Eventually Frank Thomas will get to defend himself with his bat, and with his glove, too, when needed.
Thomas has no problem with that. Baseball is the game of fresh tomorrows and healing redemption. Thomas has no problem getting back to who he was when he was the best thing in baseball, and how soon that has become incidental. He fully expects to be The Big Hurt again and, even if he isn’t, Thomas shall remain the greatest White Sox player ever.
“The picture of me right now is not very good,” Thomas said. “And it hurts.”
Thomas’ problem is how he thinks the world sees him, as a selfish, whining crybaby. These are my words not his. Enough words have been put in Thomas’ mouth lately. What follows will be all of Thomas’ words, gathered on a gloomy day in the desert, the weather appropriate to the mood:
“It’s a hard situation to be in. I just don’t see what some of things written about me lately have to do with baseball. It’s just become personal; personal attacks on my family, on my business, stuff like that has nothing to do with baseball. You dig into anybody’s life you might find things that don’t look right. Doesn’t say they weren’t right. I haven’t tried ever to hurt anyone.
“Some of the perceptions that have been thrown out there is that he’s a harsh, brutal man. And that’s not me at all.
“The perception now is it’s all about me 24 hours a day and that’s not true. A couple people started writing some things. I guess the public has bought into it after a long period of time.
“I had seven incredible years but the perception is that I wasn’t giving it all that I used to give, that I wasn’t working as hard, which wasn’t true.
“The thing that really bothers me is when I go up to people and they look at me differently. I’m not that way. I get along with everybody. I just try to be fair with everybody. It’s not fun. Sorry but I’m just a small-town Southern boy who came to big city and wasn’t looking for all that.
“Last year I had an injury, played it down like it was nothing. Made to sound very conservative. It wasn’t. I had two surgeries last year. That was blown under the rug. It was more a personal attack on me, made to sound like this guy doesn’t want to play. It’s not right.
“I’ve always played with sprained ankles and things like that. No big deal. But when people are badgering me and saying I wasn’t working hard, just finding a way to get out, there is no way I would ever do that.
“You don’t accomplish the things I’ve accomplished if you’re that kind of person. Hey perception stinks right now. I’m the one who has to live with it. What I want to do is work extremely hard and show people I’m still a great baseball player and I will continue to be for a very long time.
“[The confrontation with manager Jerry Manuel] grew out of what was being said in the press back and forth. It’s hard for anyone not to read it. He was reading it. I was reading it. I’ve never had a problem with him, and he’s really never had a problem with me.
“We had a great discussion, like men should have. I’m not a 21-year-old kid. I’ll be 32 this year. We’ve been doing this a very long time, coaches and players. It’s not high school. We have misunderstandings. You handle them as men.
“Jerry loves me like a son, he really does. That’s why he stays on me all the time. He wants me to be the best. He wants to push me. That’s fine.
“I’m just so upset with people trying to run my personal life. Friends, family, business associates. It’s way uncalled for. It really is. Baseball you can handle the criticism. But when you start talking about family and kids, it makes anyone have a short fuse.
“I’m still a young kid playing this game. Some people are trying to take the fun out of it for me, but I can’t let that happen. I have to channel my focus where it needs to be, and that’s on baseball.
“The last couple years have not been fun for me because I am used to achieving at such a high level. But it has made me respect the game more, and made me understand that things are not as easy as you think they are some times.
“Everyone has their ups and downs. I think it’s time, I can’t let that slip happen any more. I have to be prepared for whatever they throw at me this season. I have to be more selective taking my walks. I have to get back that focus that [getting] a hit every time or getting on base every time is very important to this ball club.
“If you look at the raw numbers, no one did it better in the 1990s, no one. All around. It shocked me, actually. I was reading a baseball magazine that had stats for the ’90s and I was the only guy who registered in 10 of 14 [offensive] categories. I just have to hone in on that focus and keep it there. Keep getting everything I possibly can out of the game and the stuff will add up at the end.
“I’ve had a bad year and a half, I think. Those things happen. Out of 10 years, I’ll take a bad year and a half. Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to be MVP every year, but a lot depends on your team and it just depends on the opportunities you have. I really don’t believe in the last year and a half I’ve had the opportunities I had before that. It’s not like I was a secret any more.
“We’re on schedule to be a very strong team for the next five or 10 years. Are we ready this year to win the division? I don’t know. You have to be realistic. Cleveland still has an all-star team at every position. But anything could happen. They could have problems with the new manager, you don’t know. They might have injuries, whatever else.
If our team stays healthy and achieves at the level we are capable of achieving every day, you never know what could happen. A wild card could be possible. That should be what we’re shooting for, knowing Cleveland is the best team in the league, if they get the pitching.
“I see it here. The arms we have are incredible. We haven’t had young arms like these since [Alex] Fernandez and [Wilson] Alvarez and those guys. We got a Magglio Ordonez now who is ready for superstardom. The teams will have to pitch to me. Carlos Lee and Paul Konerko are coming into their own.
” [The strike year 1994] was the year. In my mind, that was our year to win the World Series. That’s frustrating. Those things hurt.
“I’m just trying to have a very positive focus and stay happy with a bunch of young guys. I definitely don’t need to be an older guy in the lineup moping around worrying about what happened in the early ’90s. I don’t want that focus. I’m a young 31.”
I believe him.
