Thomas had 521 home runs, 1,704 RBI, 2,468 hits, and a .301 batting average in his major league career.
Frank Thomas is one of those players whose careers you reflect on and realize how spectacular he really was.
Thomas, 41, officially announced his retirement from Major League Baseball today. He played 19 seasons in the majors with the Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, and Oakland Athletics.
During the course of his career, Thomas was one of the greatest and most consistent hitters of his time. In his prime, you knew he was good for 32 plus home runs and over 100 RBI a season. Thomas’ consistency netted him 521 home runs, 1,704 RBI, and a .301 batting average in his illustrious.
Thomas was drafted by the White Sox in the 1st round of the 1989 amateur draft. Over the course of his 16 seasons on the south side, the Big Hurt gave White Sox fans plenty of memories.
He was the American League MVP in 1993 and 1994. In both those seasons, Thomas hit around 35 home runs, over 100 RBI, and had a batting average over .315.
And to this day, many White Sox fans, and Thomas himself, believe the White Sox would have won the World Series in 1994. Even though an ankle injury kept him out for most of the 2005 season and the entire playoffs, he got a ring when the White Sox won the World Series. Still, he contributed in 34 games, belting 12 home runs and 26 RBI from
Another thing White Sox fans and Thomas are sure of is that Thomas should have been the AL MVP in 2000. As a full time designated hitter, he hit .328 with a career-high 43 homers and 143 RBI but finished second in voting behind Jason Giambi. Giambi admitted to using steroids that season.
Despite Thomas’ 6’6,” 260 lbs frame, he was clean throughout his career. Granted, you can never be sure who was or wasn’t on steroids during the steroid era, but he was adamantly against performance enhancing drugs when it wasn’t fashionable.
He suggested MLB incorporate tougher drug-testing in the middle 1990s, when the league gave a blind eye to the whole steroid issue. He was also the only active player to voluntarily testify for the Mitchell Report.
In fact, after hitting his 500th home run in 2007, Thomas alluded that he was proud of being clean.
“It means a lot to me because I did it the right way,” Thomas said.
Keep in mind, Barry Bonds was chasing Hank Aaron’s home run record that summer. Bonds, whose stats are similar if not better than Thomas’, is the poster boy for the steroid era’s bad guys.
There is no doubt that he should be a first ballot Hall of Famer. But, you never know what those crazy baseball writers are thinking when they vote.
One strike against Thomas is his flawed personality. Everything was sunshine and roses when things were going well, but he could be surly and short with the media when times were rough. His competitive nature as a hitter painted him as selfish and arrogant.
Also, his departure from the White Sox following the 2005 season was both public and messy. Since then, Thomas claims he has patched up his relationship with general manager Kenny Williams, manager and former teammate Ozzie Guillen, and owner Jerry Reinsdorf.
We know public perception and grudges can hurt players’ hall of fame chances. That is why writers kept Jim Rice out of the hall for years.
But one perception that could help him is that he played the game the right way. Based on everything we know about Thomas, he was clean during the steroid era.
He posted at least a .300 batting average, 500 home runs, 1,500 RBI, 1,000 runs and 1,500 walks in his career. Only three other players have done that: Mel Ott, Ted Williams, and Babe Ruth. That’s a pretty illustrious group.
Knowing how the writers love numbers and would love to make an example of alleged and admitted steroid users, Thomas could certainly be a lock on the first ballot in 2014.
