He went to Georgia as an assistant coach from 1923-24, then worked as head coach at Chattanooga from 1925-1928 and Alabama from 1931-1942, 1944-1946. He played for three American League (AL) teams from 1990 to 2008, all but the last three years with the Chicago White Sox. See more photos of Frank Thomas and the other five members of the 2014 class. "What a feeling", Thomas said. The Blue Jays honor Frank Thomas for his 500th home run, Chicago White Sox first-round draft picks, Thomas was named spokesperson for Guaranteed Rate, List of Major League Baseball home run records, List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders, List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders, List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders, List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders, List of Major League Baseball career total bases leaders, List of Major League Baseball runs batted in records, List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders, List of Major League Baseball batting champions, List of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders, List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders, "One Player Who Spoke With Mitchell Wonders Why So Few Others Did", "August 2, 1990 Chicago White Sox at Milwaukee Brewers Play by Play and Box Score", "August 28, 1990 Chicago White Sox at Minnesota Twins Play by Play and Box Score", "Former ChiSox slugger agrees to 1-year deal with A's", "Big signing: Jays ink Thomas Two-year contract includes option for 2009 season", http://espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=270628109, "September 15, 1996 Chicago White Sox at Boston Red Sox Play by Play and Box Score", "September 17, 2007 Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays Box Score and Play by Play", "Toronto Blue Jays: Frank Thomas Out, Barry Bonds In? Statistically he is. Frank Thomas' Big Hurt was later added to pinball video game The Pinball Arcade in late July 2016. Led A.L. As a member of the White Sox, Thomas and teammate Magglio Ordóñez tied a major league record for back-to-back homers, with six in one season. Still, he was named AL Comeback Player of the Year, and Chicago finished with the AL's best record. But his power and ability to get on base and drive in runs were still in his offensive arsenal. All Rights Reserved. #35 Frank Thomas Chicago White Sox Hall of Fame Edition. The
Despite his perennial offensive production and established fan base in Chicago, the White Sox elected to release Thomas in 2005. I was always one of the most competitive kids around. By the end of his junior baseball season he had hit 19 home runs, 19 doubles, and batted .403 with a slugging percentage of .801. [4], "I was shocked and sad", Thomas recalled in the Chicago Tribune. From 1991 to 1997, Thomas finished in the top 10 of the MVP voting every year. Is that deserving of being voted into the Hall of Fame? He was nicknamed the "Big Hurt" by White Sox broadcaster Ken "Hawk" Harrelson, supposedly because of the hurt he put on the baseball, and let's face it, he was big. During the 1994-95 MLB strike, Thomas and a handful of other striking players appeared as themselves in the November 27, 1994 episode of Married With Children (Season 9, Episode 11). Draft: Drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 1st round (7th) of the 1989 MLB June Amateur Draft from Auburn University (Auburn, AL). COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Former Auburn star Frank Thomas became the first Auburn player and first former Southeastern Conference baseball player to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday. We don't know your situation or what's going to happen.' He was unable to play in the post season while the White Sox won the World Series that year. Following two sub-par seasons, Thomas lost a close MVP vote in 2000 despite posting career highs of 43 home runs and 143 RBI. In 2000, Thomas was named a member of the inaugural class of the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame.[6]. On September 17, 2007, Thomas hit three home runs in his team's 6–1 win over the Red Sox. [16] He also was key to the team's stretch drive to the playoffs: for the week ending September 10, he was the league's player of the week after hitting .462 with five homers and 13 RBI. Let's also not forget that he spent more than half his career as a designated hitter. He played for the United States team in the Pan-Am Games that summer, then was injured playing football in the fall. It was the second time in his career that Thomas hit three home runs in a game, the first time also having been against the Red Sox on September 15, 1996 in a White Sox loss. His numbers declined sharply after that 2001 season, with him barely finishing his career with a .300 average after being well over that number after his first seven years in the league. He holds White Sox franchise records for career home runs (448), RBI (1,465), runs (1,327), doubles (447), extra base hits, walks (1,466), slugging average, (.568) and on-base percentage (.427). [3], Thomas was born and raised in Columbus, Georgia, and attended Columbus High School, where he was a standout in both football and baseball. In 2005 manager Ozzie Guillén led the White Sox to a World Series victory, their first in 88 years. HALL OF FAME GALLERY. [28] After hitting his 500th career home run in 2007, Thomas stated, "It means a lot to me because I did it the right way", alluding to Barry Bonds's then-ongoing pursuit of Hank Aaron's career home run record. We ranked every team's chances at landing the best pitcher on the FA market this year , Previewing the Fall Classic after Astros force Game 7. What would his numbers have been had he had the strike zone he had to deal with later in his career? He batted cleanup and helped the Legends team win the ballgame. It was a three-run shot off Minnesota's Carlos Silva (Thomas' 500th home run came on the same day Craig Biggio hit his 3,000th career hit). He also was not a very good clutch player. He went to Georgia as an assistant coach from 1923-24, then worked as head coach at Chattanooga from 1925-1928 and Alabama from 1931-1942, 1944-1946. Thomas was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2014. that Frank Thomas compiled seven straight seasons with at least 20 homers, 100 RBI, 100 walks and a .300 batting average (1991-97), the longest such streak in big league history? In 1991, Thomas finished third in MVP voting with a .318 batting average, 32 home runs and 109 runs batted in, as well as walking 138 times. The White Sox retired Thomas's uniform number 35 in 2010 and unveiled a statue of him at U.S. Cellular Field in 2011. But this would not mean an end to the rocky path he would follow later in his career. "He was fun to be around—always smiling, always bright-eyed." A similar warning was placed on teammate A. J. Burnett's commercial. Despite the injury that could have jeopardized his football scholarship, Auburn continued his funding, and baseball became his sole sport. I've got no respect for that." An imposing figure at the plate and in the field, combined powerful swing and exceptional batting eye to become one of the game’s most feared hitters. Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 2014. He hit more home runs in that turn at the plate than any other. It was unveiled on Sunday, July 31, 2011, on the outfield concourse at U.S. Cellular Field. I had tears in my eyes. Thomas was not on the post-season roster of the Series-winning team due to injury, but the team honored his perennial contributions to the franchise during Game 1 of the Division Series against the Boston Red Sox. He wanted desperately to win a contract to play professional baseball, but was not selected in the 1986 amateur draft. The umpires gave him the benefit of the doubt that turned him into a legendary hitter. Top 25 Super Bowl Performances of All Time, Each NHL Team's Most Likely Future Hall of Famer, 30 Greatest Teams in Premier League History, 28 most memorable buzzer beaters in March Madness history. [2], Thomas was one of the few major league stars who never fell under suspicion during the performance-enhancing drugs controversies of the late 1990s. He repeated as MVP in the strike-shortened 1994 season, batting .353 and leading the league in slugging percentage and runs. Isn't it far easier to hit when you're constantly up in the count 2-0, 3-0, 3-1, etc? To really know the fans cared that much about me – it was a great feeling. He won consideration for the U.S. National Team – preparing for the 1988 Summer Olympics – but was cut from the final squad. Thomas was a selfish player with few friends among his teammates, coaches, managers, and the media covering him. [4] In the summer of 1988, Thomas played for the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Thomas then enrolled at Auburn University with the intention of playing football, and the 6-foot-5, 240-pound tight end caught three passes as a freshman that fall. The question is whether or not Frank Thomas is a first ballot Hall of Famer. This ad drew the criticism of the Television Bureau of Canada, who requested a "Dramatization. Could the DH be like the closer where there are only a few allotted that honor, and certainly not the first time out? Among players with at least 7,000 at bats in the AL, he ranked eighth in slugging average (.555) and ninth in on-base percentage (.419). In 1994, playing just 113 games due to a strike-shortened season, Thomas again put up huge offensive numbers recording 38 homers and 101 RBIs, batted .353, and led the league in runs scored (106), walks (109), and slugging percentage with a whopping .729 mark. "First I lose my father, then come back and find out I'm lost for the season."
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