Frank Thomas
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1951-1966)
Frank Thomas was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1966 for 7 teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 16 seasons. In 1,766 career games, he hit .266 with 1,671 hits, 286 home runs, and 962 RBI. Frank Thomas was a 3-time All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 9,348.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Outfielder
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'3" / 200 lb
- Died
- 1/16/2023 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1951-08-17
- Last Game
- 1966-05-30
- Awards
- 3× All-Star
Full name: Frank Joseph Thomas
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,766 | 6,285 | 792 | 1,671 | 262 | 31 | 286 | 962 | 15 | 484 | 894 | .266 | .320 | .454 | .774 | 9,348 |
Career AVG .266 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .320 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .454 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — +17.5% above league average.
Career OPS .774 vs. league average .710 across their career seasons — +9.1% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | PIT | NL | 39 | 148 | 21 | 39 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 9 | 15 | .264 | .260 (+1%) | .336 (-9%) | .385 (+2%) | .721 (-3%) | -128.8 |
| 1952 | PIT | NL | 6 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .095 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1953 | PIT | NL | 128 | 455 | 68 | 116 | 22 | 1 | 30 | 102 | 1 | 50 | 93 | .255 | .264 (-4%) | .335 (-1%) | .397 (+27%) | .733 (+14%) | 1184.5 |
| 1954 | PIT | NL | 153 | 577 | 81 | 172 | 32 | 7 | 23 | 94 | 3 | 51 | 74 | .298 | .261 (+14%) | .333 (+8%) | .390 (+27%) | .723 (+18%) | 2038.6 |
| 1955 | PIT | NL | 142 | 510 | 72 | 125 | 16 | 2 | 25 | 72 | 2 | 60 | 76 | .245 | .258 (-5%) | .332 (-3%) | .393 (+9%) | .726 (+4%) | 355.1 |
| 1956 | PIT | NL | 157 | 588 | 69 | 166 | 24 | 3 | 25 | 80 | 0 | 36 | 61 | .282 | .258 (+9%) | .331 (-2%) | .397 (+16%) | .728 (+8%) | 787.1 |
| 1957 | PIT | NL | 151 | 594 | 72 | 172 | 30 | 1 | 23 | 89 | 3 | 44 | 66 | .290 | .257 (+12%) | .323 (+4%) | .391 (+17%) | .715 (+11%) | 1175.0 |
| 1958 | PIT | NL | 149 | 562 | 89 | 158 | 26 | 4 | 35 | 109 | 0 | 42 | 79 | .281 | .257 (+9%) | .324 (+3%) | .394 (+34%) | .719 (+20%) | 2064.8 |
| 1959 | CIN | NL | 108 | 374 | 41 | 84 | 18 | 2 | 12 | 47 | 0 | 27 | 56 | .225 | .256 (-12%) | .323 (-14%) | .392 (-3%) | .715 (-8%) | -591.8 |
| 1960 | CHN | NL | 135 | 479 | 54 | 114 | 12 | 1 | 21 | 64 | 1 | 28 | 74 | .238 | .255 (-7%) | .323 (-14%) | .387 (+3%) | .711 (-5%) | -444.2 |
| 1961 | CHN | NL | 15 | 50 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 8 | .260 | .258 (+1%) | .328 (-12%) | .399 (+5%) | .727 (-3%) | -32.0 |
| 1961 | ML1 | NL | 124 | 423 | 58 | 120 | 13 | 3 | 25 | 67 | 2 | 29 | 70 | .284 | .258 (+10%) | .328 (+2%) | .399 (+27%) | .727 (+16%) | -32.0 |
| 1962 | NYN | NL | 156 | 571 | 69 | 152 | 23 | 3 | 34 | 94 | 2 | 48 | 95 | .266 | .257 (+3%) | .326 (+1%) | .393 (+26%) | .719 (+15%) | 1541.3 |
| 1963 | NYN | NL | 126 | 420 | 34 | 109 | 9 | 1 | 15 | 60 | 0 | 33 | 48 | .260 | .246 (+5%) | .308 (+2%) | .371 (+6%) | .680 (+4%) | 349.5 |
| 1964 | NYN | NL | 60 | 197 | 19 | 50 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 1 | 10 | 29 | .254 | .250 (+1%) | .312 (-6%) | .377 (-10%) | .690 (-8%) | -245.6 |
| 1964 | PHI | NL | 39 | 143 | 20 | 42 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 26 | 0 | 5 | 12 | .294 | .250 (+17%) | .312 (avg) | .377 (+37%) | .690 (+20%) | -245.6 |
| 1965 | PHI | NL | 35 | 77 | 7 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 10 | .260 | .245 (+6%) | .310 (-7%) | .371 (-6%) | .682 (-6%) | -96.9 |
| 1965 | HOU | NL | 23 | 58 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 15 | .172 | .245 (-30%) | .310 (-33%) | .371 (-3%) | .682 (-16%) | -96.9 |
| 1965 | ML1 | NL | 15 | 33 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11 | .212 | — | — | — | — | -96.9 |
| 1966 | CHN | NL | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 20 seasons | 1,766 | 6,285 | 792 | 1,671 | 262 | 31 | 286 | 962 | 15 | 484 | 894 | .266 | — | — | — | — | 7,485 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (1766 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 897 | 3133 | 393 | 876 | 126 | 495 | .280 |
| Away | 869 | 3151 | 400 | 795 | 160 | 465 | .252 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966-05-30 | CHC | PIT | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1966-05-27 | CHC | ATL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966-05-22 | CHC | ATL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966-05-20 | CHC | ATL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966-05-14 | CHC | CIN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965-10-03 | ATL | LAD | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1965-10-02 | ATL | LAD | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1965-09-22 | ATL | LAD | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1965-09-21 | ATL | LAD | L | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1965-09-20 | ATL | PHI | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 268 | 247 | 2166 | 177 | 40 | 197 |
| 2B | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3B | 394 | 374 | 355 | 657 | 79 | 59 |
| OF | 1045 | 835 | 2116 | 96 | 50 | 14 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | PIT | OF | 37 | 0 | 87 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| 1952 | PIT | OF | 5 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1953 | PIT | OF | 118 | 0 | 306 | 17 | 8 | 1 |
| 1954 | PIT | OF | 153 | 152 | 418 | 14 | 5 | 2 |
| 1955 | PIT | OF | 139 | 136 | 307 | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| 1956 | PIT | 2B | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1956 | PIT | 3B | 111 | 105 | 118 | 176 | 18 | 21 |
| 1956 | PIT | OF | 56 | 50 | 95 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 1957 | PIT | 1B | 71 | 70 | 597 | 52 | 15 | 53 |
| 1957 | PIT | 3B | 31 | 24 | 27 | 53 | 7 | 4 |
| 1957 | PIT | OF | 59 | 57 | 105 | 14 | 3 | 3 |
| 1958 | PIT | 1B | 2 | 2 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 1958 | PIT | 3B | 139 | 139 | 122 | 240 | 29 | 21 |
| 1958 | PIT | OF | 8 | 7 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1959 | CIN | 1B | 14 | 14 | 111 | 15 | 2 | 11 |
| 1959 | CIN | 3B | 64 | 63 | 55 | 111 | 13 | 8 |
| 1959 | CIN | OF | 33 | 18 | 40 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 1960 | CHN | 1B | 50 | 48 | 426 | 34 | 8 | 36 |
| 1960 | CHN | 3B | 33 | 33 | 25 | 55 | 6 | 4 |
| 1960 | CHN | OF | 49 | 39 | 77 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 1961 | CHN | 1B | 6 | 4 | 41 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 1961 | CHN | OF | 10 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961 | ML1 | 1B | 11 | 4 | 48 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| 1961 | ML1 | OF | 109 | 109 | 202 | 4 | 10 | 0 |
| 1962 | NYN | 1B | 11 | 9 | 88 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 1962 | NYN | 3B | 10 | 10 | 7 | 19 | 4 | 1 |
| 1962 | NYN | OF | 126 | 126 | 216 | 14 | 9 | 0 |
| 1963 | NYN | 1B | 15 | 15 | 146 | 9 | 1 | 9 |
| 1963 | NYN | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1963 | NYN | OF | 96 | 94 | 158 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| 1964 | NYN | 1B | 19 | 17 | 142 | 14 | 1 | 11 |
| 1964 | NYN | 3B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1964 | NYN | OF | 31 | 31 | 58 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1964 | PHI | 1B | 36 | 36 | 297 | 28 | 8 | 37 |
| 1965 | PHI | 1B | 11 | 10 | 88 | 4 | 1 | 10 |
| 1965 | PHI | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1965 | PHI | OF | 12 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965 | HOU | 1B | 16 | 12 | 118 | 6 | 2 | 11 |
| 1965 | HOU | 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965 | HOU | OF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965 | ML1 | 1B | 6 | 6 | 44 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| 1965 | ML1 | OF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 268 |
| Second Base | 4 |
| Third Base | 394 |
| Left Field | 712 |
| Center Field | 307 |
| Right Field | 50 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1958 | TSN All-Star | 3B |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 4th | 143.0 | 336 | 2 |
| 1957 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 19th | 8.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1955 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 23th | 1.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1954 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 13th | 24.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1953 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 18th | 6.0 | 336 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Frank Thomas (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Frank Thomas: the record in brief
The profile opens with Frank Thomas's first major league game on August 17, 1951; the last one listed came on May 30, 1966. By club, Thomas's seasons break down as the Pittsburgh Pirates (1951 to 1958), the Cincinnati Redlegs (1959), the Chicago Cubs (1960 to 1966), the Milwaukee Braves (1961 through 1965), the New York Mets (1962 through 1964), the Philadelphia Phillies (1964 through 1965), and the Houston Astros (1965). Born on June 11, 1929, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA, Thomas is listed as an outfielder and batted and threw right-handed. The bio gives 6'3" and 200 pounds. Thomas died on January 16, 2023, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Thomas's full given name, per the bio, is Frank Joseph Thomas.
The batting record for Thomas: 1,766 games, 1,671 hits in 6,285 at bats, and a .266 average, along with 286 homers and 962 runs batted in. Reaching base at a .320 clip and slugging .454, Thomas finished with a .774 OPS.
Frequently Asked Questions about Frank Thomas
- What years did Frank Thomas play?
- Frank Thomas played in Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1966.
- Was Frank Thomas a pitcher?
- No. Frank Thomas was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Frank Thomas hit?
- Frank Thomas hit 286 career home runs with 1671 hits.
- What was Frank Thomas's career batting average?
- Frank Thomas batted .266 over his career, with 1,671 hits in 6,285 at bats.
- How many RBI did Frank Thomas have?
- Frank Thomas drove in 962 runs in his career.
- Is Frank Thomas in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Frank Thomas has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.