The man known as The Big Hurt is the 88th inductee into the Baseball Hall of Immortals.
Frank Thomas joined the White Sox in 1990, batting .330 over 60 games. He was just getting started. From his first full season in 1991 through 1997, Thomas would become the first (and still only) player in baseball history to string together seven consecutive seasons of 20+ homeruns, 100+ RBIs, 100+ walks, and .300+ batting average.
During that seven year stretch, Thomas became just the 6th player to win back-to-back MVP awards, and he finished in the top 10 in MVP voting five other times. He won the batting title in 1997 (.347) and posted 1.000+ OPS in six seasons (leading the league four times).
In 2000, Thomas would have one more season of .300/20/100/100, finishing 2nd in the MVP voting that year. Only Babe Ruth (12) and Lou Gehrig (9) ever had more seasons like that than Frank Thomas.
Injuries plagued Thomas during the last several years of his career, though in 2006 at the age of 38, he hit 39 homeruns, with 114 RBIs and 126 runs scored, finishing 4th in MVP balloting.
Thomas played 19 years, finishing with a .301 average, 521 homeruns, 1,704 RBIs, and a lifetime OPS of .974 – good for 14th all-time.
He was Big and he Hurt baseballs, and so Frank Thomas is an Immortal.
For some background on what this is, check out the introduction post here.
