Big Hurt Returns to South Side

By Benjy Lipsman in News on May 23, 2006 6:35PM

Chicagoist still cannot get used to the sight of Frank Thomas in anything other than White Sox pinstripes. We remember having to track his home run count in day-old USA Today's while at overnight camp. We remember his hitting a home run in the first game we drove ourself to, and we remember being happy for him last year when he finally won a ring -- even if he wasn't able to contribute much.

We guess we weren't the only ones with fond memories of the Thomas' days with the White Sox, as the U.S. Cellular crowd greeted him Monday night with a standing ovation as he came to the plate in the second inning.

Thomas then proceeded to remind White Sox fans that his knickname, Big Hurt, derives from what he does to the baseball, and not to his feet. Immediately after his standing "O", Thomas hit a 402-foot home run. In the 5th inning, he hit yet another one! Now that's one way to make us miss him just a little bit.

While Thomas' second home run gave Oakland a 4-0 lead, the Sox rallied to tie the game in the 8th inning before winning 5-4 in the 10th inning, on a perfectly executed Pablo Ozuna bunt.

Image via Yahoo! News