Card Spotlight: 5-27-11

2003 Upper Deck Victory Tier 2 Orange #26 - Frank Thomas

Frank Thomas' first 448 home runs were hit in a White Sox uniform. Paul Konerko has to hit eighty more home runs with the Sox to match that mark. For now, Frank Thomas sits atop that monstrous team achievement.

Through parts of sixteen seasons on the South Side, Frank also sits perched atop other team records. Konerko may eventually surpass some of them, but not for a couple more years. Paulie has to get 301 more RBI to tie Frank. Thomas' 1327 runs scored will probably stand for quite awhile. Konerko is the only active Sox player close to that team mark, but he has to climb over Eddie Collins, Nellie Fox and Luke Appling to even sniff Frank's record.

Frank also leads the team in doubles with 447. Konerko needs 107 to tie Thomas, but has to leapfrog over Luke Appling (440) to get really close to the mark. If Paulie were to ever eclipse Frank in home runs and doubles, then he would also overtake him at extra base hits. Frank has 906 and Konerko currently has 716. It's not impossible to think that this record may topple to Konerko, but we shall see in the next few years.

I doubt Frank's intentional walk team record will ever be broken. It stands at 162. Harold Baines only has 107 and the closest active player, Konerko, has 58. Frank's team record for walks will have a hard time crumbling. Frank has a staggering 1,466 walks with the White Sox. That eclipses Luke Appling by 164! The closest active player is, yet again, Konerko with 738. Paulie would have to play full time until at least 2023 to have a shot at the team walk record. That would mean that if Konerko kept up his present pace of walks, he would have the team record sometime after his 47th birthday. I don't see that happening.

Looking over the numbers, I am reminded at just how good of a player Frank was. He was scary in his prime and still commanded respect at the tail end of his career in Oakland and Toronto. His White Sox on base percentage is monstrous at .427! His slugging percentage is also team best at .568!

I've had the privilege to witness Frank Thomas from his first game in 1990 to the end of his career. I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you, Frank, for staying as long as you did and giving the fans thrill after thrill. Oh yeah, and enjoy your birthday today.