I don’t know how something this could have been planned, but it worked out perfectly. Frank Thomas, one the best hitters of his generation, celebrated his 40th birthday last night. What’s so funny, ironic and appropriate about that? He’s playing against the Blue Jays, the team that cut him a month into the season. After some early season struggles (neglecting to remember that he is a slow starter) , Toronto decided he was washed up and bought him out of his contract to insure he wouldn’t reach the amount of at-bats that would see his option for next year kick in.
Now, since he’s left Toronto, he signed back with the Athletics, whom he played for before going to the Jays and has snapped out of his slump. How the Jays feel about that probably has them a bit irked but they should have known better and it might have been a good idea to look at the Big Hurt’s splits.
End note: Thomas left the game with an injury. I guess his 40-year-old body couldn’t hold up like his 39-year-old body. His A’s did get the win though on his special day.