Frank Thomas is putting an end to his illustrious career.

The former Chicago White Sox slugger will announce his retirement during a news conference set for 11 a.m. ET this Friday at U.S. Cellular Field. At that time, the team will also announce the retirement of his No. 35, which may happen this August 2 to mark the 20-year anniversary of the 41-year-old Thomas’ big league debut with the Sox.

Quite possibly the greatest slugger in White Sox history, Thomas played for the team from 1990-2005. The five-time All Star, who will become eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2014, boasts impressive club records as well. All time homers? Check. RBIs? Check. 

Let’s not forget the back-to-back MVP awards which he earned in 1993 and 1994. He’s also on the short list of players who have managed to nail 500 bombs while maintaining a career .300 batting average. Awesome.

He went on to play with the Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays, then back to Oakland, and spent the majority of his playing time as a designated hitter. That’s about the only thing working against his otherwise-inevitable enshrinement.

Happy trials Frank Thomas! Hope to see you in the broadcast booth someday. Mainly because I can’t stand Hawk Harrelson…

P.S. The hilarious baseball blog 7th Inning Stache reminded me of this commercial featuring The Big Hurt beating the crap out of a little kid with a pillow, which was banned from Canadian television. Enjoy…

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