Frank Thomas: From Cape Cod to Cooperstown

Frank Thomas achieved baseball immortality two weeks ago when he was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but it was 26 years ago, in the most talented Cape Cod Baseball League of all-time, that he got his start.

"Everybody calls it the golden year," said Bob St. Pierre, a longtime volunteer with the Wareham Gatemen. The 1988 Cape Cod League produced an unprecedented 40 major leaguers, including players like Jeff Kent and Jeff Bagwell who might go on to join Thomas in the Hall of Fame.

The Gatemen won the league that summer, beating Frank Thomas and his Orleans team two games to one in the championship series.

The Gatemen's success that season was largely due to the hitting duo of Mo Vaughn and Chuck Knoblauch -- who won the batting title that summer with a .361 batting average and was voted Most Outstanding Prospect.

St. Pierre said Thomas and Vaughn developed something of a rivalry that summer.

"Frank ended up with more home runs and a higher average, but Mo was better when the chips were down," he said.

St. Pierre remembered the battle between Thomas and Vaughn at the home run derby in Orleans that year and said Thomas had a home field advantage in more ways than one.

"It was barely 300 feet down the line in left field and something like 330 feet to right," said St. Pierre. With Thomas and Vaughn both being pull hitters, the right-handed Thomas prevailed over the left-handed Vaughn.

"The guy was a really good hitter, he wasn't just a big guy trying to smash it," said Joe Jordan, who was the hitting coach for the Gatemen in 1988 and is currently the director for player development with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Jordan said Thomas could get on base in a number of different ways but also acknowledged Thomas' tremendous power.

"He hit three homers against us one night in Wareham. The last one cleared the old press box by the football field. I didn't think it would ever come down," he said.

"He was a real crowd pleaser," said St. Pierre.

Thomas went on to hit 521 home runs in the majors and win two Most Valuable Player awards.

He'll be inducted into the Hall of Fame this July, but many will remember him from a summer long ago, hitting baseballs that might still be floating somewhere over Wareham.