I was just comparing them on baseball reference. I really didn't realize how good they were for so long!
Just consider for comparison:
Jeff Bagwell over 15 years had career numbers of .297/.408/.540
Frank Thomas over 19 years had career .301/.419/.555
both better than
Ken Griffey Jr over 22 yrs had .284/.370/.538
Granted Griffey added gold glove defense at a premium position. But how can Bagwell and Thomas be kept out of the hall with those career offensive numbers?
Interesting fact: they were both born on the same day in 1968