Frank Thomas, an All-Star outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1950s who later hit 34 home runs for the bad first Mets team in 1962, died in Pittsburgh on Monday at 93.
The Mets said that he had died.
Thomas was a right-handed pull hitter who stood 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighed about 200 pounds. In 16 seasons in the National League, he hit 286 home runs.
But he never became as famous as another Frank Thomas, the 6-foot-5-inch, 240-pound first baseman and designated hitter known as “the Big Hurt,” who hit 521 home runs, mostly with the Chicago White Sox, during a Hall of Fame career that started in 1990 and ended in 2008.
The first Frank Thomas was an All-Star with the Pirates in 1954, 1955, and 1958. In 1958, he had his best season, hitting 35 home runs, driving in 109 runs, and batting.
We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of original Met Frank Thomas. pic.twitter.com/ZNkIrU59ea
— New York Mets (@Mets) January 16, 2023
He later played for the Cincinnati Reds, the Chicago Cubs, and the Milwaukee Braves. In November 1961, when the Mets were putting together their team for their first season in the National League, the Braves traded him to the Mets.
Casey Stengel’s 1962 Mets team lost a record of 120 games. Thomas, who usually played in left field, hit 34 home runs and drove in 94 runs. This club record stood until Dave Kingman hit 36 home runs in 1975. Thomas took advantage of the short foul line in left field at the Polo Grounds, where the Mets played for their first two seasons.
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