Fox News apologises after claiming baseball MLB Hall of Famer had died

MLB legend Frank ‘the Big Hurt’ Thomas later confirmed he was ‘alive and well’

Fox News was forced to issue an on-air apology for mistakenly including baseball Hall of Famer Frank Thomas in a tribute to celebrities who passed away in 2023.

During an in memoriam segment on Friday morning’s edition of The Faulkner Focus, Fox showed footage of the 55-year-old former Chicago White Sox slugger next to the graphic: “Frank Thomas: 1968 — 2023”.

Among those left stunned by the news was Thomas himself, who took to social media to confirm he was very much still alive and scold the network where he had been employed as a studio analyst for a decade.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m very sorry my ex-employer Fox would be this irresponsible on National TV this morning,” Thomas wrote on X.

“Yes I’m alive and doing well. This blows my mind also.”

Ladies and Gentlemen I’m very sorry my ex employer Fox would be this irresponsible on National TV this morning. Yes I’m alive and doing well. This blows my mind also. pic.twitter.com/FWGlVwOIFS

— Frank Thomas (@TheBigHurt_35) December 29, 2023

Fox News anchor Julie Banderas later issued an on-air correction pointing out that the network had confused Thomas with a former Pittsburgh Pirates player of the same name, who died in January aged 93.

“We need to issue a correction in the in memoriam feature that we showed just a few minutes ago, we misidentified the late Frank Thomas, the three-time All Star for the Pittsburgh Pirates,” Banderas told viewers.

“The Frank Thomas we showed you was unfortunately also a former pro-baseball player. He is very much still alive. We apologise for that mistake.”

MLB Hall of Famer Frank Thomas was mistakenly identified as having passed away in an in memoriam segment on Fox News (Fox News / Screenshot)

The living Frank Thomas, nicknamed the Big Hurt, was drafted by the White Sox in 1989 and hit 448 home runs over 15 years, culminating in the team’s World Series victory in 2005.

The five-time All Star had stints with the Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays before retiring in 2010.

Thomas stood out among Major League Baseball stars of the late 1990s as one of the few who was never suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs.

He was hired as a studio analyst for Fox Sports in 2013 before being replaced by Derek Jeter earlier this year.