Frank Thomas
The greatest hitter in White Sox history, Frank Thomas put up incredible numbers immediately after arriving in Chicago midway through the 1990 season. In seven consecutive seasons, the huge right-handed first baseman hit .300, scored 100 runs, drove in 100 runs, and walked 100 times. No other big leaguer had ever done that. He won the 1993 American League Most Valuable Player Award, and repeated the following year. After he turned 30, injuries robbed him of his priductivity, and by the time he was 34, he was a DH and part-time player. He was injured in 2005 when his Sox finally won the World Series, and watched the post-season from the dugout.
Quotes About Thomas
"And we don't miss him, by the way. If you go out there and ask any one of my players or staff members, we don't miss him. We don't miss the attitude. We don't miss the [complaining] and the whining. We don't miss it. Good riddance. See you later." — White Sox GM Kenny Williams, responding to comments Thomas made about the White Sox after they let him go after the 2005 season
Quotes From Thomas
"As someone who locked in it every day, and someone who could get results from good technique." — on how he wanted to be remembered as a hitter
Played For
Chicago White Sox (1990-2005)
All-Time Rankings
Frank Thomas ranks #2 among the Top 50 all-time at DH. Rankings ⇒
Best Season: 1994
From 1990 to 1997, Thomas posted these Relative Total Average marks: 168, 168, 164, 169, 198, 179, 159, 167. That's consistency. Obviously, however, his 198 mark in 1993 was a career-high. But it came in the strike season of 1994. He still managed 101 RBI and 38 homers in 113 games, while hitting a career-high .353. Hard to say if he would have maintained that batting average over a full season (probably, since he also hit as high as .340 two other times in his career), but it's safe to assume "Big Hurt" would have reached the 50-homer mark had their not been a work stoppage.
Factoids
On June 28, 2007, Frank Thomas belted his 500th career homer, in the first inning off Carlos Silva of the Twins. In the ninth inning of that same game, Thomas was ejected for arguing a called third strike.
Frank Thomas is one of four players to to record at least a .300 average, 500 home runs, 1,500 RBIs, 1,000 runs and 1,500 walks. The others are Mel Ott, Babe Ruth, and Ted Williams.
Best Hitters, First Four Full Seasons
Using SABRmetric methods, SABR member Ray Flowers examined the first four years of the greatest hitters in baseball history and came up with a list ranking them. The list shows Runs Created Above Average, so essenitailly it's how much above an average offensive player they were. These figures have been adjusted for the park they played in.
1. Babe Ruth 459
2. Ted Williams 407
3. Frank Thomas 319
4. Lou Gehrig 313
5. Stan Musial 302
6. Johnny Mize 283
7. Albert Pujols 281
8. Joe Dimaggio 253
9. Tris Speaker 246
10. Honus Wagner 224
11. Ty Cobb 224
12. Don Mattingly 223
13. Jimmie Foxx 218
14. Paul Waner 213
15. Ralph Kiner 206
16. Mel Ott 205
17. Eddie Collins 190
18. Nomar Garciaparra 188
19. Lance Berkman 188
20. Jim Thome 188
The list excludes those seasons before their first four that were "cup-of-cofee" seasons (less than 300 PA).
Description
A hulking physical specimen, Thomas was 6-foot-5 and weighed more than 240 pounds when he entered the big leagues. He gradually added more weight (and muscle) to his frame, topping out at 275 in his final years.
Where He Played
First base for the first portion of his career, and DH the second-half. Eventually, in 2006, his ledger showed more career games at DH than first.
Born
Frank Edward Thomas was born on May 27, 1968, in Columbus, GA.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Primary Position: 1B
Primary Team: CHA
College: Auburn
Major League Debut
August 2, 1990
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1990
Luis Gonzalez
Frank Thomas
Tino Martinez
Mike Bordick
Moises Alou
Todd Hundley
Mark Leiter
Ray Lankford
Jeff Conine
Nicknames
Big Hurt
Apparently, White Sox broadcaster Ken Harrelson tagged Thomas with the nickname "Big Hurt" because that's exactly what he does to opposing pitchers. It's one of the more unique and popular nicknames of the modern era.
Related Players
Jeff Bagwell was born on the exact same day, and also won the 1994 Most Valuable Player Award... In a strange twist, Craig Biggio, Bagwell's longtime Houston teammate, reached the 3,000-hit mark the same day (June 28, 2007) that Thomas hit his 500th homer.
Post-Season Appearances
1993 American League Championship Series
2000 American League Divisional Series
Awards and Honors
1993 AL MVP
1994 AL MVP
Milestones
- July 25, 2003: 400th HR... Off Jorge Sosa
- August 4, 2003: 2000th Hit... Off Nate Field, the hit was a mammoth home run.
Notes
In his 20s, Thomas hit .330 with a .600 SLG and .452 OBP. In his 30s, through 2005, he had hit .279 with a .527 SLG and .395 OBP. Through the age of 29, Thomas had clubbed 257 homers. It appears he won't be able to get to the 500-mark.
Injuries and Explanation for Missed Playing Time
Some of Thomas's drastic drop in production in his 30s had to do with knee injuries. But there aso just seems to have been a real loss of bat speed and strike zone judgment... In 2007 with the Blue Jays, Thomas was benched against the Tigers on April 19, prompting him to trash the team and claiming that management was trying to keep him from reaching the number of plate appearances to allow a second-year option to kick in.
Hitting Streaks
21 games (1999)
19 games (1992)
Transactions
June 5, 1989: Drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 1st round (7th pick) of the 1989 amateur draft.
October 31, 2002: Granted Free Agency.
December 6, 2002: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox.
November 8, 2005: Granted Free Agency.
January 25, 2006: Signed as a Free Agent with the Oakland Athletics.
October 15, 2006: Granted Free Agency.
November 17, 2006: Signed as a Free Agent with the Toronto Blue Jays.
All-Star Selections
1993 AL
1994 AL
1995 AL
1996 AL
1997 AL
Replaced
Dan Pasqua
Best Strength as a Player
Hitting for power. Hitting for average. Hitting into the gaps. Hitting ahead or behind the count. Hitting, hitting, hitting.
Largest Weakness as a Player
Running speed and defensive range at first base.
Other stories on the Web about Frank Thomas
Williams angered by Thomas' comments ⇒
White Sox buy out Thomas' option ⇒
Learn More about Frank Thomas
Search Amazon.com for Books about Frank Thomas ⇒
Search for Frank Thomas at Google ⇒
View a map of his hometown at Mapquest ⇒
