Frank Thomas 1993 AL MVP

Lore & Background

Drafted seventh overall by the White Sox in the 1989 MLB draft, Thomas made his major league debut the following year and immediately impressed with his hitting ability. Thomas was named the AL's Most Valuable Player (MVP) by unanimous vote in 1993. That year, he became the first White Sox player to hit 40 home runs and led the team to a division title. He repeated as MVP in the strike-shortened 1994 season, batting .353 and leading the league in slugging percentage and runs. Following two sub-par seasons, Thomas lost a close MVP vote in 2000 despite posting career highs of 43 home runs and 143 RBI. Still, he was named AL Comeback Player of the Year, and Chicago finished with the AL's best record. Later in Thomas's career, a variety of foot injuries and minor ailments reduced his productivity and often limited him to a designated hitter role. In 2005, his final season in Chicago, he was limited to only 34 games after starting the year on the disabled list and then fracturing a bone in his foot close to where it was surgically repaired the previous off-season. He was unable to play in the post-season while the White Sox won the World Series that year. After leaving the White Sox, Thomas spent his last three years playing first for the Oakland Athletics and then the Toronto Blue Jays, with whom he hit his 500th home run, before returning to the A's for part of 2008, his last stop as a player. He signed a one-day contract with the White Sox in 2010, then announced his retirement.

In Their Own Story

The humid air inside Comiskey Park hung heavy as Frank Thomas stepped into the batter's box, the weight of the entire season resting on his shoulders. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, he adjusted his batting gloves and stared down a sinking fastball. The crack of the bat echoed through the stadium, sending a towering drive deep into the left-field seats. As he rounded first base, the roar of the crowd confirmed what the voting would soon decide: this was the year 'The Big Hurt' conquered the league.

Reader's Guide

By the end of his career, Thomas was tied for eighth in AL history for home runs (521), ninth for RBI (1,704), and sixth for walks (1,667). 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). With a .301 lifetime batting average, he became the seventh player in history to retire with at least a .300 average and 500 home runs. 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). The White Sox retired Thomas's uniform number 35 in 2010 and unveiled a statue of him at U.S. Cellular Field in 2011. Thomas was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014 in his first year of eligibility—the first White Sox star to achieve that distinction. Thomas was one of the few major league stars who never fell under suspicion during the performance-enhancing drugs controversies of the late 1990s. An advocate for drug testing as early as 1995, he was the only active player who agreed to be interviewed for the Mitchell Report in 2007.

Did You Know?

• Thomas was born and raised in Columbus, Georgia, and attended Columbus High School, where he was a standout in both football and baseball.
• He accepted a scholarship to play football at Auburn University in 1986, but later focused solely on baseball.
• Thomas played for the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League in the summer of 1988 and was named to the league's Hall of Fame in 2000.
• He hit his 500th career home run while playing for the Toronto Blue Jays.
• Thomas is one of the few players in MLB history to have seven consecutive seasons with at least a .300 average, 100 RBI, 100 runs, 100 walks, and 20 home runs—a feat also achieved by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.