Frank Thomas

Verified Timeline

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

On August 2, 1990, Thomas made his major league debut against the Milwaukee Brewers at County Stadium. He went 0-for-4 but recorded an RBI on a fielder's choice that scored Iván Calderón in a 4–3 victory. On August 28, he hit his first career home run off pitcher Gary Wayne at the Metrodome in the top of the ninth inning during a 12–6 loss; this park would later host his 500th career home run. In 2000, Thomas lost a close MVP vote despite career highs of 43 home runs and 143 RBI, yet earned AL Comeback Player of the Year honors as Chicago posted the league's best record. Later in his career, foot injuries limited him significantly; starting the 2005 season on the disabled list, he fractured a bone near a previous surgical site, playing only 34 games and missing the World Series run entirely. After leaving Chicago, he hit his 500th home run with the Toronto Blue Jays before returning to Oakland for part of 2008.

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.

Did You Know?

• 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 was an advocate for drug testing as early as 1995 and was the only active player who agreed to be interviewed for the Mitchell Report in 2007.
• Thomas was born and raised in Columbus, Georgia, and attended Columbus High School, where he was a standout in both football and baseball.
• He played for the U.S. Pan American Team in 1987 and for the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League in 1988.
• Thomas was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in May 2011.