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BaseballLibrary.com
Copyright © 2002
by The Idea Logical
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Dickie Thon
Born: 1958

SS-2B 1979-93 Angels, Astros, Padres, Phillies, Rangers, Brewers

Dickie Thon's Teammates

  • All-Star in 1983

GamesAverageHRRBI
Career 1387.26471435
League CS 7.25011

Books and articles about Dickie Thon

Dickie Thon's career was changed by one pitch from Mike Torrez. Before being beaned by Torrez on April 8, 1984, Thon was the NL's premier offensive, and some said defensive, shortstop. Afterward, Thon suffered from poor vision and frequently spent time on the disabled list. Though his fielding returned to major league status, Thon's power and baserunning savvy were diminished until 1989, when he recalled some of his past excellence with 15 home runs, 60 RBI, and a .271 batting average in 435 at-bats.
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A righthanded pull hitter, Thon played briefly for California before being traded to the Astros for Ken Forsch. He became Houston's starting shortstop in 1982 and led the NL with ten triples. He led all NL shortstops with 20 homers and 533 assists in 1983, and led the league with 18 game-winning RBI, driving in 79 overall.

Thon had three decent seasons with the Phillies, but never approached the production that was the norm during his Astro days. His renaissance 1989 season was still far from dominant -- he scored only 45 runs in 435 at-bats, and his all-around numbers were even less impressive in 1990 and 1991. Thon's most famed moment in his latter years was being suspended three games for bumping an umpire on June 26, 1990. (ME/GL)


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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
» April 1, 1981: Houston trades P Ken Forsch to the Angels for INF Dickie Thon.

» July 20, 1983: Two outs away from a no-hitter against the Astros, Phillies P Charles Hudson gives up a bloop single to Craig Reynolds and back-to-back home runs to Denny Walling and Dickie Thon before settling down for a 10–3 victory.

» April 8, 1984: In a 3–1 loss to the Mets, Astros SS Dickie Thon is hit in the face by a Mike Torrez pitch that breaks the orbital bone around his eye. Thon will be operated on April 11, but will miss the rest of the season. When he returns, the All-Star SS will be plagued with blurred vision and be relegated to a backup role.

» April 9, 1985: A year and a day after being hit in the face by a Mike Torrez pitch, Astros SS Dickie Thon returns to the Astros lineup and goes 1-for-4 off Fernando Valenzuela in Houston's 2–1 win over the Dodgers. Thon will hit just .207 before going back on the DL with recurring vision problems.

» July 11, 1985: Nolan Ryan becomes the first pitcher to record 4,000 strikeouts, fanning Danny Heep in the 6th inning of Houston's 4–3 win over the Mets. Ryan finishes with 11 strikeouts in seven innings but gets no decision. Bill Doran's 5th hit drives home Dickie Thon in the 12th with the winning run.

» July 3, 1987: Hitting just .212 Astros SS Dickie Thon bolts from the team. Thon has never recovered from a 1984 beaning that left him with blurred vision. An angry Astros GM Dick Wagner will put Thon on the "disqualified" list and he will not play for the rest of the year. Thon will become a free agent in November.

» February 19, 1988: The Padres sign veteran SS Dickie Thon, released by Houston last month.

» July 4, 1989: Cincinnati's Tom Browning is three outs away from his 2nd career perfect game when Dickie Thon doubles, and Browning is eventually relieved by John Franco in a 2–1 win over Philadelphia.

» August 20, 1991: Dickie Thon's 2-out, two-run homer in the 9th gives the Phils a 6–5 win over the Pirates. The Phillies had gone 346 games since winning in the 9th: tomorrow, they'll win again in the 9th, and on the following nite, win in the 10th.