As promised in one of my earlier posts -- 'Glavine Call It A Career', this edition of Throwback Thursday is dedicated to former White Sox slugger Frank Thomas who announced his retirement just one day after Tom Glavine announced his. & Similar to Mr. Glavine, Frank Thomas was one of the best players at his position during the mid 90's to early 2000's. Growing up as a teenager, Thomas served on his high school's football, baseball and basketball team and became a star athlete in each academic. With baseball as his number one sport of choice, Thomas was saddened after not being drafted in the 1986 amateur draft, resulting in him accepting a scholarship to play football at Auburn University. In college, Thomas later joined the baseball team where he led the team in RBI's as a freshmen, earning him a spot on the U.S. Pan American team. However, with football season getting the better half of Thomas, he would leave the Pan Am team.
Back on the football field, Thomas would suffer injuries early on in the season. These injuries would keep Thomas away from football for some time and baseball once again became his sole sport, where he went on to earn Southeastern Conference MVP honors his senior year. Thomas would also set a school record of 49 career college home runs. With an impressive college career on his resume, Thomas was sure he would get selected this time around and sure enough, the Chicago White Sox selected him as the 7th overall pick in the first round of the 1989 MLB Draft. With the selection, Thomas would serve a 16-year stint in the south side of Chicago where he would become an instant fan favorite. Thomas would 'hurt' the ball with his powerful swing and long home runs, thus leading to the moniker he was given by longtime White Sox broadcaster Ken Harrelson -- "The Big Hurt".
In his first full season, in 1991, Thomas finished third in MVP voting. Even though he didn't win MVP honors that year, he did manage to win his first of four Silver Slugger awards. However, Thomas would win back-to-back MVP tittles in 1993 and '94, becoming the first White Sox to do so since Dick Allen in 1972 and one of only three first basemen in history to win consecutive MVP awards in the majors (Jimmie Foxx and Albert Pujols, are the others). Thomas would prove to be one of the more consistent and prolific ball players of his time, finishing in the top 10 of MVP voting every year from 1991-1997. As Thomas' numbers slightly diminished during his final years in Chicago, the White Sox decided to take a different route, creating an ongoing feud between both he and the front-office. Thomas felt he was unappreciated when being let go and not receiving a phone call after a 16 year relationship with the franchise.
The Big Hurt then signed with the Oakland Athletics in 2006, as their everyday DH. In his first game against his former team, Thomas was greeted by the Chicago fans with a thunderous applause while leading off the second inning. Moments later, Thomas would hit his first of two home runs on the night. The crowd would react with a standing ovation. Thomas would rejuvenate his career in Oakland, logging 39 HR's and 119 RBI's and played a vital role in the A's playoff stretch. During their first postseason game, Thomas would hit two solo home runs against the Minnesota Twins, making him the oldest player to hit multiple home runs in a postseason game. Despite his brilliant year, Thomas would come up short for the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award, finishing second behind the man who replaced him in Chicago, Jim Thome. Thomas would also finish 4th in the voting for the AL MVP.
After his rebounding year in Oakland, the Toronto Blue Jays signed The Big Hurt to a 2-year deal worth $18 million. As a Blue Jay, Thomas would go on to hit his 496th career home run, his 244th long ball as a DH, breaking the record previously held by Seattle's Edgar Martinez. Thomas' biggest home run would come less than two weeks later, as he hit his 500th career home run, becoming the 21st player in Major League history to do so. Thomas would once again come to bad terms within the team's staff, this time with the manager. Before a game in early April, manager John Gibbons announced he would be benching Thomas for an undisclosed period of time. After being released by the Blue Jays just one day after being benched, the angry veteran then found his way back in Oakland, just four days after his departure. Thomas' second stint with the A's would be his final season in a big league uniform as he struggled at the plate and served time on the disabled list.
Although he wasn't the slimmest guy on the baseball field, Thomas had a steady diet of homers, having belted a total of 521 long balls in his 19-year career. The 5-time All-Star owns a handful of White-Sox records and is the team's all-time leader in categories such as: runs scored (1,327), home runs (448), doubles (447), RBI (1,465), extra-base hits (906), walks (1,466), total bases (3,949), slugging percentage (.568), and on-base percentage (.427). Despite not being on the postseason roster due to injury, Thomas does have a World Series ring under his belt from the 2005 season when the White Sox overcame a drought of 46 years without a World Series Championship by sweeping the Houston Astros.
Now that The Big Hurt has concluded his career, the next destination on the list is a no brainer -- Cooperstown. The only question remains is the one everyone asks, is he first ballot material? & If you ask me, I'd have to say all signs point to yes. After all, the big guy is only one of a few players in an elite group of ball players. There are only six other players in history who have both hit more home runs and have a higher career batting average than Thomas: Hank Aaron, Jimmie Foxx, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and The Say Hey Kid - Willie Mays. All of which are current or future Hall of Famers, might I add.
Oh & I almost forgot, it doesn't hurt (no pun intended) to have your own video game out either!
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