Frank Thomas (baseball 1990)

Full Name: Frank Edward Thomas	Primary Position: DH,1B
Height/Weight: 6'5"/275	First Game: August 2, 1990
Birthdate: May 27, 1968	MLB Experience: 18 years
Birthplace: Columbus, Georgia
Bat/Throw: Right/Right

Biography[]

Frank Thomas (Frank Edward Thomas) was born on May 27, 1968 in Columbus, Georgia. He made his Major League debut on August 2, 1990 for the Chicago White Sox. In 1990, his rookie year, he hit .330 with 7 home runs and 31 RBI. Thomas played for the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, and Toronto Blue Jays over the course of his 18 year career.

The White Sox selected Thomas in the first round of the 1989 draft with the sevent pick over all. The 1B/DH out of Auburn University (where he also played tight end) was also the second college batter taken in the draft, after the Texas Rangers took Donald Harris (outfielder, Texas Tech University) with the fifth overall pick. Other notable picks from that year's first round include Mo Vaughn (23rd overall) and Chuck Knoblauch (25th).

Thomas signed a week after the draft and made his Major League debut just over a year later. He made a near immediate impact, raking seven home runs and putting up an atmospheric .454 OBP in 240 plate appearances as the season came to a close. His hold on a spot in the 1991 Chicago White Sox lineup was lock-solid, and he did not disappoint, putting up a .318/.453/.553 line and earning a first place vote in MVP voting. His 1.0006 OPS lead the league, as did his .453 OBP and 138 walks, earning him a Silver Slugger at DH.

A year later, Thomas again shone—leading the AL in doubles (42), OPS (.975), and OBP (.439). However, Thomas was not selected to the All-Star game, and received only passing attention in MVP voting. Both honors would come the next year.

The 1993 Chicago White Sox won their division for the first time in a decade, and Thomas played no small role. The unanimous AL MVP, Thomas slugged 41 home runs and drove in 128 runs and was finally named to the All-Star team. Ironically, Thomas did not lead the league in a single major statistical category. He was fourth in walks—a category he dominated from 1991 through 1995—but nevertheless was among the most feared hitters in the game. One needs no further proof of this than his line against the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1993 ALCS—17 at bats, 6 hits (one home run), and 10 walks.

Scouting Report[]

Statistics[]

Batting Stats[]

Year	Team		G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	2B	3B	BB	SO	HBP	SB	IBB	GDP
1990	CHI	A	60	191	39	63	7	31	.330	.454	.529	11	3	44	54	2	0	0	5
1991	CHI	A	158	559	104	178	32	109	.318	.453	.553	31	2	138	112	1	1	13	20
1992	CHI	A	160	573	108	185	24	115	.323	.439	.536	46	2	122	88	5	6	6	19
1993	CHI	A	153	549	106	174	41	128	.317	.426	.607	36	0	112	54	2	4	23	10
1994	CHI	A	113	399	106	141	38	101	.353	.487	.729	34	1	109	61	2	2	12	15
1995	CHI	A	145	493	102	152	40	111	.308	.454	.606	27	0	136	74	6	3	29	14
1996	CHI	A	141	527	110	184	40	134	.349	.459	.626	26	0	109	70	5	1	26	25
1997	CHI	A	146	530	110	184	35	125	.347	.456	.611	35	0	109	69	3	1	9	15
1998	CHI	A	160	585	109	155	29	109	.265	.381	.480	35	2	110	93	6	7	2	14
1999	CHI	A	135	486	74	148	15	77	.305	.414	.471	36	0	87	66	9	3	13	14
2000	CHI	A	159	582	115	191	43	143	.328	.436	.625	44	0	112	94	5	1	18	13
2001	CHI	A	20	68	8	15	4	10	.221	.316	.441	3	0	10	12	0	0	2	0
2002	CHI	A	148	523	77	132	28	92	.252	.361	.472	29	1	88	115	7	3	2	10
2003	CHI	A	153	546	87	146	42	105	.267	.390	.562	35	0	100	115	12	0	4	11
2004	CHI	A	74	240	53	65	18	49	.271	.434	.563	16	0	64	57	6	0	3	2
2005	CHI	A	34	105	19	23	12	26	.219	.315	.590	3	0	16	31	0	0	0	2
2006	OAK	A	137	466	77	126	39	114	.270	.381	.545	11	0	81	81	6	0	3	13
2007	TOR	A	155	531	63	147	26	95	.277	.377	.480	30	0	81	94	7	0	3	14
Total			2251	7953	1467	2409	513	1674	.303	.421	.561	488	11	1628	1340	84	32	168	216

Fielding Stats[]

Year	Team		POS	G	GS	INN	PO	A	ERR	DP	TP	AVG
1990	CHI	A	DH	8	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1990	CHI	A	1B	51	51	420.1	428	26	5	53	0	.989
1991	CHI	A	DH	101	101	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1991	CHI	A	1B	56	56	476.2	459	27	2	43	0	.996
1992	CHI	A	1B	158	157	1406	1428	92	13	112	0	.992
1992	CHI	A	DH	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1993	CHI	A	DH	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1993	CHI	A	1B	150	149	1300.2	1222	83	15	128	0	.989
1994	CHI	A	1B	99	99	867	735	45	7	74	0	.991
1994	CHI	A	DH	13	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1995	CHI	A	1B	90	89	772.1	738	34	7	67	0	.991
1995	CHI	A	DH	54	53	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1996	CHI	A	1B	139	139	1232	1098	85	9	111	1	.992
1997	CHI	A	1B	97	97	822.2	739	49	11	70	0	.986
1997	CHI	A	DH	49	49	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1998	CHI	A	1B	14	14	114	116	6	2	12	0	.984
1998	CHI	A	DH	146	146	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1999	CHI	A	DH	82	82	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1999	CHI	A	1B	49	49	421.1	385	18	4	40	0	.990
2000	CHI	A	DH	127	127	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
2000	CHI	A	1B	30	30	258.1	267	15	1	38	0	.996
2001	CHI	A	1B	3	3	19.2	20	1	1	2	0	.955
2001	CHI	A	DH	16	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
2002	CHI	A	1B	4	4	31	38	4	2	5	0	.955
2002	CHI	A	DH	140	139	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
2003	CHI	A	DH	124	124	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
2003	CHI	A	1B	27	27	209	206	9	1	19	0	.995
2004	CHI	A	DH	65	65	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
2004	CHI	A	1B	4	4	32.1	31	3	0	2	0	1.000
2005	CHI	A	DH	28	28	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
2006	OAK	A	DH	135	135	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
2007	TOR	A	DH	147	147	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Total			1B	971	968	8383.1	7910	497	80	776	1	.991
Total			DH	1241	1239	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Transactions[]

Selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 1st round (7th pick overall) of the free-agent draft on June 5, 1989- signed om June 11, 1989.
Granted free agency on October 31, 2002.
Signed by the Chicago White Sox on December 6, 2002.
Granted free agency on November 8, 2005.
Signed by the Oakland Athletics on January 31, 2006.
Granted free agency October 15, on 2006.
Signed by the Toronto Blue Jays on November 18, 2006.

Trivia[]

He was given the nickname "The Big Hurt" by broadcaster Ken Harrelson.
Thomas appeared in the movie Mr. Baseball (as a hot-prospect rookie who forces Tom Selleck's character off the Yankees) and made a guest appearance (as himself) on the TV show Married With Children.
In 1995, a Super NES baseball video game titled Frank Thomas' Big Hurt Baseball was released for home video game play, and Premier Technologies created a "Big Hurt" pinball machine, marketed under the Gottlieb trade name).
In 2007, he appeared in a promotional advertisement for the Toronto Blue Jays, in which he engages in a pillow fight with children. This ad drew the criticism of the Television Bureau of Canada, who requested a "Dramatization. Do not try this at home." disclaimer be placed on the ad. A similar warning was placed on teammate A.J. Burnett's commercial. The Blue Jays, humorously, scheduled a "Frank Thomas Kid's Pillow" promotion for September 2, 2007.
On June 28, 2007, Thomas became only the 21st player in Major League Baseball history to hit at least 500 home runs, after he hit a 1st inning home run at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.
- Coincidentally, Thomas hit his first home run of his career there back on August 28, 1990.
Thomas is one of only six players to hit 500 career home runs and accrue at least 1600 walks. The others are Babe Ruth, Mel Ott, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, and Barry Bonds.
Thomas was the first player in Major League history to win two silver slugger awards each at two different positions (1991 & 2000 at first base; 1993-94 as designated hitter).
He is one of four players (Eddie Murray, Hank Aaron, and Rafael Palmeiro) to collect over 500 career home runs and over 115 career sacrifice flies. This carries significance as some home run hitters are often chastised for putting their quest to hit home runs over a willingness to sacrifice oneself and advance the team.
Thomas was the only active baseball player to be interviewed during the preparation of the Mitchell Report. He did so voluntarily.
Thomas is also (currently) the all-time record holder for home runs by a designated hitter (261).
Thomas and teammate Magglio Ordonez tied a major league record for back-to-back homers, with six in one season.