For many years I had the thrill of watching Frank Thomas, "The Big Hurt," smash home runs while he was with the Chicago White Sox. This afternoon it appears his career could be over, as AP is reporting. Thomas has an expensive guaranteed contract. However, during the White Sox pre-game show today, analyst Bill Melton suggested Thomas could be a good match for the Detroit Tigers, who are off to a slow start. The Blue Jays defeated the Tigers today, 5-3.
The Toronto Blue Jays released slumping designated hitter Frank Thomas Sunday, cutting the 19-year veteran loose one day after he was angry for being taken out of the lineup.
General manager J.P. Ricciardi said he and Thomas came to "a mutual agreement" after meeting in the clubhouse early Sunday.
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Thomas has 516 career homers, placing him 18th on baseball's career list. In addition, he has hit 264 career home runs as a designated hitter, the most in baseball history.
With a career average of .302, Thomas is one of four players in baseball history to record at least a .300 average, 500 home runs, 1,500 RBIs, 1,000 runs and 1,500 walks. The others are Mel Ott, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams.
Frank's definitely a future Hall of Famer, but my guess is that because he has spent of of his career as designated hitter, the voters will deny him a first-year-of-eligibility entry.
Related post:
Frank Thomas hits 500th home run
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3 comments:
I can't say I agree with Melton on that one. Who is he going to replace, Gary Sheffield? What would be the point of that?
I wondered about that too. But maybe he has some inside info. Since the Tigers are off to a wretched start, bringing in new blood to shake things up wouldn't be a bad idea.
It's early, but the White Sox are in first place!
I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Wish they could have a steady diet of Cincinnati and Pittsburgh like, um, some other team I know.
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