Though considered a legend by the White Sox fanbase, new details have surfaced on how teammates viewed Frank Thomas during the early portion of his career.
In Jeff Pearlman’s latest book, “The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson,” the author included several comments from former White Sox players and coaches on how Thomas was perceived in the clubhouse.
Here’s an excerpt, courtesy of The Athletic’s Jon Greenberg:
“Frank was a douchebag,” one of his teammates is quoted as saying. “I judge people by how they treat those they don’t need to be nice to. Frank treated the clubhouse guys like garbage.”
Despite this comment being shared anonymously, former White Sox center fielder Lance Johnson (1988-95) wasn’t afraid to have his name printed. He went on to candidly describe Thomas as “just a baby” who would complain when coaches hit him fifth to protect some guys in the lineup.
“He refused. Just said, straight up, he wouldn’t hit fourth or fifth,” Johnson says in the book. “I heard that and thought, ‘There goes our shot at the World Series.’ Because everyone would just pitch around him. Which they did.”
Doug Mansolino, the first base coach at the time, claims that Bo Jackson “was the best thing for Frank.” Pearlman also included that “Jackson knew Thomas well enough to regularly say, with authority, ‘Frank, seriously, shut the f–k up.'”
Jackson, 59, joined the White Sox in 1991 and appeared in just 108 games by the end of his three-year deal. It was during this same time that Thomas kicked off his MLB career, as he debuted on August 2, 1990. Though both were well-established Auburn products, the two never played together until professionally on the South Side.
In his first full season in 1991, Thomas batted .318 with 32 homers, 104 runs scored, 109 RBI, and an American League-leading 138 walks and a .453 on-base percentage. “The Big Hurt” kept up his strong play in the following seasons, winning his first MVP Award in 1993 with a .317 average, 41 homers, and 128 RBI.
Thomas, now 54, became one of the game’s most prolific power hitters over the course of his 19-year career. When all was said and done, the Hall of Famer hit .301/.419/.555 with 521 home runs, 1,704 RBI, five All-Star Game selections, four Silver Slugger Awards, and nine Top 10 finishes in the AL MVP voting, including his back-to-back wins in 1993 and 1994.
Since the excerpt was tweeted, many fans have shared their mixed reactions to the publication.
“Not a surprise at all. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Big Frank was my least favorite person to deal with in MLB clubhouses. He was never happy, never easy to deal with no matter if he was 0-3 or 3-3 with 2 hrs. Always treating me and others like we were a bother.”
via @MarkVasko1
“Bo would never say that. That book is trash.”
via @maharajah_the
“Pearlman wrote a book about Payton that no one cared about. Now he’s written one about Bo that no one should care about. There’s got to be a more honorable way to make a living.”
via @BMorris2711
“Met Frank in 2007 when I was a clubhouse kid and he was 100% awesome. Coworkers who were older than me talked about meeting him in 2002 (year before I started), and said he was very cool, and a good guy. We were visiting clubhouse staff, but we loved Frank.”
via @AndrewDeffley
To this point, Thomas has not made any sort of public comments related to the book. We will provide any further updates to this story as we get them.
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Featured Photo: White Sox/Twitter
Back in 91 or 92 I had a baseball I caught from BP. I was in row 6 by the dugout. Before the game started I asked Ozzie if he could sign it. He said no. Frank saw that and said “throw me the ball”. He signed it and passed it down the dugout for others to sign, He then threw it back to me. Him not wanting to bat 5th doesn’t define who he is. He took pride in his craft and knew how he’d better his team.
Frank says my wife will be glad I started taking Nugenix. How does Frank know that? Asking for a friend—