Philadelphia Phillies Thomas grew up in
Lompoc, California, and was the star pitcher of the Lompoc Nationals
Little League team that went to the SoCal finals at El Monte in . At
Lompoc High School, he was teammates with
Roy Howell. He was selected sixth overall in the
1971 MLB draft by the
Philadelphia Phillies out of Lompoc High at eighteen years old. After a brief stint with the
Northwest League's
Walla Walla Phillies in , in which he gave up fourteen
earned runs in twelve
innings pitched, Thomas went 11-7 with a 3.43
earned run average in 24 starts in his first full minor league season in with the
Western Carolinas League's
Spartanburg Phillies. He went 17-8 with a stellar 2.14 ERA and 207
strikeouts with the
Rocky Mount Phillies and
Reading Phillies in to earn an invitation to
Spring training the following season, but failed to earn a spot in the Phillies' rotation.
Chicago White Sox After two more seasons in the Phillies'
farm system, the once deemed "untouchable" Thomas was dealt to the
Chicago White Sox along with
Dick Ruthven and
Alan Bannister in exchange for
Jim Kaat and
Mike Buskey on December 10, . In his only season in the Sox organization, Thomas went 6-11 with a 3.75 ERA with their Triple-A affiliate, the
Iowa Oaks. Afterwards, he was selected by the Seattle Mariners with the 31st pick in the
1976 MLB expansion draft. The Mariners then placed him on waivers toward the end of spring training, then worked out a trade to the
Houston Astros for
infielder Larry Milbourne.
Houston Astros Thomas was converted to a
relief pitcher in , and went 11-6 with a 3.16 ERA and six
saves for the triple A
Charleston Charlies to earn a call up to Houston that September. The only two MLB teams Thomas faced in were the last place
Atlanta Braves, and the eventual
National League champion
Los Angeles Dodgers. In his two games against the Braves, Thomas blew a save opportunity while surrendering four
hits and two earned runs in 2.1 innings pitched. In his two games against the Dodgers, he pitched four
innings and gave up just one hit while striking out two.
St. Louis Cardinals Thomas returned to Charleston in to go 9-4 with a 3.14 ERA mostly in relief. On June 23, he was selected off waivers by the
St. Louis Cardinals, and brought directly to the majors. In his first appearance with the Cardinals, Thomas earned a win by pitching two scoreless innings in an
extra innings affair with the
Pittsburgh Pirates. He earned saves in his next two appearances against the
Montreal Expos, but was roughed up by the
Chicago Cubs in his next two outings. After one more relief appearance, he made an emergency start against the
San Diego Padres, and gave up five
runs in four innings for his first career loss. He returned to the
bullpen after that and earned one save with a 1.54 ERA the rest of the way. Thomas began the season assigned to the triple-A Springfield Redbirds, where he was converted back to a
starter. He was called up on July 1, and immediately made his first start in the second game of a
doubleheader with the Phillies. He gave up one earned run in seven innings but did not figure in the decision. He earned his first win as a starter on August 7 against the
New York Mets. Overall, Thomas went 3-4 with a 2.92 ERA and one save mostly in middle relief. He earned a spot in the Cardinals' bullpen in Spring but made a bad start to the regular season (11.57 ERA & 1
blown save in April). He then entered the starting rotation and made the finest start of his major league career on May 14 against the Padres. In seven innings, he surrendered five
hits and one earned run to earn the win. On May 30, after returning to the bullpen, he struck Montreal Expos
outfielder Ellis Valentine in the face with a pitch, shattering his cheekbone. He remained in the Cards' bullpen another month until he was optioned down to Springfield to make room for
Silvio Martinez's return from the
disabled list. After the season, he was drafted by the
Oakland Athletics in the 1980
rule 5 draft.
Seattle Mariners In , Thomas went 12-8 with a 3.05 ERA and 111 strikeouts for Oakland's triple-A affiliate, the
Tacoma Tigers, but did not see any major league experience. After the season, he was dealt to the Seattle Mariners for minor leaguers Tim Hallgren and
Rusty McNealy. He spent his first Spring with his new club in the majors but was shipped to the triple-A
Salt Lake City Gulls just as the season was set to begin. He successfully made the club the following Spring and spent his first full season in the majors in , when he went 3-1 with a 3.45 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 43 appearances. His 88.2 innings pitched was tops for a right-hander on the club. A sore elbow in his pitching arm derailed his season. Though he was only with the M's for a little over half the season, he appeared in 21 games and pitched 49.2 innings. He returned healthy in , but failed to make the club. He actually retired briefly, but reconsidered, and began the season in the
Pacific Coast League with the
Calgary Cannons. Thomas was brought up to Seattle in late May and immediately became
manager Chuck Cottier's favorite arm out of the bullpen. The Mariners set a franchise record with an eight-game winning streak in late June. Thomas appeared in three games during that stretch and earned two wins while holding opposing batters to a .190
batting average. When fortunes reversed, and the M's were on a six-game losing streak in late July, Thomas pitched 6.1 brilliant innings of relief against the
American League champion
Boston Red Sox to break the streak. This record would be matched by
Aaron Sele in the
2001 Mariners season. As it turned out, he had elbow
tendinitis which rendered him unable to pitch the entire season at any level. Thomas was released by the M's in December, but returned the following Spring as a non-roster invitee. He earned a spot with the triple A
Calgary Cannons, and was brought to the majors in late June. On July 9, Thomas pitched 4.2 scoreless innings against the Red Sox to earn his first win of the season. Coupled with his 7-0 record in 1985, Thomas ended his major league career with an eight-game winning streak. Having spent most of his career in the
American League, Thomas only logged 34 career
at-bats with 4 hits. His only career
run batted in came off
Randy Jones on July 19, 1978.
Senior Professional Baseball Association Thomas also pitched for the
St. Lucie Legends and the
Sun City Rays of the
Senior Professional Baseball Association from 1989–1990, until the league folded in the 1990 midseason.
After baseball Following his playing retirement, Thomas worked as a math teacher at Totem Middle School and Illahee Middle School in the
Federal Way, Washington School District. ==References==