A few days ago I wrote about an article by The Sports Guy. He was comparing athletes to rock bands. I finally came up with one....
Not only is Frank Thomas the Pearl Jam of sports, but they also share an almost eerie cosmic bond. Let’s ride their roller coaster of success for a minute. In 1991, the year of Pearl Jam’s breakout album “Ten”, Frank Thomas emerges out of nowhere in his first full season, hitting .318 with 32 dingers, and a staggering 1.006 OPS. Frank redefined “power hitter” by taking 138 free passes that season, just as Pearl Jam redefined rock led by Mike McCready’s powerful guitar outro in “Alive”. In 1993, Pearl Jam’s “Vs.” topped the Billboard Charts for 5 weeks, the same year that Frank Thomas won his first of two MVPs. It was in 1994 where both Pearl Jam and Frank Thomas peaked. Most people forget that Frank was hitting .353 with 38 (on pace for 55) homeruns when the strike cut the season short. Again, an MVP season. People also tend to forget the hype surrounding Pearl Jam immediately after “Vs.” and just before “Vitalogy” in 1994. In the late 90’s, Pearl Jam fought Ticketmaster in the courtroom while Frank was in court with his now ex-wife. With the bar raised by their own accord, both Pearl Jam and Frank Thomas were never able to return to their status of the early 90’s. While many consider their later results to be disappointing, they both have put together pretty impressive resumes. It’s hard to argue against “Given to Fly” and “I am Mine”, but they don’t compare to “Elderly Woman” and “Black”. Frank was runner up MVP to Jason “shrunken balls” Giambi in 2000, but he still didn’t command the same fear at the plate like he did in 1993/1994. Their greatness and unique style has been tucked away in the history books, leaving both Pearl Jam and Frank Thomas (and me) wondering where their once overwhelming support has gone. And now, they are hoping to make the best of what’s left of their careers.
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