Thomas, Frank

views updated

Frank Thomas

1968-

American baseball player

Immense and powerful, at six-feet five-inches tall and somewhere between 250 and 300 pounds (depending on the season), Frank Thomas is a giant menace to opposing pitchers, who start worrying about this powerhouse before he even steps to the plate. Thomas, known as "The Big Hurt" (a nickname that stuck when White Sox broadcaster Ken Harrelson said it in 1992 after watching him crush a home run over 450 feet) is truly one of baseball's great sluggers. Whether he goes by "Frank Thomas" or "The Big Hurt," the names show up time and again when the greatest right-handed batters in the history of baseball are discussed.

Growing Up

Frank Edward Thomas, Jr., was born on May 27, 1968, in Columbus, Georgia, to Frank Thomas Sr. and Charlie Mae Thomas. Frank's father was a deacon at the local Baptist Church, but he also worked for the city to bring in some extra money for the family. Thomas' mother worked in a local fabric factory, and although their kids grew up in a poor neighborhood, Thomas' parents raised him and his five brothers and sisters under strict rules to keep their kids out of trouble.

As a child, Thomas already showed the signs of being an outstanding athlete. Warned to avoid trouble,

he often participated in sports at the local Boys Club, playing baseball, basketball and football. He was good enough that they soon moved him up to play organized sports with kids two to three years his senior. Thomas was an imposing presence, large (some say chubby), and his reputation with a bat even then caused kids to panic. They'd "throw the ball behind him, over the backstop, all over the place," his dad recalled in a Sports Illustrated article. "They'd do anything to avoid pitching to him."

Not immune to pain, however, Thomas saw his two-year-old sister Pamela grow sick and die of leukemia when he was still a young boy. After he turned professional, he would establish the Frank Thomas Foundation, in 1993, to raise money to find a cure for the disease. The suddenness of his sister's death frightened Thomas, who, on Thanksgiving Day in 1977 vowed that, in Pamela's honor, he would become a professional baseball player.

Graduating Disappointment

While at high school in Columbus, Thomas honed his jump shot in basketball, excelled as a tight end on the football field (also kicking extra points and making every one), and led the baseball team to a state title two years in a row. His senior year Thomas batted .440 and was voted onto the all-state team.

Despite his power and prowess in baseball, however, when the 1986 draft was over, 888 players from high schools and colleges from around the country had been drafted—but not Thomas. He was devastated, claiming later on that he would have played anywhere, just to be able to get on the diamond. But he also realized later that it was one of the better things to happen to him, forcing him into college. He accepted a football scholarship to Auburn, a perennial collegiate powerhouse, where the time spent in the weight room increased his power, and the time spent learning the game at the college level helped turn him into "The Big Hurt" he is today.

Moving On Up

Thomas would leave the Auburn football team after only one season in order to concentrate on baseball. By his senior year (1989) he was voted the Southeastern Conference MVP in baseball, leaving the school with forty-nine career homers, a new record.

After a brief and dominating stint in the Chicago White Sox minor league system, Frank Thomas was finally called up to the big leagues on August 2, 1990. In those last few months of the season he would start at first base and bat .330, with 31 Runs Batted In (RBI), as well as hitting seven home runs.

Chronology

1968	Born May 27, in Columbus, Georgia
1977	Convinces father to let him play football in Pop Warner league (a league for twelve-year-olds)
1977	Younger sister Pam (two years old) dies of Leukemia
1986	Graduates High School and isn't drafted by any major league team
1986	Accepts scholarship to play football at Auburn
1987	Plays baseball for the U.S. Pan American Team and plays in Pan Am Games
1989	White Sox draft Frank Thomas with the 7th pick in the draft
1990	Called up to the Majors after spending a short time in the minors
1992	Crushes home run more than 450 feet
1992	Marries Elise Silver, daughter of a minor league baseball team owner. Frank and Elise will have two children
1993	Voted into his first All-Star spot
1993	Starts the Frank Thomas Charitable Foundation, which contributes to Leukemia Society of America
1994	Hits .452 in May, with twelve home runs; wins second straight American League MVP
1994	Major League Baseball season ends early on players strike, cutting short Thomas' phenomenal season
1996	Becomes the White Sox career home run leader
1997	Reaches base fifteen straight times, one short of major league record
2001	Injured during game against Mariners on April 27 and out for rest of season
2002	Renegotiates contract with White Sox after testy period in which it looked like Thomas might move to another team

Throughout the 1990s Thomas would exemplify a true power hitter, putting up impressive numbers year in and year out. In his first full season with the White Sox, he batted .318 and hit thirty-two home runs, with 109 RBIs. Though he was left out of the All-Star lineup that season, he finished third in MVP voting. In fact, he was left off of the All-Star roster again in 1992, even though his numbers seemed to indicate otherwise (.323 with twenty-four home runs and 118 RBIs).

In 1993, Thomas made it to the All-Star game, but more importantly, his bat helped propel the White Sox to their first division title in ten years. With a batting average of .317 and a new White Sox record forty-one home runs, as well as 128 RBIs, Thomas was voted baseball's Most Valuable Player—only the tenth time in the history of the sport the MVP has been chosen by unanimous decision. He'd completed an impressive season, and he would only build on those numbers in 1994.

The Season That Could Have Been

The "what-ifs" about Thomas's 1994 season still echo in the halls of baseball statisticians. The year was shortened by a players' strike in mid-August, and through 113 games, Thomas had posted a .353 batting average and amassed thirty-eight home runs. He also had 101 RBIs, leading the league with runs scored (106), walks (109), slugging percentage (.729), and on-base percentage (.487). It was a truly impressive run, capped by a May in which he averaged .452 at the plate while belting twelve home runs. Though Thomas would win a second MVP when the strike ended the season, one can only imagine what might have been. In fact, Sports Illustrated claimed that, barring the strike, Thomas might have broken Babe Ruth 's records for runs, walks, and extra-base-hits in a single season.

Getting Back On Track

In July of 1996, Thomas was injured for the first time, ending his consecutive games played streak at 346. It would be the beginning of some rocky times for Thomas, who in 1997 began to let disputes over his contract and outside interests in developing recording labels interfere with his concentration. Additionally, according to Gerry Callahan of Sports Illustrated, there was speculation that Thomas and his wife, Elise Silver, were going through some tough times in their marriage. Thomas, who tends to keep to himself and doesn't bother people with his brooding, told Callahan that, "All I'll say is, I'm a grown man with grown-up problems." His problems increased when he started putting on weight, and though he still compiled impressive statistics, they weren't the numbers Thomas was known for. The shadow of the outstanding player he had been loomed large. He wanted to, and would, get back to that spot.

Career Statistics

Yr	Team	AVG	GP	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	E
CHW: Chicago White Sox.
1990	CHW	.330	60	191	39	63	7	31	44	54	0	5
1991	CHW	.318	158	559	104	178	32	109	138	112	1	2
1992	CHW	.323	160	573	108	185	24	115	122	88	6	13
1993	CHW	.317	153	549	106	174	41	128	112	54	4	15
1994	CHW	.353	113	399	106	141	38	101	109	61	2	7
1995	CHW	.308	145	493	102	152	40	111	136	74	3	7
1996	CHW	.349	141	527	110	184	40	134	109	70	1	9
1997	CHW	.347	146	530	110	184	35	125	109	69	1	11
1998	CHW	.265	160	585	109	155	29	109	110	93	7	2
1999	CHW	.305	135	486	74	148	15	77	87	66	3	4
2000	CHW	.328	159	582	115	191	43	143	112	94	1	1
2001	CHW	.221	20	68	8	15	4	10	10	12	0	1
2002	CHW	.252	148	523	77	132	28	92	88	115	3	2
TOTAL		.314	1698	6065	1168	1902	376	1285	1286	962	32	79

Awards and Accomplishments

1989	SEC Most Valuable Player
1989	All-SEC Tournament Selection (baseball)
1990	Wins Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year award
1991	Silver Slugger Award-American League
1993	Named American League MVP by unanimous vote; wins Silver Slugger Award
1994	Repeats as American League MVP
1997	Ted Williams Award-American League (most productive hitter)
1997	Wins first batting title with a .347 average
2000	Silver Slugger Award-American League

The tough final years of the 1990s came to a head during spring training in 2000 when a shouting match erupted between Thomas and Sox manager Jerry Manual, involving, among other things, Thomas' refusal, due to a sore heel, to participate in the team's "shuttle run" drill. Though fans worried about what the argument might bode, Thomas and Manual let off some necessary steam, and Thomas went on to compile the numbers he was known for (.328, 43 home runs, 143 RBIs, 114 runs and 191 hits).

In the 2002 off-season, the White Sox exercised a "diminished skills" clause in Frank Thomas' contract. His 2001 season was riddled by injury, and to many, it looked as if the man who had a contract with the Sox through 2006 would now be a free agent. As fall wore on and winter approached, Thomas talked to several teams. But in early December, Thomas and the White Sox came to an agreement, albeit a rather complicated one.

The contract is chock full of options that, according to Scott Gregor of the Daily Herald, sound as if they were concocted "in an economic think tank." Thomas, who has been in the spotlight for over a decade, intends to remain in that spotlight, but this time for the right reasons—gaining his former prominence at the plate and putting up the numbers he's known for.

Hurtin'

"I've got a problem with him not doing the shuttle [run]," [Jerry] Manuel said to [general manager Ron] Schueler. "I told him he couldn't be on the field. How do you want to handle it?"

Schueler thought for a moment. "This is something you have to work out," he said.

They worked it out, all right. The manager tracked his star player into the clubhouse. "Come into my office," Manuel said. He closed the door, but one could hear the two men shouting at each other, their voices rising and their words often profane. "That's a bunch of bulls—and it had better stop!" Thomas yelled. "I'm not having it."

"This bulls—is the reason why we are always butting heads!" Manuel said….

The confrontation cleared the air and left both men looking relieved and at peace with each other. That same day Thomas called a meeting in the clubhouse to address his teammates. He apologized for not having done the shuttle, explaining that his foot was not completely healed, and told them why he could not pinch-hit in Texas. "I didn't quit on you guys," he said. "It was a medical thing. Jerry didn't know how bad it was." Thomas said all those media reports about him being "an individual player"—read, selfish—were not true. "I just want you to know I'm with you," he said.

Source: Nack, William. Sports Illustrated (Mar 13, 2000).