Chicago White Sox Frank Thomas Has No Sympathy for Players Who Used Steroids

Former Chicago White Sox slugger Frank Thomas is showing no sympathy for those Major League baseball players who may have used steroids during their baseball careers, according to a report from Yahoo! Sports.com.

Thomas was speaking with the media during the Chicago White Sox fan fest (SoxFest) on Saturday:

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I wouldn’t say I feel bad for them...I respected them on the field, but they chose this. They made their own decisions off the field, and they have to live with it.

 

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He was referencing former Major League players Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens—all of whom at one point during their careers were considered to be first ballot Hall of Famers yet were denied entry in 2013, their first year of eligibility.

Mark McGuire was also denied entry into the Hall of Fame in what was his seventh try. He garnered only 16.9 percent of the vote (via Yahoo! Sports.com).

The "possible use" of performance-enhancing drugs seems to have played a factor in the rejection of these players from being enshrined in Cooperstown.

When talking about his own career, Thomas had this to say:

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I just thank God, I’m blessed I did it the right way and have a good family base that made me outwork everyone else, because that’s the only way I made it to the big leagues.

 

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The man known as "The Big Hurt" was a two-time American League MVP finishing his career with a .301 batting average and 521 home runs.

Not to mention, he was a five-time American League All-Star (1993-1997), American League batting champion (1997) and a Home Run Derby champion (2005).

He also won a World Series championship with the White Sox in 2005.

Thomas is tied for 18th all-time in career home runs with Hall of Fame greats Willie McCovey and Ted Williams. As Thomas weighed his chances for baseball immortality:

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I think I've done enough to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

 

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I would have to agree.

Former Major League pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine will appear along with Thomas on the ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame's Class of 2014 when the names for this class are released this fall, according to Yahoo! Sports.com.

Thomas played 15 seasons with the Chicago White Sox and spent time with the Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays, before retiring in 2010.

The White Sox retired his number 35 in 2010 and honored him with a life-size bronze statue at U.S. Cellular Field.