Former longtime Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder/corner infielder and three-time All-Star Frank Thomas passed away in January.
During an "in memoriam" segment on "The Faulkner Focus" on Friday morning, Fox News accidentally "misidentified" that Frank Thomas had died in 2023. The program instead showed clips of 55-year-old Hall of Famer and former designated hitter/first baseman Frank Thomas, indicating that the Chicago White Sox legend had died (then issued a correction afterward).
legendary correction here from Fox News pic.twitter.com/9mlhaa5t39
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 29, 2023
The two-time AL MVP quickly responded to the miscue Friday afternoon on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ladies and Gentlemen I’m very sorry my ex employer Fox would be this irresponsible on National TV this morning. Yes I’m alive and doing well. This blows my mind also. pic.twitter.com/FWGlVwOIFS
— Frank Thomas (@TheBigHurt_35) December 29, 2023
As he pointed out in his social media post, the "Big Hurt," ironically, used to work for Fox Sports. Thomas worked as a studio analyst for "MLB on Fox" from 2014 to 2023 until he was replaced by fellow Hall of Famer Derek Jeter.
Although the pair of Frank Thomases both played Major League Baseball and spent hundreds of games manning first base, that's more or less where the similarities end. Not only did the modern-day Frank Thomas capture a pair of MVP awards but his career started in 1990 (34 years after his counterpart's ended).
In fact, when the late Frank Thomas retired in 1966, the four-time Silver Slugger Award winner was just two years old. The former Pirates player was already 61 years old when the 1995 Home Run Derby winner debuted in MLB and was 79 when the younger Frank Thomas retired.
When the "Big Hurt" was enshrined into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014, the ex-outfielder was 85 years old.
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