Around town.

Himes: Thomas, Sosa exits sad

Ex-Sox, Cubs GM says stars needed better guidance

March 02, 2006|By Fred Mitchell.

Frank Thomas and Sammy Sosa were brought into this world by Larry Himes--the high-stakes world of Chicago baseball, that is.

Himes, a former general manager of the White Sox and the Cubs, took Thomas with the seventh pick in the first round of the 1989 amateur draft out of Auburn. He acquired Sosa, Wilson Alvarez and Scott Fletcher from Texas on July 29, 1989, in exchange for Harold Baines and Fred Manrique.

"I'm proud that I brought Sammy to Chicago and I'm proud that I brought Frank to Chicago. And I'm proud they both wound up setting all sorts of hitting records for the Cubs and Sox," Himes said Wednesday by telephone from his home in Arizona. "Of course, I didn't have anything to do with their success other than to bring them there . . . and I'm very disappointed that they both left Chicago on bad terms."

Himes said he believes both superstars should have been given better guidance and direction from their respective organizations regarding how to handle the nettlesome responsibilities of being the "billboard guys" on their teams.

"I think [the Sox] got away from that after I left," Himes said. "Management has a broader role than just trading for a player and sending him out on the field. They say, `Oh, he's old enough to take care of himself.' Or, `He's a star and he knows how to play.'"

Himes was the Sox's general manager from October 1986 through 1990. He was the Cubs' baseball operations boss from 1991-94 and a special assistant to the general manager from 1997-2000. He retired two years ago.

Himes said he noticed the unusual emotional needs of both players early in their careers.

"Frank was a young guy who had great confidence in himself as a successful athlete coming out of Auburn," he said. "We had him play Double-A the first year and he wasn't too happy about that. He wanted to be in the big leagues and he was probably right.

"Frank was always a guy who needed special attention. You had to give it to him and he had to know where he stood. I always addressed things with him.

"He also needed to be talked to about his weight. I think he would have been receptive and agreeable. [It] just wasn't addressed."

As the Cubs' GM in 1992, Himes acquired Sosa from the White Sox along with pitcher Ken Patterson for designated hitter George Bell.

"Sammy was the complete opposite of Frank because Sammy came from a background [in the Dominican Republic] that had nothing," Himes said. "As he gained success and fame, things changed. He needed some direction from management as far as handling the media and jealousies that sometimes come from the other 24 guys. It's one thing to be a bit player or a supporting actor-type, but when you're Frank and Sammy you're billboard guys. That's something both Sammy and Frank did not learn to do.

"Sammy should have retired with the Cubs. And Frank . . . the last uniform he wore should have been that No. 35 with the White Sox."

Sosa, the Cubs' career leader in home runs and the only player to hit 60 or more homers in three seasons, was traded to Baltimore on Feb. 2, 2005. Without a major-league offer for the 2006 season, he apparently is retiring.

"[The Sosa trade] didn't help the Cubs any," Himes said. "No matter what anyone says, it didn't help them. You saw what happened last year. I think he was a scapegoat. And don't think it's just the White Sox or the Cubs I'm pointing at. It's the industry that does this with star players."

Himes knows firsthand that the general manager's job is not always a popular position. He supports Sox GM Ken Williams in his recent public spat with Thomas.

"I don't think Kenny was wrong in doing that," he said. "It's the type of thing that should have been done two years ago. Frank isn't a high-maintenance guy, he just needed someone to talk to him, someone in a position of authority. Frank should have been a franchise representative, someone you build around. He is an intelligent guy and a classy guy. Somewhere along there he was set adrift."