Thank You Frank Thomas.

[JUGGERNAUT]

Dear Frank,

 

I understand your pain. I think you were hoping to at least have a shot at competing against Thome in Spring Training for the job. I think you were hurt most by Kenny Williams telling reporters he didn't have enough medical info to make a decision. I wish Kenny would stop doing that. Two years in a row now he's done this.

 

I hope you can accept my apology on behalf of all White Sox fans who admire what you've done over the years. We are very sorry that Kenny's comments made it sound like your playing days are over. You are a very proud man & you should be the one to announce that when the time is right. When a player like yourself is telling people you feel great Kenny should just let it go. He shouldn't challenge it by stating "I've not received enough medical information to base a decision on".

 

I'm sure in your heart & soul you are good for 500 AB next year. Kenny made the move to get Thome because he had serious doubts that Kong would re-up. When that happened it was obvious the only role on the team left for you was that of a bench player. With the opportunity to be a starting DH elsewhere that just wasn't a realistic option.

 

We will miss you Frank. You brought excitement to every game you played in. It mattered not what the score was or whether the team was on a losing or winning streak. When good ole number 35 stepped to the plate

hopeful Sox fans every where were anticipating something would happen to ignite the White Sox. You were a reason alone to go to the ball park.

 

With best wishes for good health God Bless you & all your loved ones.

[jloveswhitesox35]

Thank you Frank for all the memories with the White Sox. You are a hero to all White Sox fans that been with you from the starting of your career. You will always be the BEST White Sox Player ever. You will be missed by all. Thank you!

[Kyyle23]

I hope this hasnt been posted yet

 

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...-home-headlines

 

So long, Frank: Getting over a big hurt

 

 

 

 

December 9, 2005

 

 

As a lifelong White Sox fan who came of age during what should someday be known as the Frank Thomas era, I watched Paul Konerko's recent press conference with mixed emotions. Of course it was a good thing that the Sox signed Konerko. The Jim Thome trade also made the team stronger. Still, I had this gut realization that it was over: I would never see Frank Thomas--hunched low, predatory, ready to pounce with that vicious uppercut swing--in a Sox uniform again.

 

Apparently, not everyone thought this was such a big deal. In the days following the Konerko signing, Chicago columnists waxed lukewarm about Frank's legacy. But those of us who have followed and loved the Sox know that we're saying goodbye to the best pure hitter we're ever likely to see.

 

 

To watch Frank hit in the '90s was an event. You stopped what you were doing and studied the TV as he planted his prodigious back foot and waved those massive arms. The announcers' voices went taut with excitement. The pitcher's eyes widened. This was Mozart, Einstein. You were in the presence of a kind of genius.

 

There was no reasonable way for a pitcher to get Frank out back then. When he first came into the league in August 1990, I tried to explain his hitting philosophy to a friend (I was 10 years old): "The thing is, you can't throw him balls because he won't swing at them. And you can't throw him strikes, because he'll hit a home run."

 

It was a simplistic but devastating formula. For all the things columnists say about him now, they rarely say this: Frank Thomas was the greatest hitter in the most offensively prolific decade in baseball history. Between 1991 and 1997, Frank hit .331 and averaged 36 home runs and 118 runs batted in a year. (His best year, 1994, was cut short by the strike.) Frank was robbed of what should have been his third MVP in 2000 and, as recently as 60 games into the 2004 season, when he sustained an injury, Frank remained one of the most potent offensive forces in the steroid-juiced American League. He was, quite simply, the greatest offensive force to ever set foot in Chicago.

 

But what the columnists would have us remember is that Frank studied his stats in the clubhouse, didn't know enough about Jackie Robinson, built his house with non-union workers. He wouldn't do a running drill in spring training.

 

To be sure, Frank has never been a natural leader, and, occasionally, he has done inexplicably stupid things, like when he held out in spring training for six days in 2001. But can you imagine Bonds or Clemens being held to answer for such small crimes? Ruth? Williams? Somehow, in Frank's case--maybe it was his ineptitude at defending himself--these things stuck. Before long, it was common knowledge that he was viewed as being petulant, selfish, acid in the clubhouse.

 

Perhaps Frank was not quite made to be a superstar in today's sporting universe. He was really a "rain man" of sorts: Hitting was what he knew how to do. And that's what he did--fantastically, incomparably--for the better part of 15 years. Sox fans can at least take solace, as they mourn Frank's departure, that in his final year, struggling with injuries, a cynical media, declining bat speed, a team on which he was not supposed to fit, Frank nonetheless became what he had never seemed before: beloved.

 

Maybe you were at U.S. Cellular Field on Memorial Day, when Frank came off the disabled list. The stadium was uncharacteristically packed. A buzz was in the air, old feuds forgotten. What mattered was that Frank Thomas was in the lineup; he was going to hit. The crowd stood and held its breath every time Frank was to bat. With each monstrous swing came an eruption of hope: Something spectacular might happen--at any moment, he might launch one.

 

It was clear on that day that Frank was in bad shape. He could barely run. His swing was slow. He couldn't reach the outside pitch. Still, he laid out a rope to left and walked in three at bats.

 

The fans--can you blame them?--wanted more Big Hurt. They knew his days were numbered.

 

You say Konerko is the perfect White Sox, the first baseman of our dreams. I'm glad we signed him, but the best Sox first baseman I know will be playing elsewhere next year.

 

----------

 

A former Chicagoan, Jon Baskin lives in New York.

Edited December 10, 2005 by kyyle23

[Be Good]

Thanks for the memories Frank, thanks for making me a Sox fan. If it weren't for you i'd probably be a pitiful Yankmees fan or a Mets fan. At least you got your ring, though I would of love to see you hit in the Series. Hopefully you come back in the organzation.

[hi8is]

that article litteraly made my eyes water.

[chisoxgrl]

Thanks Frank, for all the memories! Good luck in your future and know you will live in the hearts of Sox fans! It will not be the same without you next year!

[lightthematch]

If you care: http://www.allsports.com/cgi-bin/store/sho...tml?mv_pc=story

 

[wilmot825]

Goodbye to a White Sox legend, please leave a message to the man who gave this organization so much

[Pierzynski 12]

Goodbye to a White Sox legend, please leave a message to the man who gave this organization so much

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[WilliamTell]

There's too much to say, but thanks for the great memories Frank. You'll always be my favorite all time baseball player. Bo Jackson was the reason I started liking the White Sox in the 1993 season, but Frank Thomas was the reason why I stayed a true White Sox fan. I can't say enough for him.

[greasywheels121]

I'm going to merge this with a thread doing the same thing back we started a couple weeks back.

[Baines3]

Thanks for the memories Frank. I wish you could have played in the World Series, but to see you holding the trophy brought tears to my face. No one should ever again wear the number 35 for the White Sox, that is Frank's number.

 

[JimJab]

Frank has always been my favorite player in the game and it's going to be hard to see him go. It's definetly going to be strange to see him in another uniform. I hope some sort of miracle happens and he comes back, it's unlikely, but one could dream, right? Wherever you end up on opening day, I'll still be supporting you!

 

#35 For Life

[needauribe]

Dear Frank,

 

As great a player you are, understand that we White Sox Fans ALL know. I was at that game on Memorial Day. I saw the bird come down from the back of the stadium, knew that it was a special game, and realized why when you came to bat. Just as I did when I first came to the stadium in 1993, I had a special feeling when you came to the plate. I wish I could see it again, and just like many who have posted, I am holding out on a long-shot hope of some kind that you may find your way back to the south side bfore the end of your career. Regardless of what happens with you and with the White Sox, you are the one who made me a life-long proud White Sox Fan. I was part of the standing ovation at your 1st game back at U.S. Cellular Field in 2005 and will be a part of the standing ovation again for your 1st game back at U.S. Callular Field in 2006.

 

Thank For The Memories Frank,

 

Eric