Frank Thomas always grabbed a roll of athletic tape, regardless of where or when Auburn was playing.
It was pregame routine, as his coaches and teammates remember it. Thomas mashed pieces of tape into five or six bunches that were no smaller than a marble but no bigger than a golf ball. Then, he’d grab whoever was willing to throw them and head down the foul line closest to Auburn’s dugout for his own version of batting practice.
He was an undeniable talent coming out of Columbus High School in 1986, starring in football pads, on the basketball court and with a bat in his hands. He came to Auburn a two-sport athlete, on a football scholarship and playing baseball, before an injury shifted his focus to the diamond entirely. “He was the most refined hitter, as a true freshman, that I've ever seen,” Baird said. “He wasn't raw. He wasn't unpolished. He was totally refined, totally polished. He had a professional knowledge of the strike zone when he was, like, 18 or 19. Never had seen that in any young man before.”
The prowess at the plate showed up in the box scores. Thomas never had a season with more strikeouts than walks as a Tiger. His 153 career walks are second all-time in Auburn history, and his 73 walks in 1989 are a single-season program record. It was a testament to his patience as a hitter.
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