Late-career power surge brings Thomas his 500th home run
The rare milestone of 500 home runs was hardly a given for Frank Thomas. In fact, amidst his departure from the White Sox and signing with Oakland before 2006, it seemed like a longshot.
Thomas sat 52 home runs shy of 500 and, battling injuries, had played just 108 total games with 30 home runs in 2004 and 2005. A 2006 resurgence with 39 home runs, however, put 500 back within reach and earned Thomas a two-year, $18 million deal with the Blue Jays.
“At one point I thought I would never get back on the field,” the 39-year-old Thomas told the National Post. “But I was able to get back on my feet and get back here.”
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On June 28, 2007, Thomas hit his 500th home run against Minnesota at the Metrodome – the same place he’d hit his first. With two runners aboard in the first inning, Twins starter Carlos Silva hung a 1-2 slider. Thomas, who in the prior three games had strayed from his approach in search of No. 500, waited back long enough to yank the pitch 396 feet into the left field stands. The 21st player to accomplish the feat, Thomas rounded the bases, embraced his celebrating teammates and pointed to his family down the right-field line.
Twins fan Todd Eisenlohr, who caught the milestone home run, traded the ball to Thomas for an autographed ball, bat and jersey.
Minnesota overcame an early 4-1 deficit, winning 8-5 thanks to a pair of Torii Hunter home runs. Thomas didn’t last nine innings, though – plate umpire Mark Wegner ejected him in the ninth for arguing his second caught-looking strikeout of the game.
“I’m probably the first to get 500 home runs and get thrown out of the ballgame,” Thomas told the Associated Press. “That’s something I didn’t want to happen but the moment got the best of me.”
Still, the man who won back-to-back American League MVP awards in 1993 and 1994 had revived his career and joined one of baseball’s most exclusive clubs.
“It means a lot to me because I did it the right way,” Thomas told Canada’s National Post, alluding to his steering clear of steroids. In an era when many sluggers were accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, The Big Hurt had kept clean.
“Thomas’ all-around ability as a hitter – the power, the patience and the strike-zone judgement that have proved maddening to hundreds of pitchers through the years – made him a strong candidate for the Hall long before he finished his slow climb to 500,” wrote the Chicago Tribune.
Having led baseball in walks and on-base percentage three times, doubles once and runs once, Thomas was truly a complete offensive threat. In 2014 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his remarkable, 19-year career.
Justin Alpert is the 2023 social media intern in the Hall of Fame’s Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Youth Leadership Development
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