Dickie Thon

Dickie Thon
Shortstop
Born: June 20, 1958 (1958-06-20) (age 53) South Bend, Indiana
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 22, 1979 for the California Angels
Last MLB appearance
October 3, 1993 for the Milwaukee Brewers
Career statistics
Batting average	.264
Home runs	71
Runs batted in	435
Teams
California Angels (1979–1980) Houston Astros (1981–1987) San Diego Padres (1988) Philadelphia Phillies (1989–1991) Texas Rangers (1992) Milwaukee Brewers (1993)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star selection (1983) Silver Slugger Award winner (1983) 1991 Tony Conigliaro Award

Richard William "Dickie" Thon (born June 20, 1958 in South Bend, Indiana) is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball.

Early life

Thon was raised in Puerto Rico after spending only the first two weeks of his life in Indiana where his father had just completed a bachelor's degree at the University of Notre Dame.

Professional career

He was signed by the California Angels as an amateur free agent on November 23, 1975 while in high school in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. During his 15-year career, Thon spent two seasons with the Angels (1979–1980), seven seasons with the Houston Astros (1981–1987), one season with the San Diego Padres (1988), three seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies (1989–1991), one season with the Texas Rangers (1992), and finished his career with the Milwaukee Brewers (1993).

Potential and beaning

Touted by some as a future Hall of Famer,^[1] his career was permanently altered on April 8, 1984, when he was hit in the face by a Mike Torrez fastball. [1] The pitch broke the orbital bone around his left eye and ended his 1984 season. He returned in 1985, but suffered from problems with depth perception that permanently hampered his potential.^[2] In 1991, Thon received the Tony Conigliaro Award in recognition of his recovery from this severe injury.

Personal life

Thon is a third-generation baseball player. He is the grandson of Freddie Thon (a native Puerto Rican who played and managed in the Puerto Rican Baseball League during World War II). His father Freddie Thon who signed a major-league contract but injured his arm before reporting to training, played semi-pro baseball while finishing college at Notre Dame, and coached all of his sons throughout their Little League and teenage years. Dickie's brother Frankie Thon is also affiliated with major league baseball in both the U.S. and Puerto Rico having been a player, a manager and a current major-league scout, as well as the general manager of the Caguas Criollos in the Puerto Rican Winter Leagues.

Thon's son, Dickie Joe Thon, was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 5th round, 156th overall in the June 2010 baseball draft and is currently playing for the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays.

Thon was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame on September 13, 2003.^[3] He recently opened a chain of Jiffy Lube auto stores.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
• List of Major League Baseball triples champions

References

1. ^ The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. Free Press. p. 627. ISBN 0-684-80697-5. 
2. ^ Pietrusza, David; Matthew Silverman; Gershman, Michael (2000). Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia. New York: Total Sports. pp. 1129–1130. ISBN 1-892129-34-5. 
3. ^ "Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum". http://www.hispanicbaseballmuseum.com/fme_thon.html. Retrieved 2008-07-21. 

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• Dickie Thon Fan Club Forum [2]

Persondata
Name	Thon, Dickie
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 20, 1958
Place of birth	South Bend, Indiana
Date of death
Place of death