Justin Joseph Thomas (born January 18, 1984) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former professional

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 t ...

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

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

, Pittsburgh Pirates,

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

, and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Figh ...

, in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) for the

Kia Tigers Kia Tigers ( ko, KIA 타이거즈) are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982 and based in the southwestern city of Gwangju. Until 2001, they were known as the Haitai Tigers. The Tigers are a members of the KBO League and are ...

, and in the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL) for the

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, stylized as Uni-President 7-ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇn Lions, also known as Uni-Lions (), are a professional baseball team playing in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The Lions are based in Tainan City, Ta ...

Amateur career

High school

Thomas attended Clay High School and Cardinal Stritch High School in

Oregon, Ohio Oregon is a city in Lucas County, Ohio. It is a lakefront suburb of Toledo, located on Lake Erie, just east of the city. Oregon is known for its scenic lakefront, bike trails, and Maumee Bay State Park. The population was 19,950 at the 2 ...

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 The United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) is a volunteer, sports governing body and a nonprofit organization 3] based in Viera, Florida. Originally USSSA stood for United States Slowpitch Softball Association. However, in 1998, U ...

World Series first-team all-tournament team and was a two-time first-team All- Ohio Northwest Region defunct athletic conferences#Great Lakes League, 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

Upon graduation, Thomas attended

Youngstown State University Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges a ...

from 2002 to 2005. The lefty starter helped the Penguins capture a

Horizon League The Horizon League is an 11-school collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, whose members are located in and near the Great Lakes region. The Horizon League founded in 1979 as the Midw ...

Title in the 2004, pitching the team into the finals and making their first ever appearance in the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

. 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

* 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

pitcher of the week

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

Thomas was drafted by the

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 The Everett AquaSox are a Minor League Baseball team in Everett, Washington. The team is a member of the Northwest League and is affiliated with the Seattle Mariners. The AquaSox play their home games at Funko Field, which has a seating capacity ...

of the short-season A affiliated

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Basebal ...

. In , Thomas led all Mariners farmhands with 14 wins, finished second with 162

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

and sixth with a 3.73

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

. 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 , Thomas was promoted to Double-A

West Tenn Diamond Jaxx The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

, 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 , 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 The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...

posting a career low 3.71 ERA. On September 1, 2008 the

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 Marlon Jerrard Byrd (born August 30, 1977) is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, New Yo ...

to end the game. Thomas pitched the rest of September with the Mariners, posting an 0-1 record and a 6.75 ERA. In , Thomas was re-signed by the Seattle Mariners to a one-year contract and was placed on the 40-man roster.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On October 29, 2009, Thomas was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates. In November, Thomas was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

. He cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A. On June 24, 2010, he was called up from Triple-A to replace

Dana Eveland Dana James Eveland (born October 29, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, Pittsburgh Pirates, L ...

, who was designated for assignment. On September 11, 2010, he gave up a walk-off home run to

Joey Votto Joseph Daniel Votto (born September 10, 1983) is a Canadian-American professional baseball first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Reds in 2007. He is the first Canadian MLB player ...

of the Cincinnati Reds. Thomas signed a minor league contract with an invitation to 2011 spring training with the Pirates.

Boston Red Sox

The

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

On May 12, 2012, Thomas was claimed off waivers by the

. On September 1, 2012, Thomas was called up from Triple-A when the major league rosters expanded. Thomas was designated for assignment on September 25, 2012.

Oakland Athletics

On November 21, 2012, Thomas signed a minor league deal with the Oakland Athletics that included an invitation to spring training. Thomas exercised an opt-out clause in his contract on July 1, 2013.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

On July 8, 2013, Thomas signed with the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

On January 5, 2014, Thomas signed a minor league deal with the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

. He was assigned to the

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. The ballpark o ...

to begin the season. On July 25, 2014, Thomas was released.

Kia Tigers

Thomas signed with the

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. On December 27, 2014, Thomas was released.

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions

Thomas signed with the

of the

for the 2015 season.

References

External links

, o
Korea Baseball Organization
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Justin 1984 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in South Korea American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Boston Red Sox players Bravos de Margarita players Cardenales de Lara players Everett AquaSox players Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players Indianapolis Indians players Inland Empire 66ers players KBO League pitchers Kia Tigers players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball pitchers New York Yankees players Pawtucket Red Sox players Peoria Javelinas players Pittsburgh Pirates players Sacramento River Cats players Salt Lake Bees players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Seattle Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players Youngstown State Penguins baseball players Baseball players from Toledo, Ohio