Frank Thomas (designated Hitter) - Baseball Accomplishments

Baseball Accomplishments

• On June 28, 2007, Thomas became the 21st player in Major League Baseball history to hit at least 500 home runs, after he hit a first inning home run at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.
• Thomas is on a short list of players who have hit 500 home runs while maintaining a career .300 batting average (joining Hall-of-Famers: Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and later joined by Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramírez).
• Thomas is also on a short list of players to hit 500 career home runs and accrue at least 1600 bases on balls. The others are: Babe Ruth, Mel Ott, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, and Barry Bonds.
• Thomas was the first player in major league history to win two Silver Slugger awards each at two different positions (1993–94 at first base; 1991 & 2000 as designated hitter).
• He was only the eleventh player in history to win consecutive Most Valuable Player Awards, and the first American League player to do so since Roger Maris in 1960 and 1961.
• He was the third player (Eddie Murray and Hank Aaron) to collect 500 career home runs and 120 career sacrifice flies.
• His 138 walks in the 1991 season was not only the most accrued in a season by any American League player in the 1990s, it was the most for a season by any American League player since 1969 when Harmon Killebrew walked 145 times.
• Thomas' 0.729 slugging percentage for the shortened 1994 season was the highest season mark for an American League player since Ted Williams' 0.731 slugging percentage in 1957. Only Mark McGwire's 0.730 in 1996 has been higher since then.
• In the shortened 1994 season, Thomas achieved an on-base percentage of 0.494 which was also the highest season mark for an American League player since Ted Williams' 0.528 on-base percentage in 1957. No American League player has topped this since.
• Retired as the all-time leader in home runs by a designated hitter, with 269. He is currently 2nd, behind David Ortiz.
• Currently ranks 18th with career 521 HRs.
• Currently ranks 22nd with career 1,704 RBI.
• Currently ranks 24th with a .554 career slugging percentage.
• Currently ranks 4th with 121 career sacrifice flies. He is the only player in Major League history to hit over 100 sacrifice flies and not collect a single sacrifice bunt.
• The White Sox retired his uniform No. 35 during in an on-field ceremony on "Frank Thomas Day," August 29, 2010.