Like Thomas, Thome has swung free of steroid suspicion; his body of work is viewed as the honest labor of a country-strong slugger fueled by nothing more exotic than steak and eggs.
And A.L. teams are obviously better positioned to have a strong hitter ready for their Series home games (even though they have recently been choosing a rotation of hitters over one aging or fragile slugger at D.H ., while the N.L. club is left to pluck someone off its bench.
A slugger with a strong right hand, Lyle, who was 6 feet 3 inches and about 220 pounds, won his first 19 fights, 17 by knockouts, before landing a fight with Jerry Quarry in 1973 at Madison Square Garden.
Luring a new slugger wasn't hard.
Older and stronger after joining the Indians, Doby developed into a feared slugger.
He is considered by many to have been the game's best pure hitter, but compared with today's sluggers, Williams, even when he was young and strong, was built like a twig.
Other sluggers in the league have one and even two strong hitters in the lineup with them.
The Marlins are giving the strong impression that they are serious about signing Pujols, the game's premier slugger.
Piazza, who declined to say if the 2001 Mets are better than the 2000 Mets, surely realized another slugger would make his life easier and make the Mets stronger.
Ortiz, who confirmed after the game that he had tested positive, also received strong support from both teammates and management, who said the news did not change their feelings toward the popular slugger.
He had a strong year at the plate last season, with 12 homers and 103 runs batted in, and helped set the table for slugger Miguel Cabrera.
