Richard Graeme Thompson (born 1 July 1984) is a former

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), ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

who played for 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 ha ...

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 ...

Career

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Thompson was originally signed as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Anaheim Angels 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 ...

on 13 February . In , he was part of the

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n Olympic baseball team, which achieved a silver medal at the Athens Olympics. Thompson had his contract purchased by the Angels' major league club on 1 September, , marking the first time he was on the major league roster. He made his major league debut on that same day against the Texas Rangers In , Thompson began the season with the Angels after relievers Chris Bootcheck and

Scot Shields Robert Scot Shields (born July 22, 1975) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played his entire baseball career with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was the last member of the Anaheim ...

began the season 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 ...

. However, after allowing five

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

s on four hits in his only outing against the Texas Rangers, Thompson was optioned to the Triple-A

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 op ...

to make way for Shields. He made one more appearance with the Angels, but became hurt pitching in Memphis for the Triple-A team. He spent the majority of his 2008 season rehabbing his shoulder injury in Arizona and finished the season with the Bees. On 10 September 2010 Thompson picked up his first major league win after the

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

went into extra innings against 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) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

. Thompson made his only

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it sh ...

appearances in the 2010–11 season pitching in three games for his native

Sydney Blue Sox The Sydney Blue Sox are a professional baseball team, and one of eight foundation teams in the re-formed Australian Baseball League (ABL). The team plays their home games at Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP), one of the two venues use ...

. On 14 April 2012, the Angels designated Thompson for assignment.

Oakland Athletics

On 20 April 2012, the

claimed him off waivers. On 25 April 2012, the Athletics designated Thompson for assignment. On 27 April 2012, the Athletics outrighted Thompson to their Triple-A affiliate

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 yea ...

Toronto Blue Jays

On 11 December 2012, the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

announced that Thompson had been signed to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training. Thompson injured himself prior to breaking camp with the Blue Jays and is still listed as inactive (not released or retired) with the AAA team as of 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Rich 1984 births 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players Amherst College alumni Arizona League Angels players Arkansas Travelers players Australian expatriate baseball players in the United States Baseball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Cedar Rapids Kernels players Living people Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Australia Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Oakland Athletics players Olympic baseball players for Australia Olympic medalists in baseball Olympic silver medalists for Australia Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Salt Lake Bees players Sydney Blue Sox players Sacramento River Cats players Baseball players from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales