The Big Hurt shows that even the biggest of men have a soft spot for their family.
Gregory Fisher/USA TODAY Sports
Today Frank Thomas, along with many other greats, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. For those of you who didn’t have the chance to watch this man play during his prime with the Chicago White Sox probably don’t understand the reason why he was given the nickname, The Big Hurt. This mammoth of a man terrorized pitchers for years with his monstrous home runs and lasers for line drives and never held back when he swung that bat. You’d think a man who’s as intimidating as Thomas wouldn’t want to show his emotional side. But sometimes you just can’t hold back geniune tears.
I’ve watched many of these hall of fame speeches over the years for all the professional sports, and you never know what kind of approach the athlete will take. Most of the time, the athlete will hold their composure and deliver their sincere words straight from the heart.
Today, Thomas took the same approach, but he couldn’t hold back the tears when he spoke of his family, especially his father. When you grow up idolizing these men, you never really get to see this side of the player. You never really get to see them this vulnerable and when you do, at least for me, you tend to respect them more.
You can see Thomas’ speech below. You can skip ahead to the 1:20 mark to see when Thomas really begins to open up.
Congrats, Big Hurt. You truly deserved this highest honor.
