Charles Wesley Thomas (born December 26, 1978) is a former

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

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), ...

. Thomas played with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

(), and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

(). He batted and threw

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

Amateur career

Thomas played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and graduated from

Asheville High School Asheville High School is a public high school located in Asheville, North Carolina, United States and is one of two secondary schools in the Asheville City Schools system. Designed by Douglas Ellington, construction of the original building began ...

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

. He would play collegiately at

Western Carolina University Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU was founded t ...

. In 1999, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Orleans Cardinals The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play t ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. He was selected by the Braves in the 19th round of the

2000 MLB Draft First round selections Compensation picks Background The Florida Marlins made Adrián González of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, California the first overall selection in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft. González, who was rated as ...

Professional career

He steadily improved while splitting time between two teams in , hitting .324 in 47 games after being called up to Double-A Greenville. That season, he got a chance to play at Triple-A

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

when Atlanta called up or released the

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

s ahead of him. Thomas took advantage of the opportunity. He went 31-for-79 (.379) in June, led the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

in hitting and

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

, and was selected to the All-Star team. Thomas started 2004 as the fourth outfielder for Richmond and made the big club in the mid-season. He posted a .288

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 ...

with seven

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 31 RBI in 83

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

. He showed a great batting eye, speedy running, and outstanding defense. At the 2004

Winter Meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

, the Braves traded Thomas and

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 ...

s Juan Cruz and Dan Meyer to the

for

Tim Hudson Timothy Adam Hudson (born July 14, 1975), nicknamed "Huddy" is an American former professional baseball pitcher of Major League Baseball (MLB). After spending his college years at Chattahoochee Valley Community College and Auburn University, Hud ...

. In the 2005 season, he had a rough start and despite starting nearly every game went weeks without getting a hit. Eventually, Thomas was demoted to AAA, where he spent most of his remaining time in Oakland. On May 4, 2007, he was dealt to the Brewers in exchange for

JD Closser Jeffery Darrin Closser (born January 15, 1980) is a former Major League Baseball catcher and current professional baseball coach. Baseball career Arizona Diamondbacks Closser was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 5th round of the 1998 ...

. He played the rest of the 2007 season with Milwaukee's Triple-A club, the

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Charles 1978 births Living people African-American baseball players Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from California Greenville Braves players Jamestown Jammers players Macon Braves players Major League Baseball left fielders Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Nashville Sounds players Oakland Athletics players Orleans Firebirds players People from Fairfield, California Richmond Braves players Sacramento River Cats players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Western Carolina Catamounts baseball players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople