White Sox Hall of Famer Frank Thomas has assumed a new role with the club as a special consultant for business operations.
Thomas previously had served as a Sox ambassador, but he stepped away when he began work on Fox Sports’ broadcasts. He will work with both this year.
“I’m happy with the new role just because I’m happy to be back with the team,” Thomas said after a SoxFest seminar Saturday at the Hilton Chicago. “I always want to be around this team. … So many memories, so many years.”
Brooks Boyer, senior vice president for sales and marketing, said Thomas’ new position will include work with the sales and marketing departments, including corporate hospitality and sales calls.
“He wants to understand the business and how he could help impact that connection between the club and fans and between the club and our sponsors,” Boyer said.
Eaton back to normal: Sox center fielder Adam Eaton said he has recovered nicely from having a nerve decompression on the back of his left shoulder in October. He said he is on a normal work schedule and will be ready for opening day.
“With any surgery, you’re forced (to deal) with fatigue and loss of muscle mass,” Eaton said. “It’s just the extra work you have to put in to make sure it will last the season. We’re not too worried.”
Kids talk: Eaton, first baseman Jose Abreu and starter Chris Sale participated in a kids-only news conference session, hosted by NBC-5 news anchor Zoraida Sambolin, the wife of Sox executive vice president Ken Williams.
When a child asked the players who they thought should be added to the Sox roster, Eaton replied, “I just work here.”
Williams, sitting in the back of the room, called out, “Good answer.”
Abreu became emotional when talking about his reunion with his son during a Major League Baseball trip to Cuba. He said participating in the kids’ seminar made him miss his son even more.
Cubs pressure? Nah: During a morning seminar, general manager Rick Hahn was asked how the Cubs’ recent success affects the pressures on him.
“It’s kind of impossible to feel more pressure to win than we put on ourselves,” Hahn said. “It doesn’t matter what another team in another league is doing. … Yeah, we want to beat the club four times a year when we play them — maybe one day eight times a year, you never know. We’re trying to do what’s best for the White Sox.
“The only thing it does is it makes it hard for me when I’m sitting at home in October and they’re celebrating. That just … we’re not going to say it. That’s something we’re going to have to avoid.”
Dream jobs: Asked what they would be if they didn’t play baseball, Abreu said he would be a soccer player. Eaton would be an occupational therapist.
And Sale?
“I kind of put all of my eggs in one basket. … A one-man traveling karaoke singer,” he said.
