MLB legend Frank Thomas once alleged steroid use by Ivan Rodriguez and Jeff Bagwell when they were inducted into Cooperstown
Former MLB first baseman and Hall of Famer Frank Thomas famously took a sly dig at Jeff Bagwell and Ivan Rodriguez's inclusion in the baseball HOF at a White Sox fan event in 2017, after the pair's speculated history with PEDs.
The topic was brought up during a conversation about performance-enhancing drugs, and while no names were mentioned in the process, all roads led to the recently elected HOFers, Bagwell and Rodriguez.
“They’ve let a few people in already we all know. ... It’s uncomfortable at this point. I’m sure this year’s going to be uncomfortable because we’ve got two great players going in, but they know," Thomas told the press at the White Sox event. "It’s no secret. If they didn’t do it, they would be stomping and kicking and in interviews saying, ‘I didn’t do it.'”
Bagwell and Rodriguez have however never been caught consuming the substance, with no public evidence or reporting. Rodriguez was accused by Jose Canseco in his book “Juiced” of using PEDs. Bagwell remains on the safer side with no evidence or reporting against him. He has even gone on record denying ever using drugs.
"Jeff Bagwell definitely used PEDs."
"Ken Griffey Jr. never used PEDs."
-The same person and not just one
Not sure if implicit bias or just raw stupidity.
"Jeff Bagwell definitely used PEDs." "Ken Griffey Jr. never used PEDs." -The same person and not just one. Not sure if implicit bias or just raw stupidity," - Ryan M. Spaeder, Twitter
Thomas went on to mention that the decision to felicitate the pair didn't go down well with him and other fellow Hall of Famers:
“Trust me, there’s a lot of internal talk going on. A lot of guys that I respect that are real, true Hall of Famers, all they have is their legacy. They didn’t make this kind of money. ... They’re not happy about this at all."
Well, it's better to put this all to rest until we find out if the pair did consume PEDs. Suspicion can be a very dark place, and the two men in question deserve a fair chance too.
Frank Thomas was a two-time AL MVP
The Chicago White Sox selected Thomas with the seventh pick in the first round of the June 1989 Major League Baseball draft and he made his major league debut on Aug. 2, 1990, against the Milwaukee Brewers. He also played for the Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays.
Thomas is a five-time All-Star and a two-time AL MVP. He also won the AL batting title in 1997 with a .347 mark. Thomas also won the World Series in 2005.