50 FAVORITE WHITE SOX PLAYERS

[knightni]

1. Frank Thomas

 

 

(26 of 27 lists - 600 points - highest ranking #1 Buehrle>Wood, BigSqwert, Markbilliards, OilCan, smalls2598, rangercal, The Bones, MHizzle85)

 

bio by knightni -

 

It's the early/mid ninties.

 

You're doing your homework, cleaning, eating dinner, or getting ready for the next day.

 

The Sox game is on T.V. in the background.

 

They're currently down 2 to the Angels and they just don't seem to have it tonight.

 

They get the leadoff man on. Then, a behemoth of a man steps to the plate. You can hear the crowd noise on T.V. rising and so you look up from what you're doing.

 

It's him.

 

Frank Thomas.

 

You stop everything that you were doing and watch each and every pitch.

 

First pitch: Ball One.

Why? Because Frank Thomas didn't swing at it.

The umpire knows that if Frank doesn't swing, it has to be a ball.

 

Second pitch: A screaming foul ball!

A souvenir that everyone, yet no one really wants.

Is a broken hand worth a baseball hit by Thomas? Ummm...yep.

 

Third pitch: In the left field bleachers, 400 feet away. Tie Game.

 

 

Two time (three time... if not for Giambi and his steroids) league MVP. 3 time division champ, 1 time World Champion. The statue on the concourse and hall of fame induction are a forgone conclusion.

 

Always incredible.

 

Always a fan favorite.

 

Truly, the best and greatest Sox player ever.

[BigSqwert]

Always a fan favorite.

 

Truly, the best and greatest Sox player ever.

 

^^^^^^

[YASNY]

Who?

[Texsox]

It was impossible to not stop and watch him bat. People with only a passing interest in the game knew how special he is. Amazingly loyal. He was the face of the franchise, much like Roenick, Payton, Jordan, and Sandburg.

 

And like in real life with MVP votes, he probably was slightly slighted by not being the #1 on more ballots. It would seem that somehow he combines platitudes to his greatness while simultaneously being under appreciated. It did take a HoF player in Jim Thome to soften the blow of an icon leaving the team.

[Jordan4life_2007]

This man is the reason I became a fan of the Chicago White Sox and continue to be a fan of the Chicago White Sox. I don't think I can pay him a higher compliment than that.

[rangercal]

Frank Thomas. The reason I fell in love with baseball. The reason I became a White Sox fan.

 

He would have been a lot bigger but but

90-98 He was overshadowed by the Bulls Dynasty in Chicago.

98-2001 He was overshadowed by Sammy 'Corkin-cheatin' Sosa in Chicago.

 

Frank should be 1 of only 10 players to EVER win 3 MVPs. (Thanks Giambi)

The 1994 Strike screwed up what was in the verge of becoming one of the 5 greatest seasons in MLB history for a steroid free hitter.

 

Injuries may have slowed down on what could have been a 600 hr 3,000 hit career

 

Frank, I will never forget your 12 Homeruns in 105 abs during your final campaign as a member of the 2005 WORLD SERIES CHAMPION Chicago White Sox.

[shipps]

When I used to go to soxfest every year he seemed to be the ONLY player that mattered to the fans.He is Whitesox Royalty.

[rangercal]

When I used to go to soxfest every year he seemed to be the ONLY player that mattered to the fans.He is Whitesox Royalty.

I would get there at 4 am for a 9am signing. Always well worth it. He always seemed sincere and happy to be there too.

( something I could not say for all the players.)

[smalls2598]

A couple early memories of Frank:

 

He came up in August of 90, i was ten years old. I remember playing Pete Rose Baseball for the Atari 7800, and since they didn't have player names, my brother and I would make our own lineups with Sox players. I used to love being Frank "Thompson" as I used to call him back then because i couldn't remember his name, haha.

 

Then i remember going to the Sox game the next season with my family. Frank cranked his 1st career grand slam, and my sister, being 5 years old, was screaming at the top of her lungs after the fireworks went off. She loves when I tell that story now.

[FranktheTank35]

Man the suspense was killing me!

[DABearSoX]

This man is the reason I became a fan of the Chicago White Sox and continue to be a fan of the Chicago White Sox. I don't think I can pay him a higher compliment than that.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[Milkman delivers]

Honestly, who didn't vote for him?

 

EDIT: It was so long ago. I hope I didn't forget to mention him, although I think he was my #3.

Edited September 18, 2008 by Milkman delivers

[Greg Hibbard]

In the summer of 1990, Frank Edward Thomas made me a White Sox fan.

 

I was 15 years old, and had rooting interests on both sides of town at the time. My dad was a fan of both, and my friends were mostly split in their allegiances. After the 1989 collapse of the Cubs, the emergence of Frank Thomas was like a freight train that cut through all my previous experiences with sports.

 

It's rumored that Thomas is a guy too often preoccupied with stats. If that's the case, from 1990-1997, there was at least one fan who stared at the paper on a daily basis probably more than he did, trying to wring every last ounce of goodness oozing out from the Soxplus portion of the Chicago Tribune Sports Section. It was undeniable: this was not only the best hitter I had ever seen, he was arguably the best right handed hitter of all time. In hindsight, although I appreciated him to a large extent, I can't imagine what it would be like to fully appreciate Frank Thomas, because I think fans of opposing teams are required to help to describe it. Every fan of every opposing team feared this man, and knew that in any situation he was likely to deliver.

 

To pore over all the stats at this late day would be redundant. Simply put, this man has done what no man has ever done before in several ways. He was a singular force in that decade, more patient at the plate than almost any of his contemporaries, and more balanced than many of the outright sluggers. I will say that his projected stats from the 1994 season seem cartoonishly outrageous, even in the post-steroids baseball era, and deserve to be noted here. Assuming 160 games played, these would have been his stats given no falloff in the last two months:

 

G 160

R 150

H 200

2B 48

3B 1

HR 54

RBI 143

BB 154

K 86

.353/.487/.729/1.216

 

Absolutely, disgustingly, sick numbers.

 

As with anyone so dominant, the decline was precipitous and unexpected, but predictable because his massive, 250 lb frame held more than just the team up over the decade of the 1990s. However, he surprised us with a magical 2000 season, only to be robbed of a third MVP by a cheater so representative of an era thankfully over.

 

Whatever lack of charisma he may have had with his fans, teammates and coaches was made up for with one undeniable tenet of his character: he was clean, and he had the deepest respect and esteem for the game.

 

He surprised us again with a couple more seasons in which he was able to show flashes of what he once was, slugging out 42 home runs in a 2003 campaign with a near .270 average, more than respectable for a man in his late thirties, and also carrying Oakland to a 2006 playoff berth, but most importantly, giving us absolutely everything he possibly could, on one leg, to hit twelve home runs for us and perhaps granting us that extra boost we wouldn't have had without him, that extra boost that maybe provided that oh-so-fragile 1.5 game lead we ultimately held onto.

 

Most importantly for me, this man made me a fan of the game, he made me a fan of the white sox, and he made me a fan of him. I will never forget the memories I'll have of his journey through the major leagues, and not a day goes by that I don't check his stat line and root for him - sometimes, even when he's playing my beloved White Sox. Frank, I hope beyond my wildest dreams it's not the end of the road for you, but even if it is - you've been incredible.

Edited September 18, 2008 by Greg Hibbard

[watchtower41]

Honestly, who didn't vote for him?

 

EDIT: It was so long ago. I hope I didn't forget to mention him, although I think he was my #3.

 

 

whoever left Hurt off this list doesn't deserve to be a Sox fan.

[Balta1701]

whoever left Hurt off this list doesn't deserve to be a Sox fan.

Maybe it was KW?

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

Greg Hibbard your post was absolutely brilliant.

[nitetrain8601]

Honestly, who didn't vote for him?

 

EDIT: It was so long ago. I hope I didn't forget to mention him, although I think he was my #3.

 

Oops...

[Milkman delivers]

Greg Hibbard your post was absolutely brilliant.

 

Agreed.

[Milkman delivers]

Oops...

 

I'm sure you didn't actually forget. Why do you dislike him so much that you'd choose 20 other guys before him?

[Steve9347]

Great writeup Jeremy.

[EvilMonkey]

I have no special stories of or about Frank Thomas to share. It has been my please as a WHite sox and baseball fan to watch him play in a Sox uniform, and I appreciated every walk, hit and homerun he ever got. He made baseball card collecting fun for me, even though it was expensive thanks to his popularity. And he makes up a large portion of my baseball wall of fame. Thanks Frank.

[nitetrain8601]

I'm sure you didn't actually forget. Why do you dislike him so much that you'd choose 20 other guys before him?

 

Actually I didn't even know there were lists being submitted or that this whole shebang was going down. If not, Frank would be top 5 for sure. I was just too young during his prime years in the mid 90's. The reason I say that is because when I actually wanted to get interested in baseball was during 94/95 because the Bulls were alright and I wanted another sport to hold it down for the summer. My father disliked baseball because of the strike, so I just followed. So I pretty much didn't really start following baseball until 2000 when the Bulls stunk. My first experience with baseball was actually going to the ballpark which was so fun, I started following baseball. At that, I didn't have the patience to watch it on TV because I didn't understand all the mechanics and such, so I thought it was boring. So as I went to more ballgames, I got the scorecard to learn and tried to keep track of the numbers and such. After going to a bunch of games in 2001, mostly on Sundays (which is why I have a fetish with the White, Red & Blue throwbacks of that year) I just loved it and started really tracking baseball. It sucked because we imploded that season. Frank got injured, David Wells trade ended up being a bust, but Buehrle came up and looked good. I really fell in love with Crede's defense though.

 

[Milkman delivers]

Actually I didn't even know there were lists being submitted or that this whole shebang was going down. If not, Frank would be top 5 for sure. I was just too young during his prime years in the mid 90's. The reason I say that is because when I actually wanted to get interested in baseball was during 94/95 because the Bulls were alright and I wanted another sport to hold it down for the summer. My father disliked baseball because of the strike, so I just followed. So I pretty much didn't really start following baseball until 2000 when the Bulls stunk. My first experience with baseball was actually going to the ballpark which was so fun, I started following baseball. At that, I didn't have the patience to watch it on TV because I didn't understand all the mechanics and such, so I thought it was boring. So as I went to more ballgames, I got the scorecard to learn and tried to keep track of the numbers and such. After going to a bunch of games in 2001, mostly on Sundays (which is why I have a fetish with the White, Red & Blue throwbacks of that year) I just loved it and started really tracking baseball. It sucked because we imploded that season. Frank got injured, David Wells trade ended up being a bust, but Buehrle came up and looked good. I really fell in love with Crede's defense though.

 

Oh, I thought you were saying that you didn't put him on your list. See, I just don't understand how someone could dislike him enough to choose 20 others over him.

 

Who didn't vote for him, then?

[nitetrain8601]

Oh, I thought you were saying that you didn't put him on your list. See, I just don't understand how someone could dislike him enough to choose 20 others over him.

 

Who didn't vote for him, then?

 

Kenny GM or Paul Konerko. Probably both unless David Wells is registered under the website.

[lostfan]

I've seen him play in person several times but for some reason the only at-bat I can remember was him hitting into a DP against the Yankees around 1993 or so.