Frank Thomas' nickname turned out to be ironic. At least he got the last laugh.
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The "Big Hurt" earned his moniker as a member of the Chicago White Sox for his ability to crush the baseball, earning back-to-back American League Most Valuable Player awards in 1993-94.
But then his game was pushed to the background by a generation of players that found they could put up Thomas-like numbers or better by using performance-enhancing drugs.
"I probably lost more than anybody else in that steroid era,'' Thomas told USA TODAY Sports. "I could have had more MVPs, bigger contracts, things that I deserved.''
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Thomas will have to settle for becoming the first slugger in the steroids era to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
"That means a lot to me,'' Thomas says, "because this is the pinnacle, and it was all done by hard work and dedication. I can look at them in the face, and tell them I worked my ass off.''
Still, he was hurt by the cheaters who could play like him using artificial means.
"The first eight years, I couldn't be touched,'' Thomas told USA TODAY Sports. "There were crazy numbers I put up. When I came into the league, if you were hitting 30 homers and driving in 100, you were a great major-league baseball player. Not good. Not great. So I set my goal every year at 40 and 120.
"But overnight, everybody caught up.
"My 40 home runs, and my 120 RBI wasn't what it once was. Guys started ramping up 50 and 60 home runs. They were doing things that were crazy.
"So people started talking like my numbers were just average, and I took a lot of flak for that. They looked at me like, "What are you doing? You're not working out.
"That's the one thing I was pissed off about.''
According to USA TODAY Sports, Thomas is one of only four players to hit at least .300 with more than 500 homers, 1,500 RBI, 1,000 runs and 1,500 walks in baseball history. The others are Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Mel Ott.
Thomas averaged 39 homers and 120 RBI from 1993-1998.
The most impressive aspect of that statistic? He did it naturally. The only hurt now involves those who cheated and were caught.
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