MLB All-Star Frank Thomas, the former Pirates and Mets outfielder, dies at 93

Former Major League outfielder Frank Thomas passed away Monday morning at 93 in his native Pittsburgh, where he once starred as a three-time All-Star for the hometown Pirates. A cause of death has not been released.

While his best years came in Pittsburgh, Thomas is also remembered as an original member of the New York Mets – a beloved-but-dreadful expansion team in 1962 that went on to lose a modern-day record of 120 games. Thomas hit a team-high 34 home runs that season for Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel, while leading the club with 69 runs scored for the year.

Despite suffering a fall in 2021 that limited his mobility, Thomas reunited with teammates at Citi Field in Queens last summer for Old Timers’ Day.

‘I’m so thankful that my dad was able to go to Old Timers’ Day,’ Thomas’ daughter, Maryanne Pacconi said, as quoted by MLB.com. ‘It meant the world to him to see his old teammates. I was thrilled with how the fans greeted him. I was so happy to see him in uniform again. We will treasure those memories forever.’

Born to a Lithuanian immigrant father and a Pennsylvania woman, Thomas would move from Pittsburgh to the Toronto suburb of Mississauga for his schooling. Ultimately he would attend a seminary in Niagara Falls, Ontario, where he would spend nearly five years studying to join the priesthood.

Instead, his talent for baseball took him on a much different path.

Thomas – who has no relation to the legendary Chicago White Sox slugger with the same name – signed with the Pirates in 1947, reached the Majors in 1951, and spent much of the decade as one of the best hitters in the National League.

But while his long-time teammates would go on to win the 1960 World Series over the New York Yankees, Thomas was being shuffled from Pittsburgh, to Cincinnati, to the Chicago Cubs, and ultimately the Milwaukee Braves before being sent to the Mets for a player to be named later.

Thomas would finish his career back in Chicago in 1966, retiring with a .266 batting average, 286 home runs and 962 RBIs.

‘Big Donkey,’ as Thomas was known to teammates, would retire in the Pittsburgh area.

‘Frank was proud to call the city of Pittsburgh home not only as a member of the Pirates but also as a person who spent his entire life here,’ Pirates president Travis Williams said in a statement. ‘He was also a proud family man who was always involved with our alumni association events.’