Frank Thomas condemns 'irresponsible' behaviour Fox News after the network incorrectly reported his death

 

 In a 'In Memoriam' sequence that should have shown the former Phillies outfielder, the network displayed the erroneous Frank Thomas.

 

Frank Thomas, a former Philadelphia Phillies outfielder, died in January at the age of 93. He played for the Phillies for parts of the 1964 and 1965 seasons before being released due to a confrontation with Dick Allen. During his eight seasons with the Pirates, he was a three-time All-Star and owned a lot of early franchise records with the initial expansion Mets.

However, Fox News published the incorrect Frank Thomas in its "In Memoriam" series for 2023.

The Faulkner Focus listed White Sox veteran Frank Thomas, who played for the team from 1990 to 2005 and was a first-ballot Hall of Famer, instead of the former Phillie.

Thomas rushed to social media to apologise and criticise the network. From 2014 to 2023, Thomas worked for Fox Sports before being succeeded by Derek Jeter. He is now a broadcaster for Apple TV.

"Dear Ladies and Gentlemen," "I'm sorry my ex-employer Fox would be this irresponsible on national television this morning," Thomas posted on X, formerly Twitter. "Yes, I'm still alive and well. This astounds me as well."

    Gentlemen and Ladies I'm sorry my former employer Fox was so foolish on national television this morning. Yes, I'm still alive and well. This astounds me as well. pic.twitter.com/FWGlVwOIFS
    — TheBigHurt_35 (@TheBigHurt_35) 29th of December, 2023

On-air, the Faulkner Focus later corrected the error.

"We need to issue a correction," remarked host Julie Banderas. "...We misidentified the late Frank Thomas, a three-time Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star." Unfortunately, the Frank Thomas we showed you was also a former professional baseball player. He's still very much alive."

From 1951 until 1966, the late Thomas hit.266 with 286 home runs, 962 RBIs, and 792 runs scored in 1,766 games. He made his final public appearance in August 2022 at Mets Old Timer's Day.