White Sox Happy Thomas Decided to Quit Football

It crossed Frank Thomas’ mind at one time that he could play two sports, but a couple of football injuries persuaded him to concentrate his massive frame and powers on baseball.

It has turned out to be a wise choice for the 6-foot-5, 240-pound Chicago White Sox slugger, who in the span of one full year has made all of baseball take notice of his enormous talents.

Thomas played freshman football at Auburn as a tight end the year after Bo Jackson won the Heisman Trophy with the Tigers. Jackson went on to play pro football and baseball before a hip injury sidelined him in both sports.

“I thought about it and played both as a freshman,” Thomas said. “But in my sophomore year I got injured, and that killed the football dream. The first time I was blind-sided and then the second time I had a bone spur removed from my ankle. That’s when I decided on playing strictly baseball. It’s tough to play both on the pro level and I’m lucky I didn’t.”

So were the White Sox, who selected him in the first round of the June 1989 draft.

When Thomas, 23, was named American League Player of the Week last Monday, the honor came nearly a year after he entered the league Aug. 2, 1990.

During that span, Thomas had a .318 average with 27 home runs, 106 RBIs and 133 walks--numbers that could go a long way toward MVP honors for players on pennant-winning teams and figures that surely would have been sufficient for Rookie of the Year.

But there will be no rookie honors for Thomas. He didn’t play enough last year when he appeared in 60 games and batted .330 with seven home runs and 31 RBI. But he also logged too much time to be eligible this year.

Thomas was outstanding in the spring of 1990 and it seemed he would make the team, but the White Sox decided their prize first baseman needed more seasoning, especially on defense.

“I was disappointed,” Thomas said of being sent to Class-AA Birmingham. “I had a good spring and I thought I was ready. But you can’t worry about those things. I had a little work to do and it just took a little longer”

Thomas overcame his defensive deficiencies, but early this year he developed tendinitis in his right shoulder and has been relegated to being a designated hitter.

“I’ve adjusted to being the DH. I want my bat to be in the lineup. That’s my strong point.”

Another strong point is his knowledge of the strike zone, something that takes years for some players to develop, if at all.

“It took a lot of practice,” Thomas said. “I was a free swinger in high school but in college I learned the pitchers wouldn’t pitch to me. So I started taking pitches and fortunately I got better at it.”

So much so that he set Auburn career records of 49 home runs and 73 walks.

Already there has been some criticism that the strapping slugger takes too many pitches and is too selective.

“I don’t think about it,” Thomas said. “I know people look at my size and say he could hit a lot more home runs. But that’s not my game. I’ll hit 25 or 30 home runs but average and RBIs are more important to me.”