Dynamic Duos : Ruth & Gehrig, Mantle & Maris, and Now It’s Belle & Thomas

Roger Clemens grimaced, for good reason. The Rocket wants to pitch well in his debut for the Toronto Blue Jays, and there’s a problem going into his first start April 2 against the Chicago White Sox.

Two problems, really.

Batting third, Frank Thomas. Batting cleanup, Albert Belle.

“It’s still hard to picture them together,” Clemens said. “That’s tough. I think the best thought is what my friend Danny Darwin said, that you hope they trip on the way to the batter’s box.”

Instead, the only trip Belle and Thomas will probably take is into the record books.

Because when it comes to dynamic duos in baseball history, there are few that compare.

There’s Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. They combined for a record 115 home runs in 1961. And Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, who totaled 107 homers in 1927.

Willie Mays and Willie McCovey pulverized pitchers, Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews hammered them, Johnny Bench and Tony Perez pounded ‘em.

Ken Griffey and Jay Buhner hit 93 homers last year for Seattle. The Bash Brothers--Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire--have been reunited in Oakland and are ready to challenge Chicago’s twin terrors.

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“Let’s assume both Frank and Albert have career years and Mark and I have career years,” Canseco said. “We will out-homer them, there’s no doubt. No ifs, ands or buts about it.”

Thomas is the White Sox’s career homer leader and Belle ranks No. 1 on the Cleveland chart. Even so, the Big Hurt says Canseco is probably right.

“They’re sluggers. That’s what they do, they hit home runs,” Thomas said. “Albert and I, we’re hitters. We hit in the .330s. We drive in runs. Do they hit in the .330s and drive in runs? No, they don’t. And that’s what this game is all about.”

Belle hit .311 with 48 homers and 148 RBIs last year for the Indians. Thomas hit .349 with 40 homers and 134 RBIs.

In the last five years, Belle leads the majors in home runs (234) and RBIs (711). Thomas is second in RBIs (698) and third in homers (215).

Could they become the best tandem ever?

“It would be a good argument, and the old-timers would go with Ruth and Gehrig,” White Sox manager Terry Bevington said. “Since I’ve been alive I can’t imagine a more potent 1-2 punch who’ve had these numbers than Frank Thomas and Albert Belle.”

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Belle, however, said it’s too early for such talk. Especially since he and Thomas went into the weekend without a single home run in their combined 87 at-bats in spring training.

“Look at Ruth and Gehrig. They were around 20-plus years,” he said. “It’s unfair to compare us to those two. Maybe you can let us wait until we get 10 years in the big leagues and start making comparisons.”

A lot depends on who else is in the White Sox lineup. Leadoff man Tony Phillips needs to get on base, and No. 5 hitter Robin Ventura and No. 6 batter Harold Baines need to provide protection for the big two.

Not everyone is certain that Thomas and Belle will pile up better stats together than they did apart. Their best homer total came in 1995 when Belle hit 50 and Thomas 40.

“They can say all they want, ‘yeah, we’re going to hit 60 home runs each,’ but that ain’t going to happen because one of them is going to have to suffer,” Florida Marlins star Gary Sheffield said.

“Whoever hits behind Frank Thomas is going to have less RBI opportunities. Albert Belle’s used to the bases loaded or two guys on,” he said. “He’s going to say, ‘I’m sacrificing and I ain’t getting any opportunities.’ And everybody knows how long Albert is willing to put up with that.”

Belle says the only stat he cares about is wins. Same for Thomas, who urged White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf to sign Belle as a free agent. Reinsdorf did, giving Belle a $55 million, five-year contract.

“I feel like I’m protecting Frank in the lineup, and maybe he’ll have a chance to see a lot more strikes, a chance to cut down on his walks and intentional walks,” Belle said.

Thomas has averaged 121 walks in the past six seasons. He drew an AL-high 26 intentional walks last year.

“It used to be you would walk Frank,” New York Yankees pitcher David Cone said. “Now you can’t do that. It will be tough. It’s a very dangerous combination.”

Thomas prefers patience at the plate, rarely swinging at the first strike. Belle loves to swing at the first pitch, particularly against pitchers he has not faced before.

Count on them watching each other’s style--and stats.

“Sometimes you get a little professional jealously going on among teammates. That’s the way it is,” Thomas said. “I’m happy now there is someone who can outperform me on this team.”