Joseph William Thurston (born September 29, 1979) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and second baseman. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers,

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, and Florida Marlins in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is currently on the coaching staff of the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

Class A (Advanced)

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

Modesto Nuts.

Amateur career

Thurston graduated from Vallejo High School in Vallejo, California. He was originally selected in by the Boston Red Sox in the 45th round (1,332nd overall) of the

1997 MLB draft The 1997 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1997. A total of 1607 players were drafted over the course of 92 rounds. First round selections ...

, but did not sign with them and instead went to Sacramento City College, for which he delivered the game-winning hit to lead the Panthers to the 1999 state championship.

Professional career

Los Angeles Dodgers

Thurston was drafted again in , this time by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fourth round (134th overall) of the

1999 MLB draft The 1999 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...

. In , Thurston was ranked the 9th-best prospect in the Dodgers' system after posting a .338 OBP for the Double-A Jacksonville Suns, and by , few prospects appeared to have a brighter future than the 22-year-old second baseman. Playing for the Las Vegas 51s of the AAA

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

, Thurston hit .334 with an .878

OPS In ancient Roman religion, Ops or ''Opis'' (Latin: "Plenty") was a fertility deity and earth goddess of Sabine origin. Her equivalent in Greek mythology was Rhea. Iconography In Ops' statues and coins, she is figured sitting down, as Chthon ...

and 22 stolen bases in 2002, earning him the L.A. Dodgers' Minor League Player of the Year Award and ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

''s AAA Player of the Year honors. Thurston made his major-league debut on September 2, for the Los Angeles Dodgers, hitting .462 in eight games. But 2002 would ultimately be the peak of Thurston's minor-league career. Returning to AAA in , his OPS fell to .746, and it slipped further (to .721) in . He was again a late-season call-up in and , but he hit just .185 in the two seasons combined. The expectation that he would be a future star had evaporated. On July 29, , the Dodgers shipped Thurston to the New York Yankees as part of a conditional deal. He played for their Triple-A team, the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

and was granted free agency after the season.

Philadelphia Phillies

He signed a minor-league contract with the

on January 28, . He was assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to begin the season and his contract purchased on August 22, 2006. He would stay with the Phillies for the rest of the season and played in 18 games going 4-for-18 (.222 batting average). He was released after the season. On December 1, he signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals that included an invitation to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. He did not make the major league club and was released. He was then once again picked up by the Philadelphia Phillies and was assigned to their Double-A team, the Reading Phillies. He played four games for the Reading Phillies before earning a callup to Triple-A

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. He had his contract purchased by the big league club on July 27, , after second baseman Chase Utley was placed on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. He was demoted the next day after the acquisition of Tadahito Iguchi. Thurston spent the rest of the 2007 season with Ottawa. He became a free agent after the season.

Boston Red Sox

On December 13, Thurston signed with the Boston Red Sox to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. On March 19, , he was assigned to the minor league camp. On April 16, he was brought up to the Red Sox from Pawtucket to replace the injured Alex Cora.

St. Louis Cardinals

On April 22, 2008, Thurston was designated for assignment and subsequently played in the Puerto Rican winter league in 2008 on a team managed by Eduardo Pérez. Pérez was impressed with Thurston's versatility and thought his style of play would be a good fit with manager Tony La Russa of the St. Louis Cardinals. Perez recommended Thurston to LaRussa, and on December 16, 2008 he signed a minor league deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. He made his debut with the Cardinals on April 6, as a pinch runner. He also played third base and scored a

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

. Thurston earned his first significant major league playing time as a utility player with the 2009 Cardinals. He frequently played third base before the Cardinals acquired Mark DeRosa, and also appeared at second base, in left field, and as a pinch hitter. In November 2009, Thurston was granted free agency.

Atlanta Braves

On December 18, 2009, Thurston signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves. He also received an invite to spring training.

Florida Marlins

Thurston enjoyed a terrific season with Class AAA

New Orleans Zephyrs New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

in 2011. He led the team in almost every offensive category at the time of his promotion to the Marlins on August 5. After starting in a game against the Cardinals, Thurston was designated for assignment on August 6. He became a free agent at season's end.

Later career

The

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

signed Thurston to a minor league contract on November 13, 2011. He also received an invitation to spring training. He was released by the Astros on March 28, 2012. Just an hour later, however, he was signed to a minor league contract with the

. He was released by the Phillies on April 23 after batting just .207 in 11 games with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Thurston signed with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

on April 25 and was assigned to the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

. On May 14, 2012, Thurston was released by the Minnesota Twins. Thurston played 58 games with the York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League in 2012, batting .314 with eight home runs and 28 RBI. In 2013, Thurston played 21 games with the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League, batting .329. On March 6, 2013, Thurston signed with the Leones de Yucatán (Yucatán Lions) in the Mexican Baseball League. Thurston later would make his debut after receiving a traveling visa. Thurston also played for the

Bravos de Margarita The Bravos de Margarita (''Margarita Braves'') are a professional baseball team who plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League since the 2007-08 season. The team was founded in 1991 as the ''Petroleros de Cabimas'' (''Cabimas Oilers'') ...

, Cardenales de Lara and Pastora de los Llanos clubs of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Thurston signed a minor league deal with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

on January 25, 2014. He was released on March 27. On March 6, 2015, Thurston signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox.

Coaching career

In 2020, Thurston was the first base coach for the Seattle Mariners.In 2022-23, Thurston served as the hitting coach for the Phillies' AAA club, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

Personal

Thurston's first child was born in 2009.

Awards and recognition

* 2000 – Los Angeles Dodgers Minor League Player of the Year, California League All-Star SS * 2002 – Baseball America 2nd team Minor League All-Star 2B, Triple-A All-Star 2B, Los Angeles Dodgers Minor League Player of the Year, Pacific League All-Star 2B, AAA Player of the Year * 2005 – Pacific Coast League All-Star 2B * 2006 – International League All-Star 2B * 2011 – IBAF Baseball World Cup All-Star 2B

References

External links

Joe Thurston
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Thurston, Joe 1979 births Living people African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from Vallejo, California Boston Red Sox players Bravos de Margarita players Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Columbus Clippers players Florida Marlins players Guerreros de Oaxaca players Gwinnett Braves players Jacksonville Suns players Lancaster Barnstormers players Las Vegas 51s players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Leones de Ponce players Leones de Yucatán players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball second basemen Mexican League baseball center fielders Mexican League baseball left fielders Mexican League baseball second basemen Mexican League baseball shortstops Mexican League baseball third basemen Minor league baseball coaches New Orleans Zephyrs players Ottawa Lynx players Pan American Games medalists in baseball Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pastora de los Llanos players Pawtucket Red Sox players Sportspeople from Fairfield, California Baseball players from Solano County, California Philadelphia Phillies players Piratas de Campeche players Reading Phillies players Rochester Red Wings players St. Louis Cardinals players Sacramento City Panthers baseball players San Bernardino Stampede players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Yaquis de Obregón players Yakima Bears players York Revolution players United States national baseball team players Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople