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Originally posted by ThurgreedMarshall
I posted a response to this that got lost because the last thread closed. Pain in the ass.
Anyway, I hear that. Dave Winfield was that player for me.
But there is no question Thomas is/was a huge talent. Great hitter with an outstanding eye, who hits for power and average. His numbers don't get the attention they deserve because he hit in the steroid era (presumably) without the steroids.
But, I have heard the following about him. Please let me know if I'm off base.
1. He's a stats guy. Doesn't care how the team does as long as he puts up his numbers.
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To an extent he was. I guess. Aren't all players "stats guys"? I don't trust anything Kenny Williams or Ozzie say about him -- typical White Sox, however: trash great players after/when they leave. They did it to Fisk, Ventura and even Ozzie.
I think he wanted to win. He was the team's biggest cheerleader when he was hurt last year, and was on the verge of tears after the championship parade.
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Originally posted by ThurgreedMarshall
2. He's a shitty teammate. He expects and demands special treatment from the club, thinks he's better than anyone else and generally his teammates don't like him.
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I've heard this. Don't know if it's true. I know Aaron Rowand loved him. I haven't heard anyone publicly bash him for being a bad teammate except for Ozzie (who bashes everyone) and Kenny Williams, who is an asshole himself. Like I said, the papers really exaggerated all of Frank's purported bad characteristics.
FWIW, the Oakland players can't stop talking about him, how great he is and how he's helped them.
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Originally posted by ThurgreedMarshall
3. He fakes injuries. Or maybe he just doesn't play with injuries he could play with because he had that huge contract, doesn't care and puts himself before the team every chance he gets.
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Completely false. Blame that one on David Wells, who claimed just that publicly...just before Frank was diagnosed with a torn triceps.
Frank's foot doctor has said that it's amazing that he can still walk, let alone play baseball. Before 2000, he had never really been hurt.
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Originally posted by ThurgreedMarshall
4. A friend of mine wanted to try to set me up with his wife when they separated (I think) way back. They told me that he was a tremendous asshole, completely arrogant and hated by everyone "close" to him.
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No idea about this one. Like I said, he's always been great with fans.
