http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/06/01/fra...secret-society/

 

CHICAGO (WSCR) Frank Thomas has always maintained he never took steroids and for the most part, he’s been one of the few sluggers from the steroid era who is believed to be clean.

 

Wednesday, in an interview on 670 The Score’s Boers & Bernstein Show, Thomas said he “had no idea” steroids were being used as much as they were.

 

“I’ll be honest with you. It was a secret society,” Thomas said. “I had no idea. I think I was the one guy that when they were having that conversation they would stop quickly when I walked in the room. For many, many years I had a lot of teammates involved and I had no idea it was going on the way it was going on. There were always rumblings about one or two guys, but to know the numbers that really came out, I was really, really shocked.”

 

Listen: Frank Thomas on 670 The Score

 

Still, Thomas, who retired in 2009 after amassing 521 career home runs, is always going to face some doubt. He said he understands that and does not hold any grudges against the players who cheated.

 

“I can’t hate guys for what they did,” he said. “The money exploded in the nineties like they had never seen before. And it’s hard for anyone not to do what is best for their family. Guys got to a weak point in their lives and did what they had to do. I look back on it now and there are no grudges for me for anyone. I just wish I had known about it.”

 

As for his own approach while opponents cheated, he said:

 

“We just saw great players become amazing players. Wow, I got to witness it, I got to play against it,” Thomas said. “It wasn’t just the hitters it was the pitchers also. I went from seeing guys paint around 91-92 MPH to it seemed like the whole staff throwing above 95. The game definitely changed right before my eyes. But me being the hard worker, it was, ‘I got to work a little bit harder, these guys are catching up to me fast.’

 

“I’m happy to go home now and sleep very, very soundly every night not wondering if someone is going to call me to figure out what happened back in such and such and such, because I’m sure there are a lot of guys going home right now still worried”

 

Thomas also told Boers & Bernstein that his favorite home runs of his career came at U.S. Cellular Field, but not when he was wearing a White Sox uniform. Instead, it was when he returned to Chicago for the first time with the Oakland Athletics and homered in his first two at bats.

 

“My heart was always in Chicago and I never wanted to leave this place,” Thomas said. “I was struggling that year and to come home and feel like, ‘Hey, I’m home. This is my batters box. I was here when they built this stadium.’ And to hit two home runs right away it was just fulfilling to my heart because Chicago has always been a special place in my heart and it’s home for me.”

I enjoyed every second of this. Thank you.

“I’m happy to go home now and sleep very, very soundly every night not wondering if someone is going to call me to figure out what happened back in such and such and such, because I’m sure there are a lot of guys going home right now still worried”

 

Great interview. If you want, it is available on podcast. I love Big Frank.

Awesomeness. Best. Hitter. EVER.

I enjoyed every second of this. Thank you.

 

What he said.

“I’m happy to go home now and sleep very, very soundly every night not wondering if someone is going to call me to figure out what happened back in such and such and such, because I’m sure there are a lot of guys going home right now still worried”

 

Great interview. If you want, it is available on podcast. I love Big Frank.

 

I just finished it. Very excellent indeed.

Well I can think of two big-time guys he played with. One was known as the Horse and one had a mysterious surgery in Vienna. I could name others I was suspicious of, too, but the list would be long.

 

Also this further anoints Frank as my favorite player of all-time. Man I really am gonna try to get out to Cooperstown when he is inducted. Not only a clean guy, but such a good person. Never in trouble outside of baseball.

Edited June 2, 201114 yr by maggsmaggs

Well I can think of two big-time guys he played with. One was known as the Horse and one had a mysterious surgery in Vienna. I could name others I was suspicious of, too, but the list would be long.

 

Also this further anoints Frank as my favorite player of all-time. Man I really am gonna try to get out to Cooperstown when he is inducted. Not only a clean guy, but such a good person. Never in trouble outside of baseball.

"had a lot of teammates involved in steroids" before reading this article I thought it would contain info linking him to steroids not what we all believed that Frank was clean. The article and interview explains that others may have but Frank was beyond reproach when it came to steroids.

Well I can think of two big-time guys he played with. One was known as the Horse and one had a mysterious surgery in Vienna. I could name others I was suspicious of, too, but the list would be long.

 

Also this further anoints Frank as my favorite player of all-time. Man I really am gonna try to get out to Cooperstown when he is inducted. Not only a clean guy, but such a good person. Never in trouble outside of baseball.

 

Please refresh my memory. Who had a surgery in Vienna? Thanks.

Please refresh my memory. Who had a surgery in Vienna? Thanks.

 

Magglio

Magglio

 

That's what I would have guessed, but I didn't remember. Thanks.

 

For s***s and giggles, here's my partial list of possible (probable?) users that played with Hurt, I know I'm forgetting about a million guys, feel free to help:

 

Maggs

Caballo

Valentin

Bo (didn't he admit it?, I can't recall for sure)

Albert Belle (rage explained)

Rowand

 

 

Pitchers:

Lil' Bulldog, Parque (+others who could never touch the majors without some help)

Fatty Wells (just strikes me as a guy who wouldn't hesitate to gain an advantage)

Edited June 2, 201114 yr by Stan Bahnsen

That's what I would have guessed, but I didn't remember. Thanks.

maglio had this secret surgery on his knee that he and his agent Boras, wouldn't discuss any medical details with whitesox management. Eventually maglio signed with Detroit for more money than the sox offered.

Edited June 2, 201114 yr by forrestg

That's what I would have guessed, but I didn't remember. Thanks.

 

For s***s and giggles, here's my partial list of possible (probable?) users that played with Hurt, I know I'm forgetting about a million guys, feel free to help:

 

Maggs

Caballo

Valentin

Bo (didn't he admit it?, I can't recall for sure)

Albert Belle (rage explained)

Rowand

 

 

Pitchers:

Lil' Bulldog, Parque (+others who could never touch the majors without some help)

Fatty Wells (just strikes me as a guy who wouldn't hesitate to gain an advantage)

 

Parque was a top draft pick IIRC.

Billy koch always seemed clean to me.

A great read! Watching Frank hit, especially in those early years was so special.

That's what I would have guessed, but I didn't remember. Thanks.

 

For s***s and giggles, here's my partial list of possible (probable?) users that played with Hurt, I know I'm forgetting about a million guys, feel free to help:

 

Maggs

Caballo

Valentin

Bo (didn't he admit it?, I can't recall for sure)

Albert Belle (rage explained)

Rowand

 

 

Pitchers:

Lil' Bulldog, Parque (+others who could never touch the majors without some help)

Fatty Wells (just strikes me as a guy who wouldn't hesitate to gain an advantage)

?Those are all good guesses. I always wonder who the guys might have been that no one would ever have guessed.

?Those are all good guesses. I always wonder who the guys might have been that no one would ever have guessed.

 

Pablo Ozuna getting busted was one.

Clearly randy williams was enhanced during his tenure with the white sox big league club. How else could one put up numbers that big like his 2010? Riddle me this.

I enjoyed every second of this. Thank you.

Yes.

 

Parque was a top draft pick IIRC.

Parque admitted he took HGH.

 

link

Edited June 2, 201114 yr by Steve9347

FRANK IS ON ESPN 1000 RIGHT NOW.

Parque admitted he took HGH.

 

link

 

I remember that, but that was after being a top draft pick. It had nothing to do with improving his draft status and getting to the majors.

Scott Schoenweis was Mitchell Reported.

I'm going out on a limb and guessing this guy was on the juice.

 

 

I loved the year Canseco was on the team. I had the best seats I ever had to a game that year and holy mother of god that man was enormous.