Quote:
Originally posted by ThurgreedMarshall
Is this some kind of sick joke? Do you really want to see Frank Thomas do anything but fall flat on his huge face? That guy is a bigger dick than ARod.
TM
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Damn, dude, you just picked on my favorite player of all time.
He's not a dick...at least to the fans. He was a dick to the media, and said a few things publicly that he should have kept private. The media destroyed him b/c he treated reporters like shit. His current (bad) reputation has been completely exaggerated (especially by Jay Mariotti, who is hated in Chicago). But he's always been very gracious and friendly with fans. I've actually met him in a bar. Unbelievably friendly.
Also, he is the greatest right-handed hitter I've ever seen (Ozzie recently said the same thing). I was 15 when he came into the league. At 8, you start to really like baseball. At 12, you know how to hit, throw and run. But by 15, you get it. And Frank's first years with the Sox corresponded to 15-17 for me. He was just...awesome. He's the greatest hitter in Sox history (by far), and, according to Bill James, a lock for the HOF.
In his 1995 Players Ratings Book, this is what Bill James wrote about him: "Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Frank Thomas...maybe the three best hitters God ever made. Gets on base half the time, has tremendous power, hits .350...what more could you want? He works hard, stays healthy, never slumps. Only weakness are his glove and speed. When the White Sox picked him seventh overall in the 1989 draft, they were widely ridiculed by the scouting community."
Thomas has authored a career batting line of .305 AVG/.425 OBP/.565 SLG. That OBP is good for 13th on the all-time list, and Thomas' .565 SLG ranks 15th all-time (minimum 3,000 plate appearances on both counts).
Soon, he'll be only the seventh player to retire with at least 500 homers and a career batting average of at least .300. The others on that exclusive list are Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams and Mel Ott.
