N.Y. Sun: Marchman: Thome Near 500, Far From Cooperstown

But…but..I thought Thome had a bigger impact on the game than Ryne Sandberg and Wade Boggs did.

The most important issue, though, is one on which people can and do differ, and it’s this: Thome might not even be one of the 10 best players at his own position in his own era. This depends on how you define his era, but Palmeiro, McGwire, Jeff Bagwell, Frank Thomas, and Albert Pujols are all better players, and reasonable cases could be made for Will Clark, John Olerud, Todd Helton, and perhaps Fred McGriff and Edgar Martinez as well. For that matter, Jason Giambi has been every bit as good a hitter as Thome and has an MVP award on his mantle. He’s been even less durable than Thome, and obviously has other issues, but most people wouldn’t even begin to think of him as a Hall of Fame candidate, and it’s hard to see any reason other than the number 500 that Thome should be considered one if he isn’t.