Emotional day for Thomas as Sox retire his No. 35
Frank Thomas prepared a speech for his special day Sunday, the day when the White Sox retired his uniform No. 35.
Thomas wound up winging it.
"I'm emotionally drained," he said. "I didn't expect it, but to see a montage like that and to give Hawk (Harrelson) a hug, the tears started flowing with Hawk. It got me. And then to see the picture on the wall, it just broke me down.
"Eighteen years in this game and 16 full ones here, it brought back a lot of memories, thinking about all the teammates and all the great times, good and bad times.
"It just got to me. I was emotionally caught up. I'm a very proud man, and this probably was the proudest day of my life."
Between tears, Thomas was able to thank Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, his late father, his ailing mother back home in Columbus, Ga., his wife and four children, even general manager Kenny Williams and assistant GM Rick Hahn.
White Sox fans got the biggest share of gratitude.
"They meant a lot, and they still mean a lot," Thomas said. "They treated me with love here, special, special love. To hear 40,000 giving you a standing ovation, it just got to me. I'll remember this the rest of my life."
And fans will remember Thomas as the best hitter in franchise history.
The Sox' first baseman and designated hitter from 1990-2005, Thomas is the club's all-time leader in numerous offensive categories, including home runs (448), RBI (1,465), runs scored (1,327), extra-base hits (906), walks (1,466), total bases (3,949), slugging percentage (.568) and on-base percentage (.427).
Thomas also is one of just four players in history to have a career average of at least .300 along with 500 home runs, 1,500 RBI, 1,000 runs scored and 1,500 walks.
Hall of Famers Mel Ott, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams are the others.
"You want to talk about the White Sox, Frank Thomas' name has to be No. 1 up there," said manager Ozzie Guillen, Thomas' teammate for eight seasons.
"I know Luke Appling and Luis Aparicio, all those guys, but I think Frank Thomas did stuff that people won't forget.
"Frank put this ballclub back on the map. The (19)70s, '80s, all of a sudden Frank comes up and we have a good run. He's the best hitter ever to wear this uniform. He should feel proud about it."
Thomas' number is retired on the fence in left-center field, between Billy Pierce and Carlton Fisk.
Next season, a statue of Thomas will be unveiled on the outfield concourse at U.S. Cellular Field.
"That's going to be great," Thomas said. "We've measured up for it already. Next summer, I don't know the exact date, but I'm looking forward to that."
Fisk and Pierce were on hand for Sunday's retirement ceremony, as were former Thomas teammates Jermaine Dye, James Baldwin, Bobby Thigpen, Dan Pasqua, Mike Huff, Donn Pall, Rodney McCray, Ron Kittle, Ron Karkovice, Bill Simas and Harold Baines.
Dye got the biggest welcome from the capacity crowd. Terry Bevington, one of the Thomas' former White Sox managers, was greeted by boos.
Thomas' favorite hitting coach, Walt Hriniak, and his high school coach, Bobby Howard, also were part of the ceremony emceed by Harrelson.
The Sox presented Thomas with a painting done by Vernon Wells Sr. and a framed uniform surrounded by other memorabilia.
As for notable no-shows, there were many. Former teammates Bo Jackson, Tim Raines, Robin Ventura, Lance Johnson, Roberto Hernandez and Alex Fernandez were unable to attend.
"I had a list of about 30 guys, but I picked about the worst weekend ever," Thomas said. "Most guys are taking their kids to college. My son (Sterling) is going to college; he leaves right after the game.
"Pretty much back in the '90s our kids were born about the same time. I got a lot of great calls from a lot of great teammates, and that means a lot to me.
"(Raines) couldn't be here because his wife is bedridden. He's having twins. Rock is 49 and having twins real soon."
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<li><a href="/story/?id=404409">There's side of Frank we never knew <span class="date">[8/29/10]</span></a></li>
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