page_title: Frank Thomas (designated hitter)
section_title: Later years (1997–2005)
hierarchical_section_title: Frank Thomas (designated hitter) / Chicago White Sox / Later years (1997–2005)
caption_attribution_description: Frank Thomas at New Comiskey Park in 1997.
context_page_description: Frank Edward Thomas Jr., nicknamed "The Big Hurt", is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter in Major League Baseball. He played for three American League teams from 1990 to 2008, all but the last three years with the Chicago White Sox. A five-time All-Star, he is the only player in major league history to have seven consecutive seasons with at least a .300 batting average, 100 runs batted in, 100 runs scored, 100 walks, and 20 home runs. Thomas also won the AL batting title in 1997 with a .347 mark.
  Thomas was named the AL's Most Valuable Player by unanimous vote in 1993. That year, he became the first White Sox player to hit 40 home runs and led the team to a division title. He repeated as MVP in the strike-shortened 1994 season, batting .353 and leading the league in slugging percentage and runs. Following two sub-par seasons, Thomas lost a close MVP vote in 2000 despite posting career highs of 43 home runs and 143 RBI. Still, he was named AL Comeback Player of the Year, and Chicago finished with the AL's best record.
context_section_description: From 1991 to 1997, Thomas finished in the top 10 of the MVP voting every year. In 1997, Thomas won the batting title and finished third in MVP voting. However, due in part to personal strife off the field, his offensive production wavered during the next two seasons. Never a defensive standout at first base during the early part of his career, Thomas nonetheless preferred playing in the field to serving as a designated hitter, saying that it kept him focused; the fact that he did generally hit better as a first baseman created a dilemma over the years for the White Sox as to whether to use him as a DH, which would reduce wear on his body but might cost some offensive production. By the late 1990s, minor injuries were tending to keep him unavailable for short periods, and 1997 was the last year in which he played more in the field than as a DH. Thomas rebounded with force in 2000 when he hit .328 with a career-high 43 homers and 143 runs batted in. Thomas finished second in MVP voting that season, behind Jason Giambi of the Oakland Athletics. Thomas also won the 2000 AL Comeback Player of the Year Award. But this would not mean an end to the rocky path he would follow later in his career.
  In 2001, after his father died, Thomas also announced during the same week that he would undergo season-ending surgery after an MRI revealed a triceps tear in his right arm. He was distraught from the combined impact of both personal and professional strife. "This is the worst week of my life", he said during a press conference in Chicago. "First I lose my father, then come back and find out I'm lost for the season." He only played in 20 games that year.
  He rebounded from his injury and played in 148 games in 2002, but hit just .252, a career-low for a complete season, and would never again approach a .300 batting average. But his power and ability to get on base and drive in runs were still in his offensive arsenal. Always a patient hitter, Thomas led the AL in walks four times. Through the end of the 2006 season, he was second among all active players in walks and third in on-base percentage, and ranked among the top 20 lifetime in both categories.
  Thomas had another solid season in 2003. He tied for second in the AL in home runs (42), and was in the league's top ten in walks, extra base hits, slugging average, and on-base plus slugging, as he led the major leagues in fly ball percentage (54.9%). In 2005 Thomas again suffered injury, but hit 12 home runs in 105 at bats over 35 games, demonstrating his continued power at the plate. Adding together 2004 and 2005, he had fewer than 350 total at bats because of injuries, but hit 30 home runs and drew 80 walks. As a member of the White Sox, Thomas and teammate Magglio Ordóñez tied a major league record for back-to-back homers, with six in one season.
caption: Thomas on August 17, 1997
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