This is not your father?s Frank Thomas. Most people will remember Thomas as being a defensive lineman that decided to crush baseballs instead of quarterbacks. His 6?5?, 287-pound frame was well suited for the riggers of the NFL but he chose a different route. Thomas was one of the most dominant power hitters in the 1990?s. From 1991 to 2000, he slugged 337 homers and brought fear to every major league pitcher when he faced them. I personally saw him hit three mammoth homeruns in 1996 off of Boston knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield. Today, he is just a shell of himself. In his first game back Monday afternoon, he strained a hip flexor and is now listed as day-to-day. It was his first action since last July 6th when he broke a bone in his left ankle. "I just felt a little twinge in the hip flexor," Thomas told the Associated Press. "It was just one of those things you don't want to get out of hand by hitting a line drive and having to leg it out. It's a day-by-day situation, and I'm feeling good. I didn't want to go out on the first day and be down for two weeks." Thomas has had two season-ending injuries in the past five years. Back in April 2001, he tore his right triceps while diving for a ground ball. He went on to miss the final 141 games of the season. Last year, his presence was missed in the lineup as the White Sox fell out of contention after his injury. Despite the recent rash of injuries, Thomas had been relegated to a full time designated hitter since 1998. Last year before the injury, he played just four games at first base out of the 74 games he appeared in. Thomas always had a knack for getting on base. Last year, he was leading the American League in walks and on-base percentage prior to the injury. He has amassed 10 seasons of at least 100 walks, helping his .429 career OBP. However, Thomas is not the same slugger and is now a borderline Hall of Famer. His career numbers are impressive, 436 dingers, 1,439 runs batted in and a lifetime average of .308. But his recent injury history has slowed down his plague being guaranteed enshrinement in Cooperstown. With all of the power hitters today, 400 homeruns in a career is not the same Hall of Fame lock that it was 20 years ago. The magic number seems to be 500 now. Thomas also has never appeared in a World Series and has only played in the postseason a hand full of times. He was one of the most feared hitters in his prime but doesn?t want to be remembered as a slugger that struggled towards the end of his career (see Jim Rice). Thomas needs to get healthy and contribute to the success of the White Sox or he needs to hang up the spikes. This year might be his best to retire with a World Series Ring.