Luther Baxter "Bud" Thomas (September 9, 1910 – May 20, 2001), was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the Washington Senators,

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

, and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Biography

He was born in Faber, Virginia and died in

North Garden, Virginia North Garden is a Census-designated place in Albemarle County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2020 United States census was 461. Geography North Garden is southwest of Charlottesville. North Garden has a post office with Z ...

. On April 23, 1939, Thomas surrendered the first major League home run ever hit by Red Sox legend

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 ...

. Thomas pitched to

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

twice, striking him out the second time. Although posting only a .120

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(18-for-150) in 143 games, Thomas was good defensively. He recorded a .984

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

with only two errors in 122

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

in 526

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

References

External links

1910 births 2001 deaths People from Statesboro, Georgia Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Virginia Detroit Tigers players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Philadelphia Athletics players People from Nelson County, Virginia Albany Senators players Atlanta Crackers players Beaumont Exporters players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chattanooga Lookouts players Wheeling Stogies players Williamsport Grays players Youngstown Buckeyes players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1910s-stub