Frank Thomas in April 2023. Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

MLB Hall of Famer calls out FOX News for falsely claiming he died

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Renzo Pocholo Salao | Last updated 12/29/23

Former Chicago White Sox designated hitter Frank Thomas was mistakenly included in a FOX News program’s “In Memoriam” segment. The man known fondly as “The Big Hurt” is very much alive and well.

Friday’s edition of “The Faulkner Focus” mourned the supposed death of the 55-year-old alongside several other prominent figures who died this year. On-field highlights of Thomas, including a clip of his Baseball Hall of Fame induction in 2014, were shown on screen with a chyron that read, “FRANK THOMAS 1968-2023.”

Fox News tried to kill off the Big Hurt pic.twitter.com/1Xfbd5pMNw

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) December 30, 2023

FOX News later apologized and admitted that they had “misidentified” which baseball player named Frank Thomas they were supposed to eulogize. They meant to include former Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Frank Thomas in the segment. The three-time All-Star died in January at the age of 93.

Thomas, the White Sox slugger, reacted to the error by calling out the “irresponsible” reporting done by his former employer.

“Ladies and Gentlemen I’m very sorry my ex-employer Fox would be this irresponsible on National TV this morning. Yes, I’m alive and doing well. This blows my mind also,” said Thomas on X.

Ladies and Gentlemen I’m very sorry my ex employer Fox would be this irresponsible on National TV this morning. Yes I’m alive and doing well. This blows my mind also. pic.twitter.com/FWGlVwOIFS

— Frank Thomas (@TheBigHurt_35) December 29, 2023