Matt Davidson - Chicago White Sox

1) Matt Davidson is a Designated Hitter for the Chicago White Sox, who play in the American League Central division of Major League Baseball.

2) Davidson is known for becoming the fourth player in major league history to hit three home runs in a single game on opening day. He completed the feat in a 14-7 win against the Kansas City Royals on March 29, 2018. 

3) Matt made his Major League Baseball pitching debut on June 29, 2018 where he pitched one inning and retired all three batters. Davidson has made three relief appearances to date in 2018, allowing just one hit. Before this season, Matt's last time pitching in a game was in 2009, during his senior year in high school.

Photo credit Jonathan Daniel /Getty Images

J: What is your favorite Major League Baseball memory?

Matt Davidson: Honestly, my favorite memory so far has been pitching. I really enjoy pitching a lot.

J's Follow Up:  I expected him to say hitting three home runs on opening day was his favorite memory. That's cool that he is pitching in MLB even though he hasn't pitched since high school.

J: What sports do you like to play other than baseball?

Matt Davidson: I love to play all sports but I really enjoy tennis right now.

J's Follow Up: I like tennis too. I just started playing this tennis summer and I went to tennis camp at the high school. 


D: What are some of your favorite healthy foods to eat before a game?

Matt Davidson: Before the game, I usually eat a lot of vegetables and rice. My favorites are asparagus and broccoli.

D's Follow Up: I'm not really a big fan of asparagus but I'm really love broccoli. Broccoli is my second favorite veggie behind carrots.

Photo credit Ed Zurga / Getty Images

This was the first time that VincentsGo3on3 had just one of the three of us present to meet one of our favorite athletes. It was the first week back at school for Jordan and Danny, so I went solo to meet White Sox DH Matt Davidson at the Bucky's Express customer appreciation event on North Avenue in Glendale Heights on Friday, August 17th. 

I was fortunate to still be hanging on to summer by a thread, so I decided not to miss out on the fun and made the trip to Glendale Heights to meet Matt. Bucky's had a tremendous customer appreciation event as they had free hot dogs, chips, drinks, t-shirts, and White Sox prizes for all in attendance with the highlight being a chance to interact and take a photo with White Sox DH, Matt Davidson.

It was a weekday at 11 am, so you never know how many fans will be able to be in attendance but there were an estimated 150 fans in line to meet Matt. He shook hands, signed as many autographs as requested, and posed for photos with fans. Matt was willing to answer Jordan and Danny's questions and was quick to note that he loved getting out to the mound to pitch and that he is really into tennis at the moment. He also was kind enough to sign pictures for me to give out to my students for prizes in the upcoming school year. I'm thankful that Matt was able to meet with fans and although they couldn't be there with me, J and D were excited that we could add him to our list of favorites on Vincents Go 3 on 3!

Frank Thomas - Chicago White Sox, MLB Hall of Fame

1) Frank Thomas is a former first baseman/designated hitter and 2-time American League MVP, 5-time all-star, and 2014 MLB Hall of Fame inductee who played for the Chicago White Sox for 15 seasons. He is widely considered the greatest player in Chicago White Sox history.

2) Thomas is also known as the "The Big Hurt," a nickname given to him because of the damage he inflicted on opposing pitchers and the baseball.

3) A three-sport star in high school, Frank played on the baseball, football, and basketball teams. He earned a scholarship to play football at Auburn University and also played on the baseball team. Ultimately, baseball became his only sport in college and he left Auburn with a school record of 49 home runs.

D: Who is the toughest pitcher you've ever faced?

FT: There's a lot of them. Wow, that's a loaded question! Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, Jeff Nelson out of relief. I mean there were a lot of great pitchers back there in my time.

D's Follow Up: I do not know any of those pitchers because I was not alive. They must have been great players if they could get Frank Thomas out.

J: What was the hardest part about playing football and baseball?

FT: You know what, it wasn't hard because I did it my whole life. So when I got to college it was no big deal. It was just like it was when I was growing up. All year long I was playing sports, so it was easy for me. 

J: Why did you choose baseball over football?

FT: Longevity. So I could play a long time. 

J's Follow Up: I play sports all year long too. I can see how it would be easy for him because I'm used to playing soccer, flag football, basketball, and golf. 

I think you could play baseball longer than football because you could get hurt and your career could end. I think Frank Thomas made a good choice because he was really good at baseball and played for a long time. 

We are excited to have our friend and the biggest White Sox fan we know, Chris Rhode, help us out with this blog post. We found out late the night before that "The Big Hurt" would be visiting Buona Beef in Orland Park and taking pictures and meeting with fans. We asked Chris if he would like to provide the questions to ask Frank Thomas and if he would share his take on the answers. Chris was excited to help out and lend his White Sox expertise to the blog. Jordan and Danny were excited to ask Chris' questions and Chris delivered with his take and makes this our best post yet. Thank you, Chris!

Chris Rhode with Frank Thomas at Hawthorn Mall, Vernon Hills

Chris Rhode's Take

The following commentary is from our friend Chris Rhode

On the toughest pitchers Thomas has faced

Frank is a 2 time AL MVP, a career .301 hitter, and the owner of 521 career home runs. He is one of the greatest right handed hitters of all time and made many pitchers uncomfortable on the mound. When Frank shares his opinion on the toughest pitchers to face, everyone should consider his opinion valid. He mentions 3 of the greatest pitchers of all time and a journeyman reliever as his toughest pitchers to face. Jeff Nelson was known for his slider and from a sidearm arm slot, he was tough on right handed hitters like Frank. As a lifelong Sox fan who watched the entirety of Frank's career, Nelson is an interesting name as he wasn't the first guy that came to mind when I tried to guess Frank's answer. However, now that I hear his name in this discussion, I remember many tough at bats for The Big Hurt. Nelson typically pitched in the late innings meaning that his appearances against Frank were usually with the game on the line. Frank hit only .161 off Nelson in his career so the numbers support Frank's memory. The fact that Frank mentions him in the discussion with 3 of the greatest pitchers of all time should tell you everything you need to know about how tough he was on a Hall of Fame hitter like Frank Thomas. Jeff Nelson did end up pitching one season for the White Sox in 2006. It was the first season after Frank left Chicago for Oakland.

Chris and Nikki Rhode at Mark Buehrle Day 6/24/17

On the challenges of playing football and baseball

This doesn't surprise me about natural athletes. In my opinion, the thing that makes baseball a great sport is that you don't need to be a certain size to be good at it. Being a big football player gave Frank an advantage to be able to hit home runs but players smaller than him were able to play just as well. Frank Thomas was and still is a big guy so it should surprise no one that he was an accomplished football player but could also hit a baseball a long ways. He was a tight end so clearly he could move pretty well and he would be a tough guy to tackle in the open field. The thing I always think about when watching any professional sport is that these guys that we watch on TV typically played many sports growing up. The skills they learn from the multitude of sports translate in to all sorts of benefits in other sports. Kids these days get specialized in a sport too early and can get burned out on it. I'm glad to hear Frank speak fondly about being a multi-sport athlete. More kids need to grow up playing many sports and experiencing as much as they can.

On why Thomas chose football over baseball

This is a great answer from Frank. The case study for this issue is the fellow Auburn Tiger Bo Jackson. Bo of course played professional football and baseball and had the skill set to be a Hall of Famer in both sports. That would have been an incredible feat but it wasn't to be after Bo needed a hip replacement after getting hurt playing football. He did come back from the injury and made history as the first man to play professional baseball with an artificial hip but he wasn't the same player after the injury. The injury sustained playing football not only ended his football career but it also shortened his baseball career. As I mentioned, Bo could have been an all time great in 2 sports but instead is the poster child for the "what if" athlete. Frank on the other hand, stuck with baseball and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.

A big thanks to Chris for chiming in!