Early Life and Career
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 Columbus High School sophomore he hit cleanup for a baseball team that won a state championship. As a senior he hit .440 for the baseball team, was named an All-State tight end with the football team, and played forward with the basketball team. He wanted desperately to win a contract to play professional baseball, but was not drafted in the 1986 amateur draft.
"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. His love of baseball drew him to the Auburn 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 he 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.
The Chicago White Sox selected Thomas with the seventh pick in the first round of the June 1989 Major League Baseball Draft.
Thomas is the only player in major league history to have seven consecutive seasons of a .300 average and at least 100 walks, 100 runs, 100 runs batted in, and 20 home runs (from 1991 to 1997). The only other player to have more than five consecutive seasons accomplishing this feat was Ted Williams with six. This accomplishment is even more remarkable considering that he played only 113 games in 1994, due to the strike. Thomas had less success defensively at first base during the early part of his career. To keep his bat in the lineup every day, he transitioned mid-career to designated hitter.
There are only five other players in history who have both hit more home runs and have a higher career batting average than Thomas: Hank Aaron, Jimmie Foxx, Babe Ruth, Manny Ramirez, and Willie Mays.
Read more about this topic: Big Hurt
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