South Beach Sessions - Frank Thomas
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Who is Frank Thomas and what is his legacy in baseball?
Hello and welcome to South Beach Sessions. I'm excited about this guy. I've admired him for a long time. I've told him so for a number of different reasons. Two-time AL MVP. He's a businessman now. He has been great as a broadcaster, but his baseball excellence makes him super unique. One of five athletes anywhere that has a statue at both his college baseball excellence and his professional baseball excellence. Frank, thank you so much for making the time for us. It was a pleasure, Dan.
Thanks for having me today.
I want to know a little bit about who you are, how you are, the things that shaped you, because I was always fascinated by the roots of how you became a baseball Hall of Famer that was that excellent. but also how you carried yourself professionally. It seemed from where I was standing like it was hard to be you and you always carried yourself with uncommon grace. So begin, if you don't mind, by telling me a little bit about Charlie May.
How did Frank Thomas's upbringing shape his career?
Well, it started with Charlie May, you know. I grew up in a small town, Columbus, Georgia, a much larger town now. But growing up, my mother, I was a baby of five kids. So being a baby, she just really made sure I was secure every day. I didn't get caught up with what was going on out in the neighborhood and everything else. I always stayed around. I had good friends, but I never wanted to do what everybody else wanted to do. I was always focused. So for my mom, she made sure I stayed out of trouble. She made sure I was home on time. She made sure I did my homework. So it all started at home with mom. But as for growing up there and keeping everything, you know, under wraps, but not falling in the same traps, because I grew up in a semi-bad neighborhood, but not a real ghetto neighborhood. You know, I wouldn't call it middle class, but I would put it somewhere in the middle of middle or lower class.
A kid doesn't know that, though, right?
They don't know that. Because the walks of life I came from, I mean, there were the lower, lower class. There were, you know, lower middle class, and there was middle class. So for me growing up, I just wanted to stay out of trouble.
She was how as a disciplinarian? She was the youngest of 14 children? Yes, yes.
So my mom knew a lot about family. You know, when you're talking about family gatherings, mother, aunts and uncles coming over, it was a huge clan. It was a lot of people, a lot of cousins, a lot of we had a big family. So you learn a lot from from those situations and and learning about family.
And she did what other than your father? Because your father was a deacon, a bail bondsman. That seems like a difficult job. An animal catcher. Yes. I don't know what that is exactly.
Yes. It was basically, you know, like dog catcher. You know, dog, cats, you know, would keep them in control for the city. But his biggest job, I really feel, was at Georgia Crown, which was a big distributor of alcohol. He had a huge keg route that he would do for a lot of the bars and restaurants around town. So dad was a man of many talents, but he was very stubborn with me. You know, he was the real, real strict disciplinarian. My mom took care of me, but if I ever stepped out of line, you know, dad was quick to smack me back.
So what did that look like? Explain to me how this balance and this support at home, because I am hugely interested. What you did, Frank, was so difficult. I don't think people know how hard it was to be as excellent as you, to hit 500 home runs in the big leagues, to be the best in baseball football. for a good amount of time and doing it clean while everyone around you was not doing it clean and going to talk to the Mitchell Report, being the only active player doing that.
Thank you for bringing that up because it's important to me.
But Frank, you were doing naturally what others couldn't do on drugs. You were surrounded by people who were cheating. Right.
But I look at it as the biggest, strongest guy in the room. So everyone wanted to be the guy that's hitting the ball in the ballpark consistently, batting practice game, but also getting hits and stuff. I was different. I was a different animal. But I'll tell you where all that started. I grew up in the boys club because both my parents worked 9 to 5.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Who is Frank Thomas and what is his legacy in baseball?
0:16–1:13
2
How did Frank Thomas's upbringing shape his career?
1:13–4:29
3
What challenges did Frank Thomas face during his baseball career?
4:29–8:48
4
How did Frank Thomas transition from player to broadcaster?
8:48–16:40
5
What impact did Frank Thomas have on his teams and peers?
16:40–21:41
6
How did Frank Thomas handle criticism and media pressure?
21:41–28:45
7
What are Frank Thomas's views on the evolution of baseball?
28:45–34:12
8
What was Frank Thomas's most memorable baseball season?
34:12–1:07:51
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from The Dan Le Batard Show
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