slugging 1B of his day.