Original Met Frank Thomas dies at 93
Frank Thomas was an original Met. Credit: Getty Images/Don Uhrbrock
Frank Thomas, a bright spot on early Mets teams that gave fans little to cheer for, died on Monday in his native Pittsburgh, the team announced. He was 93.
Thomas attended the Mets’ Old-Timers’ Day in August, saying he was aiming to hit a ball out of Citi Field in batting practice, having done so at the Polo Grounds and Shea Stadium.
He was in a wheelchair for the event, but the sentiment was in keeping with Thomas’ feisty personality, which came in handy when he was an original Met on a 1962 team that went 40-120.
Original Met Frank Thomas during Old-Timers' Day ceremony before a baseball game between the Colorado Rockies and the New York Mets on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022, in New York.
Credit: AP/Adam Hunger
“I’m so thankful that my dad was able to go to Old-Timers’ Day,” Thomas’ daughter, Maryanne Pacconi, said in a statement released by the Mets.
“It meant the world to him to see his old teammates. I was thrilled with how the fans greeted him. I was so happy to see him in uniform again. We will treasure those memories forever.”
In a 2019 interview with Howie Rose, Thomas spoke fondly of his time with the Mets and said of the organization, “It’s nice that they still remember me.”
Thomas also was remembered for an unusual skill: He challenged his fellow major-leaguers (including Willie Mays) to throw the ball as hard as they could to him from a distance of 60 feet, 6 inches — and he would catch it barehanded. “I never lost,’’ he said.
Thomas already had been a three-time All-Star with the Pirates when he became a Met, and he paid dividends when they acquired him in a trade with Milwaukee. That first season, he hit 34 home runs, a franchise record until 1975, when Dave Kingman hit 36. The outfielder also drove in 94 runs and batted .266 that season, taking advantage of the short leftfield porch at the Polo Grounds as a pull-hitting righty.
After 2 ½ years with the Mets, they traded him to the Phillies. In all, he would play for seven teams — including two stints each with Milwaukee and the Cubs — in a 16-year career that ended in 1966.
Thomas totaled 286 homers and 962 RBIs in his career. He finished fourth in National League MVP voting as a Pirate in 1958.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
