Frank Thomas always struck me as the right-handed Ted Williams. They hit for average, hit for power, and had an amazing knowledge of the strike zone, leading to tons of walks and gaudy on-base averages. But they were alike in that they were not universally loved in their baseball towns. Williams gained a lot more love and respect from Red Sox fans after he retired, and same thing appears to be happening with Thomas.

Witness this article about Frank Thomas and his rebar warmup:

If you're a baseball fan, you've seen Big Frank's routine in the on-deck circle, reaching for a length of that heavy rebar, the steel green and pitted, as he'd start swinging lightly, stretching. And whatever conflicting emotions we fans felt about Thomas over the years, one thing was constant. When he reached for that rebar, it was prelude to one of the most exciting moments in sport, because he was about to do something spectacular: Hit that ball hard and far.

Vince Fresso has been with the team since Bill Veeck had the Sox, first working bullpen security, then the visiting clubhouse, before being promoted to working the umpires' room. That's when he saw the young Thomas hunting through some construction debris.

"You remember how dilapidated the old ballpark was; there was always some construction going on there," Fresso said. "Frank was rummaging around, looking for something, but he didn't know what, exactly."

As Fresso talked, I wasn't thinking of the public Frank, the star, awkward and uncomfortable with writers, some teammates and himself. Instead, I saw the young artist on the edge of greatness, knowing the sense of what he was looking for but not the thing itself, yet.

Too bad more people didn't appreciate his artistry when he was playing.