Justin Joseph Thomas (born January 18, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankees. He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, the KBO League for the Kia Tigers, and the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) for the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions.
| Justin Thomas | |
|---|---|
 Justin Thomas pitching for West Tenn Diamond Jaxx | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: January 18, 1984 Toledo, Ohio, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| Professional debut | |
| MLB: September 1, 2008, for the Seattle Mariners | |
| NPB: July 31, 2013, for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | |
| KBO: July 31, 2014, for the Kia Tigers | |
| CPBL: March 25, 2015, for the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions | |
| Last appearance | |
| MLB: September 24, 2012, for the New York Yankees | |
| NPB: October 1, 2013, for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | |
| KBO: October 16, 2014, for the Kia Tigers | |
| CPBL: October 2, 2015, for the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 0–2 |
| Earned run average | 6.93 |
| Strikeouts | 14 |
| NPB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 0-2 |
| Earned run average | 8.71 |
| Strikeouts | 6 |
| KBO statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 2-2 |
| Earned run average | 4.44 |
| Strikeouts | 51 |
| CPBL statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 5–8 |
| Earned run average | 3.83 |
| Strikeouts | 92 |
| Teams | |
Amateur career
editHigh school
editThomas attended Clay High School and Cardinal Stritch High School in Oregon, Ohio and was a four-year letterman for the varsity baseball team and set the school record for most home runs and tied the school record for most home runs in a season. Thomas was named to the USSSA World Series first-team all-tournament team and was a two-time first-team All-GLL selection. He was also named first-team all-district and was an honorable mention selection as a pitcher and helped lead Clay to a league championship. He was named team MVP and received the James F. O’Brian Award for Best Male Student Athlete. In addition to being a four-year letterman in baseball, he lettered in golf and was a three-year letter-winner in basketball.
College
editUpon graduation, Thomas attended Youngstown State University from 2002 to 2005. The lefty starter helped the Penguins capture a Horizon League Title in the 2004, pitching the team into the finals and making their first ever appearance in the College World Series. In 2005, he was named First Team All-League and Horizon Pitcher of the Year boasting a 7-5 record with a 3.42 ERA and four complete games. He left Youngstown State ranked second in strikeouts with 250 and is the only pitcher in school history to pitch back-to-back seasons of at least seven wins.
College accolades
edit- 2003 Second-team All-Horizon League 5-5 4.87 ERA 80 strikeouts
- 2004 First-team All-Horizon League 7-3 5.11 ERA 4 CG 82 strikeouts
- 2005 First-team All-Horizon League 7-5 3.42 ERA 4 CG 83 strikeouts
- 2005 Horizon League Pitcher of the Year
- Three-time Horizon League pitcher of the week
Professional career
editSeattle Mariners
editThomas was drafted by the Seattle Mariners as the 113th overall pick of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft. After signing with Seattle in June of that year, Thomas made his professional debut for the Everett AquaSox of the short-season A affiliated Northwest League.
In 2006, Thomas led all Mariners farmhands with 14 wins, finished second with 162 strikeouts and sixth with a 3.73 ERA. He was named the California League Pitcher of the Week in August and MiLB.com's Class-A Advanced Playoff Performer of the Year.
In 2007, Thomas was promoted to Double-A West Tenn Diamond Jaxx, but began the season on the disabled list with a strained left elbow. Upon being activated from the DL, Thomas struggled with control problems, posting a 4-9 record with a 5.51 ERA and a career high 61 walks.
In 2008, Thomas as he reduced his ERA with Double-A West Tenn to 4.32 and increased his strikeouts to walks ratio from 100 strikeouts/61 base on balls in '07 to 106 strikeouts/56 base on balls in '08. He was placed on the disabled list once again with a left hand laceration but came back to work out of the bullpen. Thomas received a mid-season call up to Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers posting a career low 3.71 ERA.
On September 1, 2008 the Seattle Mariners purchased Thomas' contract from Triple-A Tacoma. Thomas made his major league debut that day, taking on the Texas Rangers. In one inning of work, he gave up no runs, no hits, no walks, and struck out Marlon Byrd to end the game. Thomas pitched the rest of September with the Mariners, posting an 0-1 record and a 6.75 ERA.
In 2009, Thomas was re-signed by the Seattle Mariners to a one-year contract and was placed on the 40-man roster.
Pittsburgh Pirates
editOn October 29, 2009, Thomas was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.[1]
In November, Thomas was designated for assignment. He cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A.
On June 24, 2010, he was called up from Triple-A to replace Dana Eveland, who was designated for assignment.[2] On September 11, 2010, he gave up a walk-off home run to Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds.
Thomas signed a minor league contract with an invitation to 2011 spring training with the Pirates.
Boston Red Sox
editThe Boston Red Sox signed Thomas to a minor league contract on November 22, 2011. On April 4, 2012, the Red Sox selected Thomas' contract, adding him to their major league roster for their regular-season opener against the Detroit Tigers the following day. Thomas was optioned on April 27 to make room for Rich Hill, who had recovered from Tommy John surgery.
New York Yankees
editOn May 12, 2012, Thomas was claimed off waivers by the New York Yankees.[3] On September 1, 2012, Thomas was called up from Triple-A when the major league rosters expanded.[4] Thomas was designated for assignment on September 25, 2012.
Oakland Athletics
editOn November 21, 2012, Thomas signed a minor league deal with the Oakland Athletics that included an invitation to spring training.[5] Thomas exercised an opt-out clause in his contract on July 1, 2013.
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
editOn July 8, 2013, Thomas signed with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball.[6]
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
editOn January 5, 2014, Thomas signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.[7] He was assigned to the Salt Lake Bees to begin the season. On July 25, 2014, Thomas was released.
Kia Tigers
editThomas signed with the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization after his release from the Angels. He pitched to a 4.44 ERA with 51 strikeouts in 46.2 innings with the team.[8] On December 27, 2014, Thomas was released.
Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions
editThomas signed with the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League for the 2015 season.
References
edit- ^ Street, Jim (October 29, 2009). "Mariners clear five spots on roster". MLB.com. Archived from the original on November 2, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
- ^ "Pirates Call Up Lefty Justin Thomas". WYTV.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
- ^ "Yankees claim former Red Sox lefty Thomas". MLB.com.
- ^ "Yankees notebook: Club adds 6 Triple-A call-ups". lohud.com.
- ^ Axisa, Mike (November 21, 2012). "Minor Moves: Athletics, Nationals, Dodgers". MLB Trade Rumors.
- ^ "Minor Moves: Kip Wells, Diaz, Thomas". July 8, 2013.
- ^ "Justin Thomas - Los Angeles Angels - News".
- ^ "Justin Thomas KBO League Pitching Stats - Kia Tigers".
External links
edit- Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Korea Baseball Organization