Forgotten Twins? Clete Thomas

My Memories of Clete Thomas

My most distinct Clete Thomas-related memory is arguing with one of his cousins on Twitter.  I actually don't know that he was Thomas's cousin, but the passion he brought to the pro-Clete side of things could only have come from a family member.  They had different last names, so I'm going with cousin instead of brother.  That's my process, the art of deduction.

Beyond my personal Clete history, Thomas was a "center fielder," a "hitter" and a "replacement" for Aaron Hicks and Darin Mastroianni.  He must be an excellent AAA player too, as he's gotten a fair amount of MLB chances.  I also remember that he hit a home run in his first game with the Twins, earning his place in the Twins' Inaccurate Perception Hall of Fame. 

Let's see what else we can learn about Clete Thomas.

Baseball Reference

Thomas was drafted in the 6th round of the 2005 draft.  He is eligible for free agency in 2018, so circle your calendars.  Thomas attended A. Crawford Mosley High School, where their motto is "Being a Dolphin is a Lifestyle."  I'm not kidding.  It is a lifestyle.  They have two mascots, "Rocky" and "Roxy" and I can't find any evidence to support that Thomas held either position. 

Thomas was with the Tigers from 2005 to 2012.  In 2008, he reached the Majors at age 24.  He hit .284/.366/.405 in 40 games.  Not bad!  He played 102 games with the Tigers in 2009, hitting .240/.324/.385.  Um, not terrible?  After just three games with the Tigers in 2012, he was DFA'd and scooped up by the crafty Twins.  He played just 12 games with the Twins in 2012, hit .143, and earned a Minor League deal for 2013 (for some reason). 

Aaron Hicks got off to a slow start in 2013 and Thomas was hot at AAA.  The Clete Thomas Bandwagon Project Experience was formed and he would eventually play a staggering 92 games for the Twins in 2013.  He hit .214/.290/.307.  He's with the Phillies now.

Fangraphs

Thomas had a respectable walk rate in 2013.  At 9.3%, he was over a full point better than the AL average (7.9%).  Unfortunately, his 28.6% strikeout rate was over 8 points higher than the AL average (19.9%).  Thomas finished the 2013 season with a 0.4 fWAR, but that's only because he was a terrible hitter.  His fielding was actually quite good and his baserunning was fine.  Silver linings. 

His home run-to-fly ball ratio of 6% indicates that he may have been somewhat unlucky in 2013.  If you correct for his bad luck, his batting line looks much more impressive - .487/.671/.981.  Please double check my math for me.     

Wikipedia

Thomas is from Jacksonville, Florida, so you know he's wrestled 'gators.  His Wikipedia entry is surprisingly long, but mostly just a list of things he's done as a baseball player.  Bor-ring!  His Wikipedia picture depicts him with a batting glove on his bottom hand.  The one thing I liked about Thomas was his complete lack of batting gloves.  I hope this was a poor photoshop done to defame his character.

Here are a few fun tidbits from his entry:

• He hit his first career walk-off home run off of Danys Baez on August 20, 1999.  It was also his first career walk-off home run against anyone. 
• While in the Minor Leagues, former Tigers' GM Dave Dombrowski referred to Thomas as "a prospect."
• Thomas made his very first major league putout against Joey Gathright.

Google

I found an article about Thomas signing with the Phillies where Jim Leyland refers to Thomas as a "dirtbag."  Apparently he means that in a nice way, but then why is he kneeing Thomas in the groin in the picture from the article? 

Switching to Google images, I found some pictures that aren't creepy. 

OH GAW

WHAT IS GOING ON?

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?

eBay

First off, when you search for Clete on eBay, there are only 144 results.  That seems low.  Most of the results are baseball cards, so that's no fun.  The best listing I found was a youth small Twins Clete Thomas shirsey.  My goodness.  I hope that kid asked for that shirt because if he got it as a gift, I imagine he was disappointed.  You know how your Grandmother kind of knows what you like but can't quite get it right?  That's how kids end up with Clete Thomas shirseys. 

Oh well, if you want one, it's just 12 bucks.  It has no bottom seam.  That seems like a metaphor, but I'm not sure.

Facebook

Clete Thomas has one of those generic Facebook pages that just copies their Wikipedia entry.  BUT!  He also has a fan club that has 45 members.  It's an open group if you want to join.  I did.  My membership is currently pending.  Everyone in our group keeps referring to him as "my Tiger" which seems oddly possessive.  Clete Thomas is truly a man of the people, so maybe he set up himself as an IPO or something.  It's worth looking into. 

Twitter

It's not too hard to find some quality Clete Thomas on Twitter.  Here's an odd one that must have some subtext that I am not aware of.

No mustard necessary for this guy #cletethomas #notahotdog pic.twitter.com/9Y7Sz4wWAT
— Cheryl Pursell (@CherylPursell) April 16, 2014

Apparently other players on the team are hot dogs?   

#Twins are optioning Ben Revere to Triple-A Rochester to make room for Clete Thomas.
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) April 14, 2012

Yep, that happened just about two years ago.  Seriously.  They're teammates again (of sorts) and Revere's off to a slow start...

If anybody remembers Clete Thomas i'll love you forever
— Rod Allens Big Fella (@tyler_namie) April 14, 2014

Do you love me?  If you don't, here's a tweet from Clete's biggest fan:

@RhettBollinger Clete Thomas pitching in 1996 Little League World Series for US South. pic.twitter.com/5CuLI3t98G
— Michael Scott (@MichaelScottHC) August 11, 2013

Good follow through!  He's still got a great arm. 

YouTube

There are a lot of Clete Thomas highlights on YouTube, all posted illegally by a bunch of thieves.  I have no idea why MLB isn't making these thieves take down these videos so they can post them at MLB.com and get all the traffic.  It's baffling.  It's to our benefit I suppose.  I found better videos though.

Here's one of a Clete Thomas bases loaded walk that was filmed from the grassy knoll.

If you look closely, you can actually see a second walker.  The second video is a walk-off sacrifice fly from MLB '09 The Show.  Either this person didn't want to play the game long enough to get a better video or they don't understand the high standards that a YouTube posting implies.  Either way, you are the winner:

I was hoping for some interviews, but no luck.  If you have any, please post links. 

Random Person

My wife is sitting right here, let's ask her.

"Yeah, wasn't he really bad but better than Hicks?" 

Tough crowd.  Not inaccurate though.  She also said something borderline offensive, but I have the right to censor.  Call me "The Goodfather."

Verdict:  Not adequately remembered

Swerve!  I'm all about swerves lately.  I was very hard on Clete Thomas last year and in this post.  I want to apologize for everything.  I took a lot of liberties, I made jokes, I made animations, but Clete Thomas is a fantastic baseball player.  I say this without any hint of sarcasm.  Clete Thomas has struggled in the Majors, but the fact that he reached the Majors is awesome. 

He fully deserves any additional MLB games that he earns in the future.  If he does reach the Majors, I may make more jokes.  I may make more animations.  I apologize for those too.  If Clete Thomas and I played a game of 1-on-1 baseball, he'd smoke me.  We'd have to figure out the rules on the fly, but he'd win.  He filled in last season when the Twins needed him and I appreciate him for that. 

Thank you, Clete.  I'm sorry, Clete.  Can I get you a beverage, Clete? 

Hi there.  Do you want to read about more potentially forgotten Twins?  Here are a few more, free of charge.  

September Minnesota Twins Mailbag!!!!

Everywhere I go these days, it seems that people have questions for me.  What's that stain on your shirt?  Did you do that to your hair on purpose?  Can you please move back a couple steps?  I figured, with so many questions to answer, the only reasonable response is to breakout the old mailbag and answer some of the more burning questions that ESPN, Fox Sports One and Telemundo refuse to answer.  Here's some mailbag:

On a recent TV broadcast, FS North asked Twitter who the Twins MVP was this year.  The choices were Justin Morneau, Brian Dozier and Glen Perkins.  I voted for Nader, but who would be your choice?  Thanks!

Brad S., St. Paul, MN

This list seems incomplete.  There's a specific guy who should really be included, but was omitted, likely due to an anti-Minnesota bias.  Joe Mauer is clearly the team MVP.  He leads the team in batting, OBP, slugging, WAR and babies born.  Brian Dozier has been great since June and Glen Perkins is tremendous in a role that is rarely used by a terrible team, but Mauer is the team MVP.  Dozier would be my choice from those three, because of the combo of his surprising power, excellent defense, and radiant hair [prior to his actual good play (balance)]. 

At the beginning of August, you said that you weren't surprised by the Twins and their lack of movement at the trade deadline.  Were you surprised with the moves the Twins made in August?  Thanks!

Brad S., St. Paul, MN

No, thank you!  I was surprised.  Since August 1, the Twins have optioned Aaron Hicks, Scott Diamond and Kyle Gibson to Rochester.  I thought that all three of those guys would be providing value for the Twins until the end of the season.  Diamond and Gibson seemed like solid pitchers who would be certainly better than the dregs that made up the rest of the staff.  I thought Hicks would struggle early, adjust, and then be good down the stretch.  I was wrong about the lot of them.  I think they all bounce back next year, but it is surprising to see them in Rochester in September.

The Morneau trade was surprising.  I already wrote/cried about it, so I won't rehash it here.  However, I didn't think the Twins had it in them to trade such a popular player for so little.  I guess that extra cash is pretty nice though.  I'd spend it on hard drugs, but that's just me.

Are you excited for September call-ups?????????????!?!?!?!!???

Brad S., St. Paul, MN

I am excited for Josmil Pinto, and he has delivered so far.  Michael Tonkin seems cool.  Otherwise, not really.  I don't really care about Minor League veterans and re-treads.  Seen 'em.  Sorry to be so curt, but that's how I feel.  But seriously, thank you for the question.

It looks like Clete Thomas is the 4th outfielder now.  At the very least, he doesn't seem like the full-time starter anymore.  Are you happy, sir?  You've ragged on this poor man for weeks and weeks and now he's out of the lineup.  I hope you're satisfied.

Brad S., St. Paul, MN

I'm not.  You'd think that after weeks of harping on his continued presence in the starting lineup, that I'd be elated when he was finally removed.  Instead, I have some form of complainers' buyer's remorse.  I was far too hard on Mr. Thomas.  He's a fine ballplayer.  If he and I engaged in some sort of one-on-one baseball match, he'd destroy me and probably freeze my dress clothes while I am in my baseball clothes, a la Mighty Ducks 3.  In fact, Thomas would probably beat me in just about any athletic competition.  If Thomas was back on the team in a bench role next year, I'd be fine with it.  He's versatile. 

I want to challenge him to a staring contest.

Did you see that article on ESPN.com regarding Max Scherzer and Jim Leyland's rant about pitching stats?

Brad S., St. Paul, MN

I did.  It doesn't surprise me.  What is Leyland supposed to say?  "I agree, Scherzer probably isn't that great, his FIP is worse than his ERA and he's gotten too much run support."  That would be surprising.  Leyland also doesn't have to care an iota about advanced stats.  He won a World Series without them. 

However, I don't really get the anger and hostility toward stats.  If you don't want to use them, don't use them.  If some dork chains Leyland to a wall and forces him to look through Excel spreadsheets, then I could see Leyland getting a bit agitated.  In the context of this article, it seemed like an innocent enough question, if maybe a bit loaded.  I don't get why anyone would refuse new stats altogether.  More information is better than less.  I can understand confusion or frustration, but hostility seems too extreme. 

That's just how I feel 95% of the time. 

Are you ready to give up give up on Aaron Hicks yet? 

A Hicks., Rochester, NY

Not at all.  I think Hicks is still destined for a productive career.  I still see an All-Star appearance or two as well.  He's so talented.  He has speed, power, arm, defense, etc.  He'll be 24 all next season and there isn't anyone blocking him from center field right now.  Of course, he'll probably get leapfrogged by superfreak Byron Buxton sometime next season.  To me, having to move Hicks to right is one of those "nice problems to have."  His arm will play extremely well in right and his range in the outfield will really compliment Buxton in center.  Those two humans in the same outfield is downright scary defensively.  So, no, I am not ready to give up on him (you).  Keep your head up, rook. 

Target Field has such exciting food options.  What is your favorite ballpark fare?

Brad S., St. Paul, MN

That's easy.  Empty a hot-water balloon.  Fill it with beef stew.  Cram it in your pant leg (shirt sleeve can work if you wear really tight t-shirts).  Wait for the sun to do its part.  Eat.

If said beef stew doesn't have peas in it, it's not going to be good.

Thanks for all the great questions, me.  Enjoy your weekend!

Monday Morning Madness: August 19, 2013

Over the past week, the Twins offense has been inconsistent, their starting pitching has been up and down and their bullpen has started blowing leads.  It's almost like this isn't a very good team.  This weekend, the Twins had a lot more trouble with the lowly White Sox at home.  This would be troubling, but the last three seasons have been troubling so I'm not sure we can feasibly add any additional trouble at this point.  On the plus side, the Twins play most of their games at 6pm or earlier this week, ensuring that I get to bed by 9pm like a good boy. 

Casey Fien

So Casey Fien sucks now, right?  In his last three appearances, Fien has given up seven earned runs, raising his ERA from 2.61 to 3.71.  He's getting worked over by home runs, but he struck out more than a batter per inning and didn't issue a walk during that tiny sample.  Basically, we can all chill out.  Unless this home run problem persists for a couple weeks, this is just a blip on the ol' radar.  If we thought Fien was good a week ago, we should still feel the same way right now. 

Chris Colabello

.273/.415/.485.  That was Chris Colabello's triple slash in August.  That performance was apparently not good enough to keep an MLB job.  Once again, the Twins seem more concerned with having a lot of mediocre to bad players on the bench, rather than having potentially productive players in the lineup.  The Twins basically chose to keep Chris Herrmann as a third catcher/Andrew Albers caddy, Wilkin Ramirez as a backup centerfielder, and Clete Thomas as a human.  I would bet a bajillion dollars that Colabello would out-produce those three scrubs from this point on.  However, he doesn't produce some veiled positional flexibility, so he's out.  This makes no sense on a bad team. 

No Sano in September?

Terry Ryan was quoted this week basically saying that there is little-to-no chance that Miguel Sano gets a September call-up this season.  I don't disagree with that decision, but why state it publicly?  Wouldn't the anticipation of Sano's potential debut be something to keep fans engaged as this uneventful season winds down?  Granted, come September 1 all the hope would die, but does this need to be ruled out in mid-August?  It really doesn't matter a lot, but it seems like a bad PR move.  What if Sano hits .450 with 10 home runs to end his season with New Britain?  It's unlikely, but he could probably do it.  Just odd to me. 

Clete Thomas

Clete Thomas in August:  .230/.309/..328.  That's markedly better than his July, by the way.  Question - Does this guy ever get a legitimate hit?  Every time I see him actually make contact, it's some sort of blooper or he reaches his bat out and pokes it to left or he bunts and the ball hits his bat twice.  I don't want to continually bag on Thomas, but I'm going to.  Everyone has their whipping boy.  

Time for fun and madness instead of complaining and sadness.

Half-hearted Mini-Rant

I would like to present to you the newest feature in the Madness, a rant that I'm not really all that into:

Why was Oswaldo Arcia on the bench on Friday and Saturday?  Doesn't this kid need to play every day?  Please don't tell me it was because he was facing "tough lefties" either.  Chris Sale is tough, but Jose Quintana is not.  How will he improve against lefties on the bench?  Also, please don't tell me this is some concentrated ploy to keep Wilkin Ramirez fresh or to keep Clete Thomas' "hot bat" in the lineup.  You can sit either one of those guys for 5 years straight and guess what, they'd be totally ready to come in and not produce.  Trust me, when you need Clete Thomas to come in and go 0-4 with three Ks, he'll be ready.  In fact, I created this flow chart to help the Twins make better decisions in this area:

It's not rocket science.  End rant.

Fun Stat - Most innings with no starts

The Twins are about 75% through the season and Anthony Swarzak has thrown about 75 innings.  That puts him on pace for 100 innings pitched.  Math!  Throwing that many innings solely in relief is a bit of a lost art.  In fact, in this millennium, it has only been done six times, usually by guys named Scott or Scot.  Here's the list of guys Swarzak could potentially join:

1. Steve Sparks 2003 - 107.0
2. Scott Sullivan 2000 - 106.1
3. Scot Shields 2004 - 105.1
4. Guillermo Mota 2003 - 105.0
5. Scott Sullivan 2001 - 103.1
6. Scott Proctor 2006 - 102.1

Random Photoshop 

I've grown tired of traditional baseball celebrations.  I find the "beat the holy hell out of the hero" celebration to be the worst.  There's nothing more annoying that watching Clete Thomas try to throw rabbit punches at Chris Herrmann.  To me, celebrations are stale and need to be revamped.  Celebrations don't need to be huge productions.  Sometimes, it is just a minor touch.  Look how much better the famous Jim Thome walk-off celebration looks on silly hat night:

Look how happy Joe Mauer is!

Baseball Card from the Past

Senior Photo!

Link to something I wrote - Anniversary

I realized over the weekend that I had been maintaining this "blog" for a year now.  As a blog-guy, it is my duty to celebrate milestones with posts that will generate more views.  It's a snake eating itself really, but it's all in fun.  I threw together a list of my five most OUTRAGEOUS posts from the past year and some fun pictures/photoshops as well.  You can find it here. 

Song of the Week:  Butthole Surfers - Let's Talk About Cars

Parting Thought - Thanks Twins Daily

To accompany the previous section, I wanted to give a huge thank you to Twins Daily for the past year.  First, thank you to the site leaders who have put together a fantastic site where everyone can contribute.  I appreciate it every time I see one of my posts on the front page, even if I don't always say it.  Really, I appreciate just being able to have a blog here, even if nothing ever touched the front page.  Without Twins Daily, I would have never written a word on the Twins.  So, now you know who to blame if you've ever wished I'd shut up.

Second, thank you to the whole Twins Daily community.  I enjoy being a part of this community.  I wish I could post more and comment more, but I read just about everything.  People are very supportive of each others' ideas and thoughts and very encouraging when someone new arrives and weighs in.  I've told just about every Twins fan I know about Twins Daily and I will continue to do so. 

End sap.

Have a nice week, everyone!

Some Clete Thomas Animations

I'm currently obsessed with two things:  Clete Thomas's steely, entrancing gaze and making terrible animations.  I have combined my two loves and share them with you here:

So yeah, there you are.

Monday Morning Madness: June 17, 2013

The Twins dropped two of three from the Tigers this weekend, falling to 7.5 games out of a division that they were never going to win.  While the Twins have played better in 2013, they still do not have the talent to match the Tigers over a full season.  Yet, there were some positives from the weekend and I have some apologies to make as well.

I apologize to Clete Thomas.  Just one week ago, I accused a wild turkey of creating a lineup that featured Clete Thomas batting second.  While I still feel that Thomas in the top half of an order is a move made out of desperation, it hasn't been a disaster because Thomas isn't as terrible as I made him out to be.  He strikes out a lot and he doesn't walk, but he can hit the ball and he plays a solid center field.  Clete, I don't despise you.  Unless he takes at bats from Aaron Hicks when Hicks is healthy.  Then, I lose it. 

I apologize to Sam Deduno.  I expected nothing but chaos from Deduno, and while I have been partially right, he has been more effective than I thought he would be.  Two things:  he doesn't throw hard and he doesn't get strikeouts.  So, he might be more effective than I thought he would be, but it's because he has gotten ground balls at a ridiculous 61.8% rate.  He has also limited home runs and stranded runners very well.  If all of these skills are real, then he can be effective long-term.  If he's been lucky (and watching him, he has been lucky), then this could all fall apart quickly. 

I apologize to Trevor Plouffe.  I think he wears too much eye black, but perhaps I am wrong.  Since his return from the DL, he has hit the ball very well.  I thought the lack of eye black over his rehab would make for a tough adjustment upon his return.  I was wrong.  Perhaps he wore the eye black while injured. 

Saturday's game was the best of the weekend, not only because the Twins won, but because I was able to watch Glen Perkins pitch.  I love to watch Glen Perkins pitch.  He struck out Torii Hunter, which I always enjoy.  It's more than that though.  Perkins comes in and challenges hitters.  He knows he has good stuff and he forces hitters to deal with it.  He pumps that fastball until he needs to go to his secondary stuff and he commands his pitches extremely well.  It's a shame his role only allows for him to pitch in very specific game situations. 

Enough with apologies and admiration, here is some madness:

Former Twin Update:

Danny Valencia has somehow become a fairly regular contributor to the Baltimore Orioles.  I honestly thought his MLB career was over when the Twins shipped him out for bubble gum last season.  Instead, he crushed AAA this season and earned a call-up to Baltimore.  He doesn't need his glove anymore, as Baltimore isn't going to let him see any time in the field unless they get desperate.  At the plate, he has slugged over .650 in limited DH duty this season.  Baltimore is using him more against lefties, and he is crushing them as he always has.  Perhaps Valencia has found his role.  Cool, good for him. 

Random Paint Image

For those who have read anything I have written this season, it is clear that I am the biggest Aaron Hicks defender/bobo in the fan base.  As such, this was how I reacted when I heard that Hicks was injured and needed time on the DL:

I did get a haircut since this was drawn.  It looks worse.

The One Save Club

Since 1961, there are 176 MLB players who have recorded exactly one save and have not started a single game.  Odd combo, I agree, but taking starters out removes guys like Johan Santana, who started their careers in long relief.  Your task is to name as many of the 12 Twins who have accomplished this feat.  Not all 12 earned their save with the Twins.  Please leave names in the comments.  One player is currently playing for the Twins.  I'll post the 12 names at some point, if I remember. 

Fun Baseball Card From the Past

• First, I wrote about baseball cards on Friday.  If you missed it, you can read it here.  You should seriously consider buying the Joe Mauer card. 
• Second, these Studio cards were awesome.  I believe the idea was that they were shot in a studio. 
• Third, Shane Mack, if you read my blog for some reason, please let me know.  I'd love to set up an interview.  Not for an article or anything like that, just for me.
• Fourth, Mack was underrated.  He did not get enough credit for his mustache.

Links to some funny baseball stuff:

I am not ashamed to admit that I love Grant Brisbee.  I think he is funny and that is all it takes for me.  This week, he chronicled the Dodgers-Diamondbacks brawl and then later graded the suspensions that were handed out as a result (of the brawl, not his article).  If you like to laugh, you should read them.  If you hate to laugh, you should not read them. 

Link to something stupid I wrote:

The Twins released Anthony Slama last week, which was only notable to me because I knew it would allow me to display my vast knowledge of school-yard jerkery.  I created a (fake) time line of events that shows a pattern of poor behavior toward Slama.  You can read it here.  It's complete stupidity. 

Parting Stat!

The Twins play the hated White Sox this week.  There have been only 8 players in MLB history who have played exclusively for the White Sox and Twins:  Glenn Borgmann, Jesse Crain, Joe Crede, Jerry Crider, Eduardo Escobar, Pedro Hernandez, Randy Johnson (not the right one though), and Cotton Nash.  

You're probably thinking, "hey dippy, what about Earl Battey?"  Well, Battey played one year for the Washington Senators, and that makes him a fat cat bureaucrat. 

Have a nice week, everyone!