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Frank Edward Thomas, Jr. (born May 27, 1968), nicknamed "The Big Hurt,"〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Nicknames in Pro Sports )〕 is an American former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for three American League (AL) teams from 1990 to 2008, all but the last three years with the Chicago White Sox. One of the most fearsome and devastating hitters of his era, he is the only player in major league history to have seven consecutive seasons (1991–1997) with a .300 batting average and at least 100 runs batted in (RBI), 100 runs scored, 100 walks and 20 home runs; over that period, he batted .330 and averaged 36 home runs and 118 RBI per year. A perennial MVP candidate through the 1990s, he was named the AL's Most Valuable Player by unanimous vote in 1993 after becoming the first White Sox player to hit 40 home runs, leading the team to a division title; he repeated as MVP in the strike-shortened 1994 season after batting .353 and leading the league in slugging average and runs. After two subpar seasons, he lost the MVP in a close vote in 2000 after posting career highs of 43 home runs and 143 RBI, also earning AL Comeback Player of the Year honors, as Chicago finished with the AL's best record. A five-time All-Star, he won the AL batting title with a .347 mark in 1997, and enjoyed eleven seasons with 100 RBI and nine seasons each with a .300 average and 100 runs. In his 30s, a variety of foot injuries and other minor ailments increasingly reduced his playing time and productivity, typically limiting him to a designated hitter role. In 2005, his final season in Chicago, he helped the White Sox to their first World Series title in 88 years. At the end of his career, he was tied for eighth in AL history in home runs (521), and was ninth in RBI (1,704) and sixth in walks (1,667); among players with at least 7,000 at bats in the AL, he ranked eighth in slugging average (.555) and ninth in on-base percentage (.419). With a .301 lifetime batting average, he became the seventh player in history to retire with a .300 average and 500 home runs. He holds White Sox franchise records for career home runs (448), RBI (1,465), runs (1,327), doubles (447), extra base hits, walks (1,466), slugging average (.568) and on-base percentage (.427); his team record of 3,949 career total bases was broken by Paul Konerko in 2014. Thomas was one of the major stars who never fell under suspicion during the controversies over performance-enhancing drugs in the late 1990s, and was an advocate for drug testing as early as 1995; he was the only active player who agreed to be interviewed for the Mitchell Report in 2007. The White Sox retired his uniform number 35 in 2010, and unveiled a statue of him at U.S. Cellular Field in 2011. He is now a commentator for Comcast SportsNet White Sox broadcasts. Thomas was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014 in his first year of eligibility, becoming the first White Sox star to achieve that distinction.〔Tom Seaver and Steve Carlton, both of whom joined the White Sox late in their careers after starring for other teams, were the only previous White Sox players elected in their first year of eligibility.〕 ==Early life and college== Thomas was born and raised in Columbus, Georgia, and attended Columbus High School, where he was a standout in both football and baseball. As a sophomore he hit cleanup for the baseball team, which won a state championship. As a senior he not only hit .440, but also was named an All-State tight end in football, and played forward with the basketball team. He wanted desperately to win a contract to play professional baseball, but was not selected in the 1986 amateur draft.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Frank Thomas Biography )〕 "I was shocked and sad," Thomas recalled in the ''Chicago Tribune''. "I saw a lot of guys I played against get drafted, and I knew they couldn't do what I could do. But I've had people all my life saying you can't do this, you can't do that. It scars you. No matter how well I've done. People have misunderstood me for some reason. I was always one of the most competitive kids around."〔 In the autumn of 1986, Thomas accepted a scholarship to play football at Auburn University.〔http://www.frankthomascollection.com/87_Auburn_Media_2.jpg〕 His love of baseball drew him to the school's baseball team, where the coach immediately recognized his potential. "We loved him," Auburn baseball coach Hal Baird told ''Sports Illustrated''. "He was fun to be around—always smiling, always bright-eyed." He was also a deadly hitter, posting a .359 batting average and leading the Tigers in runs batted in as a freshman. During the summer of 1987 he played for the U.S. Pan American Team, earning a spot on the final roster that would compete in the Pan American Games. The Games coincided with the beginning of football practice back at Auburn, so he left the Pan Am team and returned to college—only to be injured twice in early season football games.〔 Despite the injury that could have jeopardized his football scholarship, Auburn continued his funding, and baseball became his sole sport. He won consideration for the U.S. National Team – preparing for the 1988 Summer Olympics – but was cut from the final squad. By the end of his junior baseball season he had hit 19 home runs, 19 doubles, and batted .403 with a slugging percentage of .801. He earned Southeastern Conference MVP honors his senior year. Thomas concluded his college career with 49 home runs, a school record.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Ballplayers – Frank Thomas )〕 In May 2011, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Frank Thomas (designated hitter)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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