Frank "Big Hurt" Thomas will always be remembered as one of the hardest hitting Chicago White Sox in history.
Thomas had stints with the Oakland A's and Toronto Blue Jays, but his legacy will be that of a South Sider when he's one day enshrined into baseball's hall of fame.
A player doesn't earn the moniker "Big Hurt" without reason. Thomas was big, 6'5" and 275 pounds, and legend has it that he "Sandlotted" a baseball, annihilating it with his powerful swing—ripping it to shreds.
Besides being a formidable opponent for American League pitchers for close to two decades (.301 career batting average, 521 home runs), Thomas was one of baseball's good guys.
Thomas campaigned for performance enhancing drug testing in Major League Baseball well before it became "en vogue." The Big Hurt played the game with class and without the use of drugs while still compiling astronomical numbers.
In 2000, Thomas brought the "hurt" 44 times (second highest season total for him) and produced 143 runs. Ironically, he was snubbed in the MVP voting, and the award was given to admitted steroid user Jason Giambi. Goes to show you that good guys do finish last, or at least second.
Making an immediate impact his first full season with the White Sox, Thomas belted 32 dingers and raked in 109 RBI. Thomas, Minor League Player of the Year (1990) routinely smacked towering homeruns throughout the '90s, showcasing his big bat from day one.
There's no doubt that the Big Hurt made your favorite pitcher pay the ultimate price on several ocassions, so don't deny it!
Multiple Silver Slugger awards likely grace the Big Hurt's mantle, along with his two consecutive MVP awards (1993, 1994). Thomas has done what few athletes have done in their careers, and that's stay on the top of his game consistently. Five straight All-Star Game appearances, 11 100 plus RBI seasons, Thomas defined powered in every way possible.
The "Steroid Era" evoked questions of any big-leaguer's gaudy numbers in the 1990s. Did he juice, or didn't he? Thomas has vehemently denied "juicing," but without risking overdoing doing like others have in the past. Point blank, we asked him and he told us no, case closed.
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