Frank Thomas wants everyone to know he’s well. And alive, too.
The Big Hurt, the White Sox’ first-ballot Hall of Famer who has remained in the public eye in broadcasting, was mistakenly included in a Fox News “in memoriam” video Friday morning.
“Ladies and Gentlemen I’m very sorry my ex employer Fox would be this irresponsible on National TV this morning,” Thomas posted, along with a smiling selfie from the driver’s seat of a vehicle. “Yes I’m alive and doing well. This blows my mind also.”
A different Frank Thomas, a three-time All-Star with the Pirates in the 1950s, died in January at 93. Fox anchor Julie Banderas apologized for the mistake on “The Faulkner Focus” after airing a video showing prominent figures who died this year. It featured The Big Hurt during his playing career and a clip from his Hall of Fame induction.
“We misidentified Frank Thomas, the three-time All-Star for the Pittsburgh Pirates,” Banderas said. “The Frank Thomas we showed you unfortunately was also a former pro baseball player. He is very much alive.”
Thomas, who worked for Fox from 2014 until this past April, did Sox pregame and postgame work with former Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and Chuck Garfien for NBC Sports Chicago last season. He also joined the “Friday Night Baseball” team for Apple TV+ this year.
He played from 1990 to 2008 — all but the last three seasons with the Sox.
