Clete Thomas

From Detroit Tigers

Michael Clete Thomas (born November 14, 1983 in Jacksonville, Florida) is a baseball outfielder in the Detroit Tigers organization. Thomas currently plays for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.

[edit] Career

Thomas attended Auburn University, where he played right field and batted .328 on the 2005 team which lost to Florida State in the NCAA regional tournament. Then finishing his junior year, Thomas entered the draft and was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the sixth round on June 8 and signed on June 21, 2005. Initially assigned to the Oneonta Tigers in the New York-Penn League, Thomas was promoted to the West Michigan Whitecaps on July 13, and proceeded to appear in 51 games, hitting .284.<ref>"Draft may be Caps' cure; Lower-level leagues won't be providing help", Grand Rapids Press (June 21, 2005), p. D8. Retrieved on 22 April 2008. </ref><ref>"'Caps rally at home; Frazier's 2-run double in 8th lifts West Michigan", Grand Rapids Press (July 14, 2005), p. D3. Retrieved on 22 April 2008. </ref><ref name="bbref-minors">"Clete Thomas Statistics (Minor Leagues)". Baseball-Reference.com. http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=14437. Retrieved on 2008-04-22. </ref>

Thomas spent the 2006 season with the Lakeland Tigers, where he appeared in 132 games and hit .257 with 40 RBIs and 34 stolen bases. In 2007 he was promoted to Erie, where he hit .280 with 53 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Thomas, along with fellow outfielder Matt Joyce, was considered a likely future major leaguer. Commenting on the two, then-Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski remarked that "We think they're both prospects...We're not counting on them for this year, but they've got a chance to play at the Triple-A level (this season), depending on how they do this spring."<ref name="bbref-minors" /><ref>Morosi, Jon Paul (November 9, 2007). "Dombrowski has inklings of deals but no inkings", Detroit Free Press. Retrieved on 22 April 2008. </ref>

[edit] Detroit Tigers

A non-roster invite to 2008 spring training, Thomas made the team after starting center fielder Curtis Granderson broke a finger and went on the disabled list.<ref>"Tigers tell Thomas to suit up; Outfielder probable for opening-day roster", Grand Rapids Press (March 28, 2008), p. D5. Retrieved on 22 April 2008. </ref> On Opening Day 2008, Thomas entered the game as a defensive replacement and made his first major league putout against Joey Gathright of the Kansas City Royals. Thomas later hit a double in the bottom of the 11th inning off Royals closer Joakim Soria for his first major league hit.<ref>March 31, 2008 Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers Play by Play and Box Score - Baseball-Reference.com</ref><ref>Morosi, Jon Paul (March 31, 2008). "Inge, rookie Thomas give Royals pain", Detroit Free Press. Retrieved on 22 April 2008. </ref>

Thomas has split time in the 2008 Major League Baseball season between the Tigers and the AAA-affiliate Toledo Mud Hens. On April 23, Thomas was optioned to the Tigers' AAA-affiliate Toledo Mud Hens when Curtis Granderson was activated from the disabled list.<ref>Grandy's back! Tigers' Curtis Granderson to play, lead off tonight | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press</ref> Thomas was recalled from Toledo May 29 to replace struggling Matt Joyce.<ref>Tigers send Matt Joyce to Toledo; Clete Thomas to take his spot | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press</ref> On June 4, Thomas sprained his ankle and went on the disabled list. He was replaced by Brent Clevlen. Thomas returned to the active roster on June 18, 2008.<ref>McCauley, Janie (June 18, 2008). "Polanco leads Tigers past Giants", San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved on 18 June 2008. </ref>

Whenever Clete goes up to bat at Comerica Park, Lynyrd Skynyrd's cover of J. J. Cale's song Call Me the Breeze is played over the public address system.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube