MVP Profile: Frank Thomas, 1993

First Baseman, Chicago White Sox

Age:  25 (May 27)

4^th season with White Sox

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’5”    Weight: 240

Prior to 1993:

A native of Columbus, Georgia, Thomas was a football as well as baseball standout in high school. Entering Auburn University, he played tight end on the freshman football team and batted .359 on the baseball squad in the spring of 1987, earning a spot on the US team for the Pan-American Games. After suffering an injury in the subsequent football season, he turned his concentration fully to baseball and was named Southeast Conference MVP in 1989. Selected by the White Sox as the seventh overall pick in the ’89 amateur draft he played for teams at the Rookie and Class A levels and hit .296 with 5 home runs and 41 RBIs in 72 games. Advancing to the Birmingham Barons of the Class AA Southern League in 1990 Thomas batted .323 with 18 home runs and 71 RBIs. Called up for a late-season trial with the White Sox, he hit .330 with 7 home runs and 31 RBIs while appearing in 60 games. Playing primarily as a Designated Hitter during his first full season in 1991, Thomas established himself by batting .318 with 32 home runs and 109 RBIs. He also drew a league-leading 138 walks and topped the AL with a .453 on-base percentage. He was awarded his first Silver Slugger and placed third in league MVP voting. Installed at first base in 1992, Thomas again led the AL by drawing 122 walks and with a .439 on-base percentage. He also topped the circuit with 46 doubles while hitting .323 with 24 home runs and 115 RBIs. Nicknamed “The Big Hurt” for the damage he did to opposing pitchers, by 1993 Thomas was already an offensive force to be reckoned with.

1993 Season Summary

Appeared in 153 games

1B – 150, DH – 4

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 676 [16]

At Bats – 549

Runs – 106 [10]

Hits – 174 [12]

Doubles – 36 [11, tied with Albert Belle, Brady Anderson & Wally Joyner]

Triples – 0

Home Runs – 41 [3]

RBI – 128 [2]

Bases on Balls – 112 [4]

Int. BB – 23 [3, tied with Mo Vaughn]

Strikeouts – 54

Stolen Bases – 4

Caught Stealing – 2

Average - .317 [6]

OBP - .426 [4]

Slugging Pct. - .607 [3]

Total Bases – 333 [3]

GDP – 10

Hit by Pitches – 2

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 13 [2, tied with Carlos Baerga]

Midseason snapshot: HR – 20, RBI – 68, AVG – .302, SLG – .559

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) at Texas 5/16, (in 4 AB) vs. Cleveland 7/27, (in 5 AB) at Texas 8/3

Longest hitting streak – 18 games

HR at home – 26

HR on road – 15

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 4 AB) at Baltimore 7/11, (in 4 AB) vs. Cleveland 7/27, (in 4 AB) vs. NY Yankees 8/23 – 10 innings

Multi-HR games – 3

Most RBIs, game – 5 vs. Toronto 4/30, at Baltimore 7/11, vs. Cleveland 7/27

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances - 1320

Put Outs – 1222

Assists – 83

Errors – 15

DP – 128

Pct. - .989

Postseason: 6 G (ALCS vs. Toronto)

PA – 27, AB – 17, R – 2, H – 6, 2B – 0,3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 3, BB – 10, IBB – 2, SO – 5, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .353, OBP - .593, SLG -.529, TB – 9, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: BBWAA

MLB Player of the Year: Sporting News

Silver Slugger

All-Star

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Frank Thomas, ChiWS.: 392 pts. - 28 of 28 first place votes, 100% share

Paul Molitor, Tor.: 209 pts. – 53% share

John Olerud, Tor.: 198 pts. – 51% share

Juan Gonzalez, Tex.: 185 pts. – 47% share

Ken Griffey Jr, Sea.: 182 pts. – 46% share

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White Sox went 94-68 to finish first in the AL Western Division by 8 games over the Texas Rangers, while leading the league in triples (44) and fewest batter strikeouts (834). The White Sox moved into first place to stay on July 7 and coasted to the AL West title. Lost ALCS to the Toronto Blue Jays, 4 games to 2.

Aftermath of ‘93:

Thomas followed up with another outstanding season during the strike-shortened 1994 campaign, batting .353 with 38 home runs and 101 RBIs while also leading the American League in runs scored (106), walks drawn (109), on-base percentage (.487), and slugging percentage (.729). He was once again voted the league MVP. Another strong season in 1995 made him the first player in baseball history to bat .300 with at least 20 home runs, 100 RBIs, 100 runs scored, and 100 walks drawn over five consecutive seasons. His totals were a .308 average, 102 runs, 40 home runs, 111 RBIs, and a league-leading 136 walks drawn (29 intentional). He placed eighth in MVP voting. In 1996 Thomas suffered a stress fracture in his left foot that cost him 18 games, but still ended up batting .349 with 110 runs scored, 40 home runs, 134 RBIs, and 109 walks drawn. Thomas won the AL batting title in 1997 by hitting .347 along with 110 runs, 35 home runs, 125 RBIs, and 109 bases on balls. “The Big Hurt” followed up with a relative off-year in 1998, batting just .265 with 29 home runs and 109 RBIs while still drawing 110 walks while used almost exclusively as a DH. Bothered by a foot injury that required surgery in 1999, and splitting time between DH and first base, his batting average rebounded to .305 with just 15 home runs and 77 RBIs. In 2000 Thomas, now typically a Designated Hitter, returned to form by batting .328 with 43 home runs and 143 RBIs. He finished a close second in league MVP balloting. A triceps tear that required surgery limited Thomas to 20 games in 2001 and when he returned in 2002 he batted only .252 with 28 home runs and 92 RBIs. While his average remained low at .267 in 2003, his productivity was strong at 42 home runs and 105 RBIs. Limited to a total of 108 games due to injuries in 2004 and ’05, Thomas was not on the postseason roster that culminated in World Series triumph for the White Sox in 2005. Departing for the Oakland A's as a free agent, he was the regular DH in 2006 and hit .270 with 39 home runs and 114 RBIs. Moving on to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2007 he batted .277 with 26 home runs and 95 RBIs. Released by Toronto early in the 2008 season, he returned to Oakland where he hit .263 in his final season. After not playing in 2009, Thomas retired. For his major league career, he batted .301 with 2468 hits that included 495 doubles, 12 triples, and 521 home runs. He scored 1494 runs, reaching 100 in a season nine times, and compiled 1704 RBIs, reaching 100 in a season eleven times. He further drew 1667 walks and had a .419 on-base percentage. With the White Sox he batted .307 with 2136 hits, 1327 runs, 447 doubles, 11 triples, 448 home runs, 1465 RBIs, 1466 bases on balls, and a .427 OBP and .568 slugging percentage. Appearing in 16 postseason games, Thomas hit .224 with 3 home runs and 5 RBIs. A five-time All-Star, he was in the top ten of MVP voting nine times, including the two wins. He further was awarded four Silver Sluggers. The White Sox retired his #35 and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.

Cy Young Profile: Jack McDowell, 1993

Pitcher, Chicago White Sox

Age:  27

5^th season with White Sox

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’5”    Weight: 180

Prior to 1993:

A native of Van Nuys, California, McDowell played football, basketball, and soccer in addition to baseball as a youth. Following high school, he turned down an offer from the Boston Red Sox, who made him a low-round selection in the 1984 amateur draft, and instead attended Stanford University, where he was a second-team All-American in 1986, and third-team in 1987, a year in which Stanford won the College World Series. Chosen by the White Sox in the first round of the ’87 amateur draft (fifth overall) he signed for a $175,000 bonus. McDowell pitched in four games with Birmingham of the Class AA Southern League and the 21-year old was then called up to the White Sox in September where he started another four games and went 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA. He struggled as a rookie in 1988, starting 26 games and posting a 5-10 record with a 3.97 ERA. Following a poor spring performance in 1989, McDowell was demoted to Vancouver of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League where he went 5-6 with a 6.13 ERA. Returning to the White Sox in 1990 he abandoned his slider and relied on a split-fingered fastball and curve to good effect. He compiled a 14-9 record with a 3.82 ERA and 165 strikeouts. He also became known for outspokenness and feuding with the front office. Highly competitive and with an intimidating mound presence that resulted in his being bestowed with the nickname “Black Jack” McDowell followed up with a fine 17-10 performance in 1991 along with a 3.41 ERA, 191 strikeouts, and league-leading 15 complete games. Along the way he was also named as an All-Star for the first time. An unorthodox athlete who played with a rock band on the side, McDowell produced a 20-10 record in 1992 with a 3.18 ERA and league-high 13 complete games and finished second in AL Cy Young Award voting.

1993 Season Summary

Appeared in 34 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 34

Games Started – 34 [6, tied with ten others]

Complete Games – 10 [3, tied with Randy Johnson]

Wins – 22 [1]

Losses – 10

PCT - .688 [7]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 4 [1]

Innings Pitched – 256.2 [2]

Hits – 261 [2]

Runs – 104 [19, tied with John Doherty, Tim Leary & Fernando Valenzuela]

Earned Runs – 96 [16]

Home Runs – 20

Bases on Balls – 69

Strikeouts – 158 [13]

ERA – 3.37 [11]

Hit Batters – 3

Balks – 1

Wild Pitches – 8 [14, tied with twelve others]

League-leading wins were +3 ahead of runners-up Randy Johnson & Pat Hentgen

League-leading shutouts were +1 ahead of runners-up Randy Johnson, Mike Moore & Kevin Brown

Midseason Snapshot: 13-6, ERA - 3.88, SO - 75 in 141.2 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 10 (in 9 IP) at Minnesota 8/22

10+ strikeout games – 1

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 2 (in 9 IP) at Seattle 8/1

Fielding

Chances – 69

Put Outs – 23

Assists – 43

Errors – 3

DP – 2

Pct. - .957

Postseason Pitching:

G – 2 (ALCS vs. Toronto)

GS – 2, CG – 0, Record – 0-2, PCT – .000, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 9, H – 18, R – 10, ER – 10, HR – 1, BB – 5, SO – 5, ERA – 10.00, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 1

Awards & Honors:

AL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

AL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

All-Star

9^th in AL MVP voting (51 points, 13% share)

AL Cy Young voting (Top 5):

Jack McDowell, ChiWS.: 116 pts. – 21 of 28 first place votes, 89% share

Randy Johnson, Sea.: 75 pts. – 6 first place votes, 54% share

Kevin Appier, KC: 30 pts. – 1 first place vote, 21% share

Jimmy Key, NYY.: 14 pts. – 10% share

Duane Ward, Tor.: 5 pts. – 4% share

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White Sox went 94-68 to finish first in the AL Western Division by 8 games over the Texas Rangers. The pitching staff led the league in ERA (3.70) & fewest runs allowed (664). The White Sox moved into first place to stay on July 7, and paced by young starting pitchers McDowell, RHP Alex Fernandez, LHP Wilson Alvarez & RHP Jason Bere, coasted to the AL West title. Lost ALCS to the Toronto Blue Jays, 4 games to 2.

Aftermath of ‘93:

McDowell dropped to 10-9 with a 3.73 ERA in the strike-shortened 1994 season. Traded to the New York Yankees in the offseason, he was 15-10 in 1995 with a 3.93 ERA and AL-leading 8 complete games although he was hindered by a sore back in the season’s latter stages. Departing as a free agent, he moved on to the Cleveland Indians in 1996 where he missed time due to an arm injury and finished at 13-9 with a 5.11 ERA and 141 strikeouts. Limited to six starts in 1997 due to a sore elbow that required surgery he was just 3-3 with a 5.09 ERA. With the Anaheim Angels in 1998 and ’99 “Black Jack” endured two bleak injury-marred seasons and retired. Overall for his major league career, which was highlighted by the three-season period from 1991-93, McDowell posted a 127-87 record with a 3.85 ERA, 62 complete games, and 1311 strikeouts over 1889 innings pitched. With the White Sox he was 91-58 with a 3.50 ERA, 49 complete games, and 918 strikeouts over 1343.2 innings. In five postseason appearances he went 0-4 with an 8.72 ERA and 16 strikeouts. “Black Jack” was a three-time All-Star. In retirement he went into coaching at the scholastic, minor league, and collegiate levels.

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Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.