Who's career will last longer- Frank Thomas or Ken Griffey Jr.?

Question

Born in the same year. Entered the majors one year apart. Griffey Jr. entered in 1988. Thomas came in 1989. Both have been prolific home run hitters throughout their career. Both have been plagued with injury. And both are back slugging homers for their teams. Both are guarunteed hall of famers. Who outlast Who?

Remember, Im not asking who's the better player. I know Griffey will smash Thomas on homers. I don't think that Griffey will ever become a DH. And the argument that Thomas won't be in the hall of fame is non-existent. He's the first person to have 5 consecutive seasons with over 30 home runs over .300 BA and over 100 RBI. It also happened to be his first 5 seasons in the majors. People forget how big a superstar Thomas was in the 90's.

I scored a 740 on the English portion of my SAT's. No grammer corrections necessary.

Answer 1

Ken Griffey Jr. will last longer than the Frank Thomas, no doubt in my mind. Frank Thomas is nowhere close to Griffey, both in the careers they've already put together and what they will do from here on out. Griffey is going to be in the top five in career home runs before its all said and done. He won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves in centerfield. Frank Thomas is about 100 home runs behind Griffey now, and will never be able to catch him. I don't know about Frank being a Hall of Famer, but Griffey is a first ballot no brainer. Griffey is getting old, and he has had some injuries, but he is in better physical shape, and has always been better mentally than Thomas.

Answer 2

With out a doubt Griffey Jr. His lifetime batting avg. is .291 with 559 homers. Frank Thomas lifetime batting avg. is .305 with 472 homers. Although Frank has a better average by only .14 Griffey has way more home runs. Thus producing more RBI's. In conclusion Griffey Jr. Will outlast Thomas.

Answer 3

Thomas carries a large belly. He's strong and able, but that extra weight can run down his body faster than Griffey Jr. But Griffey has had the worst of luck with injuries, yet they all result from his brutal play on the field with diving catches after running 20 yards for a pop up.

I can't say for certain, it gonna just take the first one to call it quits.

Answer 4

Ken Griffey will must likely last longer but he does need to get to the AL so he can DH! Thats the only reason Frank Thomas is still playing. He would have retired 2 years ago if he played in the NL.

Answer 5

More than likely, Griffey will probably outlast Frank. He still moves around well, and Frank is pretty much designated to just a hitter now...

But then again, they both could retire on the same day :)

What about Thomas & Bagwell...both born on the same day, both got into the league at the same time.

Answer 6

Probably Frank Thomas due to the DH in the American League.

Unless Griffey comes back to the AL from the DH less National League.

-Ted

Answer 7

Griffey... even as a DH, Frank Thomas only has a couple more years in him... I like Frank, he's an Auburn Tiger, but Griffey still looks pretty good in the field... he's not "the kid" anymore, but he's still moving pretty well, and when he begins to slow to the point that he can't play Defence anymore, then he'll still be able to move to the AL and DH or play 1st base.

Answer 8

Ken Griffey Jr.

Answer 9

I agree about the DH thing. It will probably be Thomas, which is a shame. I'd like to see Griffey play for a long time to come. Talk about a class act.

Answer 10

Griffey- he can still run around in centerfield and hes still hitting around 30 hrs a season. Thomas on the other hand is clearly breaking down far faster than Griffey.