Chicago White Sox fans consider Frank Thomas an absolute legend. A new book quotes former teammates and says that Thomas was a diva.
According to an excerpt of Jeff Pearlman’s book “The Last Folk Hero”: The Life and Myths of Bo Jackson, Thomas was an “intimidating present” in the locker rooms, as Jon Greenberg, The Athletic, has posted. Pearlman began the excerpt by explaining that the Chicago White Sox clubhouse was “a riveting mixture of personalities.” That’s when the bombs started to fall about Thomas, with quotes from former teammates calling him a “douchebag”.
Frank Thomas was a Chicago White Sox pitcher from 1990 to 2005. Bo Jackson joined the team before the 1993 season. According to ESPN, Thomas was 25 years old, was a two-time All-Star, and had just finished back-to-back seasons of 100 RBIs. Pearlman called Thomas the “biggest enigma.”
Pearlman wrote that Thomas was “one of the greatest players in the game, but selfish prick of teammate.” He was 6′ 5″ and weighed 240 lbs, making him an intimidating presence. One Chicago legend said that Frank was a “douchebag”.
“I judge people by the way they treat others they don’t have to be nice to.” Frank treated the guys in the clubhouse like trash.
Lance Thomas, a former Chicago White Sox center fielder, called Thomas “just a child” and claimed that Thomas complained about his position in the lineup to coaches. He said the coaches were trying to protect other players.
Johnson is quoted as saying in the book: “He refused. He said straight up that he would not hit fourth or fifth. That was what I heard and thought: “There goes our chance at the World Series.” Because everyone would pitch around him. They did.
Pearlman would go on to state that Bo Jackson did not get the full experience of Frank Thomas because they had played baseball and football at Auburn in different eras.
Pearlman wrote that Jackson was so familiar with Thomas that he would often say to him, “Frank, seriously shut the f-k down,”
Doug Mansolino, first base coach, stated in the book that “Bo was best for Frank.”
Frank Thomas has not yet made a comment on the book.