Quiet, sometimes underrated player- never a huge name in the sport. Hitting 500 plus home runs pretty much sealed the deal- no eligible player with 500 homers and without steroid accusations has failed to make The Hall. Thome hit over .300 just a few times, wasn't a slick fielder, and did whiff a lot, but also walked a lot and consistently had big power numbers. Not one of the all time legends, but the numbers are there.

Not known as one of the best players of his time, he probably won't be first ballot. He has the numbers and the consistancy to make it though.

He's still a productive guy and his early years helped his chances a lot.

Has a pretty good shot, but isn't first ballot material.

What he brought to the table, besides home runs (which is enough), is a career on-base percentage of over .410 thanks to being able to draw over 100 walks in a season 7 or 8 times in a season. A career SLG% of .560+ and a career OBP of .410+ is enough to get him into the hall as long as he gets to 500 HRs. Career OPS+ is about 150, which makes him one of the top 40 or 50 offensive players in the HISTORY of baseball.

I don't think Thome belongs in the Hall of Fame. What did he ever bring to the table besides homeruns? He was a very one dimensional player, and when all is said and done, his homers aren't that great when compared to the other players in the steroids/homerun era.