Frank Thomas Prepares for Hall of Fame Induction

Former White Sox slugger gets Hall of Fame call

UPDATE: Frank Thomas Inducted into Hall of Fame

Frank Thomas was always driven to excel, and that sure served him well.

"I was never that blue-chip prospect," he said. "I had to outwork my opponents."

Hard to imagine now that Thomas was ever anything except a huge star.

For Thomas, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound former Chicago White Sox slugger known as the Big Hurt, life has come full circle — from awe-struck rookie in 1990 to baseball royalty.

Thomas was elected in January to the Hall of Fame, along with pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. Also to be inducted Sunday are managers Joe Torre, Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox, who were selected in December.

"This is the top 1 percent in all of baseball that gets in the Hall of Fame," said Thomas, the first player elected to the Hall of Fame who spent more than half of his time as a designated hitter. "As a kid, the big dream is being a professional. But to make it to the Hall of Fame? Come on, you've got to pinch yourself. I'm very fortunate it happened for me, especially first ballot."

Thomas won AL MVP awards in 1993 and 1994 and finished his 19-year career with a .301 batting average, 521 homers and 1,704 RBIs.

He also won the 1997 AL batting title and helped show that in more recent times a power hitter could also be selective at the plate.

Thomas played 16 years for the White Sox and established himself as the best hitter in franchise history. He's the only player in major league history to log seven straight seasons with a .300 average, 20 homers, 100 RBIs and 100 walks.

Heady territory for a guy who didn't take baseball seriously until he was 12 and many thought would end up as a star tight end in the NFL because of the devastating blocks he delivered.

"Hitting was something I took very serious. The way I swung the bat at times, you'd think I was 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds," said Thomas, who decided to focus solely on baseball as a sophomore at Auburn. "But I cared about getting hits and scoring runs. A lot of people didn't know that about my game. Yes, I hit a lot of home runs, drove in a lot of runs, but there were many days that I was just content getting singles and getting on base and letting the other guys drive me in."

Just as impressive: Thomas, Babe Ruth, Mel Ott, and Ted Williams, are the only players in major league history to retire with a career batting average of at least .300, 500 home runs, 1,500 RBIs, 1,000 runs scored, and 1,500 walks.

The effect of the Steroids Era was front and center at last year's induction ceremony. The 2013 class consisted of Jacob Ruppert, umpire Hank O'Day and catcher "Deacon" White — all three had been dead for more than 70 years — and was picked by a select 16-member committee.

It marked just the second time in 42 years that members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America failed to elect anyone. Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Roger Clemens — all linked to steroids — didn't even come close in their first year of eligibility.

That was not lost on Thomas.

"I played in an era that people are going to be thinking about for a long time," said Thomas, who was plagued by injuries in his later years. "I'm proud that I stuck to my guns and did things the right way, the proper way."

"I'm looking forward to a huge turnout," said Thomas, who's from Georgia. "I'm so happy and proud. To go in with the three most iconic managers of my time, it doesn't get any better than that, to be a part of that group."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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