Thomas joins the 500-homer club

MINNEAPOLIS —  Thankfully for Frank Thomas, his family had to catch an early flight Thursday.

That meant his wife, three children and father-in-law got to see Thomas hit his 500th home run. And they were gone when Thomas got ejected.

“They had to leave for the airport at 1:45. My daughter said, ‘Dad, you’ve got to do it in the first couple of at-bats,’ ” he said.

Thomas hit a three-run shot off Carlos Silva in the first inning of the Toronto Blue Jays’ 8-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins, becoming the 21st major leaguer to reach 500.

But in the ninth, Thomas was ejected by plate umpire Mark Wegner after being called out on strikes for the second time in the game. Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons came out to argue and also got tossed.

“I’m probably the first to get 500 home runs and get thrown out of the ballgame,” Thomas said.

Thomas also had an RBI double and tied his season high with four RBIs.

Todd Eisenlohr, sitting in the fifth row and wearing a jersey of Twins player Jason Bartlett jersey, caught the ball in his glove. He said he traded the souvenir ball for an autographed ball, bat and jersey.

Thomas said he plans to keep the ball unless it is wanted by the Hall of Fame.

Thomas hit his first career home run at the Metrodome against Gary Wayne while with the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 28, 1990. Thomas has 16 home runs overall at the stadium.

“Now that I’m healthy again I would love to get to 600. It’ll take a lot of luck to get there, but I really got to have a strong second half and really prove that I can still play this game,” he said.

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Greatest hits

Frank Thomas’ milestone home runs:

* 1: Aug. 28, 1990, off Gary Wayne (Minnesota), at the Metrodome.

* 100: Aug. 31, 1993, off Sterling Hitchcock (New York, AL), at Yankee Stadium.

* 200: June 9, 1996, off Jimmy Haynes (Baltimore), at Camden Yards.

* 300: Aug. 7, 1999, off Kevin Appier (Oakland), at Network Associates Coliseum.

* 400: July 25, 2003, off Jorge Sosa (Tampa Bay), at U.S. Cellular Field.

* 500: June 28, 2007, off Carlos Silva (Minnesota), at the Metrodome.

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Source: Toronto Blue Jays