Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Frank Thomas takes exception to being left off White Sox's Black History Month post

Episode Date: February 2, 2026

Marshall Harris and Mark Grote reacted to White Sox legend Frank Thomas being irked by being left off a social media post that the organization had to celebrate Black History Month.

Rahimi Harrison Grody, Midday's tidal two on Chicago Sports Radio. That's it out of here. Uh-huh. Rahimi Harrison Grotty on 104-3, The Score. Frank Thomas is simply one of the greatest White Sox players ever, maybe the greatest white socks player ever. 16 years with the White Sox. You know all about Frank.

He's not really dirty, Frank, even though that's the song that, of course, goes through my head. Dirty Frank by Pearl Jam. He's decidedly not dirty. The irony of losing out on a third MVP because of that dirty, filthy Giambi brother. But Frank Thomas is a classic. He is one of the greatest.

That is what a first ballot hall of famer looks like. That said, White Sox Twitter, I don't know if you guys saw yesterday, was reflecting upon momentous first for the Sox organization for Black History Month. And for example, some of those. Old Kamisky Park plays host to the first ever East West Negro League's All-Star game in 1933.

Harold Baines in 1977 becomes the second African-American player selected with the number one overall pick in the MLB draft. Baines was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. All sorts of great momentous options right here. Dick Allen, here is one where, in 1972. Dick Allen becomes the first black player in White Sox history to win AL MVP honors. Frank Thomas joined Allen as MVP in 1994. Now, there's many more examples, but I just want to give you just a little bit of it. Frank Thomas responded to that White Sox tweet honoring Black History Month

by saying, this is Frank Thomas. Quote, I guess the black player who made you rich over there and holds all of your records is forgettable. Don't worry. I am taking receipts. Close quote. That is from Frank Thomas. And before I let you respond, Marshall, because I definitely want to hear what you had to say,

and I have some things to say as well, there was a tweet that just came down from, actually just a little while ago, from our guy, Bruce Levine, at MLB Bruce Levine on X. He said a little while ago, I am told the White Sox will continue to promote Black History Month with the emphasis on HOF Frank Thomas

and other Chicago Sox favorites. What do you think? Do you think he got slighted? Is Frank Thomas have a point here? There were some names in there that you mentioned while they were black and had like a sort of historical reference for the White Sox. I think Danny Goodwin was one of the names. guy that got drafted by the Sox?

How many games did he play for the Sox? I don't know. I don't know. There's a reason you don't know. He didn't play any. Frank Thomas is the greatest white socks player to ever play for the organization. I'm not pushing back on that.

Black, white, purple, whatever color you want to talk about. He is also, because you mentioned the MVP that was won by Dick Allen, who you know I'm a fan of. And congratulations on him, finally getting his Hall of Fame due. But Frank Thomas, it could have been this simple. This is all they had to do, the White Sox.

Frank Thomas is the first black player to ever win back-to-back MVPs, list of years. That's how simple it is. Because when I first saw it, I was like, oh, did he not do something that they consider like a black achievement first, whatever? It took me all of five seconds to come up with that, what I just told you. Yeah, right, right. And you're, yeah, I guess, yeah, yes, fair enough, fair enough. And so there's other things you could have, like, come up with for Frank Thomas to be noted in that long list of guys who got noted on that infographic that went out on social media. And the fact that they didn't do it, yeah, it's a slight.

I think Frank Thomas saying something escalates the situation, but you know what? he's going to do what he wants to do. The White Sox, it's on them to fix this. And I get it. Frank Thomas has never been a not stubborn person. Yeah, he's been hard to manage. Yes, he's been, it's well documented where you want to talk about him and Kenny going back and forth. If you want to talk about, you know, how his role was viewed when the White Sox won the World Series, when he was obviously hurt.

How about the diminished skills clause back in 2002? and they... Listen. You know me as a White Sox fan growing up in Alabama, you do know where he played his college baseball, right? In Birmingham. He played his... Well, it's college baseball.

He played at Auburn University. Auburn. Oh, yeah. He was a tight-in and a first baseman for Auburn. So, like, I had, like, oh, I'm really interested to see what this guy does, and then I follow his career through the Meyer leagues. And obviously, when he exploded. And I don't think I'm over-exaggerating when I say he exploded onto the scene as a major

league baseball player. Auburn, come on, man. You know me. I'm a Cubs fan. I used to go to whatever it was, U.S. Cellular Field, Kermiski, 2, to watch Frank Thomas hit his third inning home runs. Can't miss at bats. That's what he had. He was, he wasn't even a home run here. He was in a Lyme drive hitter, but his lion drives went really far. Here's the thing about Frank Thomas, though. I don't know. Sometimes I think he's insatiable when it comes to, I don't know if he could ever get enough credit in his own mind or enough attention in his own mind. he has been he obviously is holding on to

heavy resentments which probably don't even deal with the fact that he is a black baseball player I think most of it are due to those run-ins that you talked about through the years and somehow some way Frank Thomas threw it all even in the MVP years

thinking that he was slided either by I don't know by Major League Baseball maybe because he wasn't getting the attention that I'd say Ken Griffey Jr. did or by the White Sox because of the infighting and the Kenny Williams'ness of it all, all to say. And I would say this is something that I learned that I use in life when there is a conflict or there is anger or you're holding resentments.

Look at your part in it all. Like take a look at just, I do this with myself. Like what is your part in it, Frank Thomas? Like through the years is, are there part? And I bet there are. Paul Canerco used to get mad at Frank Thomas because of his attitude and his demeanor. I mean, that's heavy stuff. So I would say that while you probably should have found a way to get him on this list,

I think the bigger picture is Frank is holding on to some, he's so mad. He's so mad. And he used this as a way to explode on the White Sox because of the anger and the resentments that he holds. Yeah, I think that's fair for anyone, though. Once you feel like an organization, a place you worked for was doing you dirty. Yeah. Everything builds on itself. Right.

My point is they did the White Sox to themselves by even omitting him. This is a self-check. This is you dribbling down the court and then bouncing the ball off your knee going out of balance. It's a turnover. It's a bad play. All they had to do is mention the man. And then he can't come at you in the way that he did. And if you're a supporter of the White Sox and you're a supporter of Frank Thomas,

how can you not see this as anything but a slight? That's me. That man gave me great years of being a White Sox fan. But you're also admitting your heavy-duty bias. And I know, like, most Sox fans that are listening right now, Frank Thomas is probably their favorite White Sox player. But I'm saying even if I'm not a White Sox fan, even if I'm not a Frank Thomas fan,

you look at the guys listed on the infographic. You look at the omission of the guy I say is the best White Sox player in history. And it does not, I think to any rash, unbiased, non-involved party. Like, if we ask people in New York or L.A., just baseball fans, what do you think of this? They'd be like, yeah, Frank's got a case. It's a very strong case.

But you did have, I mean, like, I don't want to like nitpick, but I guess I am. Dick Allen's the first, right, to get that. And then when you say, you're right, the way to do it would have been the first black player in White Sox history to win two. Not White Sox history, American League history. American League history. That's why it's like, let me escalate it. Yeah, the first to do that.

I mean, you're not the first to get the MVP, though, so you are having to press a little bit to get there. That was my five seconds. If you want me to, if I take five minutes, I'll come up with something else for you. No, I understand. I understand the spirit. I'm trying to. You're trying to justify what the White Sox did? I think you should be on there.

I'm trying to get in the heads of the White Sox, right? Like, I don't think it was egregious on their part. Do you? Like, I don't think that the White Sox were like, oh, we're not putting Frank on there because of the stuff that he said and the stuff. I don't think that's it at all. It might have been a mistake. but I don't think it was egregious. I feel like the White Sox and Frank Thomas are not in a good place,

and they probably haven't been in a good place in a long time. Yeah. And this is just another fracture in that relationship. I mean, if it was petty, that's the word I probably should have used instead of egregious. I don't think it was petty on the part of the white socks. That's what I'm choosing to believe. Maybe I'm being naive. Okay, okay.

That's fair. It was egregious, maybe not petty. It probably is egregious, yeah. But, but no, it definitely is egregious. My point is this. If Frank Thomas feels that it's petty, you got to go in there and do damage control. you can't let that error It's already been too long

If they haven't contacted Frank Thomas and tried to work it out Who knows? It's already been too long We had the Bruce tweet right there too saying that they will focus on HOF And now he can't come to the home Apparently he would not show up for home run derby

So Canerco's back in Canerco's back on my That's right Paulie's our guy That's right Although you know the first guy we both listed Was who? Big Hurd

Of course Of course I identify the White Sox with Frank Thomas. And hey, I covered the 2005 White Sox. I was there in Houston on the field, talking to Frank Thomas, but I remember asking him like, hey, man, you played in 34 games for the White Sox. And he quickly, before I even really got to the question, he was like, he was like, I played a big part in this. And I was like, hell yeah, you did. Not because 34 games, but because of Frank history and what he meant to the organization, he was all smiles,

but it all went downhill after that, unfortunately, for the big guy. The amount of joy I felt watching him destroy baseballs in Toronto, that sums it up for me. He had a 40 homer season with the Blue Jays, yes? Yeah. Yes. Stay out of White Sox business. No, that was Oakland, right, when he did the stay out of White Sox business. I believe so.

Because it's A's first, right? He's with the A's and then Toronto. I do believe. And then Texas? Or am I doing Sammy Sosa now? I don't think it was Texas. I don't know. Was there a third team?

We should know our Frank Thomas history. But we'll look that up at other things. And when we return on Rahimi Harris and Grody, we'll talk more bears. I don't know if you heard, but one of our first guests here on this show in FM was Cole Commet. And he said some very interesting things, including about his future, DJ Moore's future, Bears players futures. We'll get into that. And more bears next on Rahimi Harris and Grody on the score.