Clete Thomas

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:29 am

I'd take Aquilino Lopez before Bautista right now... whistle

GO CLETE THOMAS!!!
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bow

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:34 am

Lopez did very well for himself last night.

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Sat Apr 12, 2008 7:42 am

He certainly did Nod

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Sat Apr 12, 2008 8:03 am

GO CLETE!!!
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There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:48 pm

Go Mr. Thomas! I really like this guy!
I hope he will have a bright future in our organization! thumbs up

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"I'm on a mission. Mark my words: I'll be back, and I'll be able to do what I've been doing." Joel Zumaya

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Tue Apr 15, 2008 12:47 am

he didn't have a great night last night....UNTIL THAT TRIPLE! Big Smile

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There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Tue Apr 15, 2008 4:18 am

But Pudge did not have a good night, last night, either until his HR and then the magical 8th inning! The mark of a future baseball great! Even though Clete failed, he came back big time!

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Tue Apr 15, 2008 4:35 am

God doesn't care how much we fail--just how many times we pick ourselves up and try again!
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There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Tue Apr 15, 2008 4:44 am

Great name, Great player! applaud

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Tue Apr 15, 2008 5:10 am

_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Fri Apr 18, 2008 7:56 am

GO CLEAT, ER....UH, CLETE!!

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Fri Apr 18, 2008 9:14 am

and that's his half brother walkin' around out there on the field with him, not his son, as earlier speculated...
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There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Wed May 21, 2008 5:33 am

I think Clete needs to get some more playing time. He performed well in the early season, and I think he and Joyce should be splitting time in LF.
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"We only work three hours a day, so the least we can do is give 100 percent."

Todd Jones

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Wed May 21, 2008 6:09 am

GO CLETE!!!!
_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Fri May 30, 2008 8:53 pm

CLETE THOMAS
Flashback: Tigers' Clete Thomas is pure country

BY JON PAUL MOROSI • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • May 30, 2008

During the winter months, when there are no baseball games to play, the best days for Clete Thomas are slow, simple and everything that the major leagues are not.

He loves to bring his wife, Susie, and their labs, Maverick and Sage, to the cattle ranch in Webster, Fla., that Susie's family has owned for generations.

"We just hang out, play with the dogs and let them run around," said Thomas as he relaxed in the Tigers' clubhouse last week.

"That's fun for me. That'd be an ideal day, just to get away from it all."

He likes to hunt. He likes to fish. And he lives modestly, by nature and by necessity.

He received a $150,000 signing bonus after the Tigers selected him in the sixth round of the 2005 draft. But as with most minor leaguers, he has earned a small salary each year since. He spent last season at Double-A Erie, where many players make roughly $10,000.

So, in addition to his off-season training, Thomas had to find a part-time job last winter. Susie's father, a veterinarian, hired him as a maintenance man. Susie worked at the office as a receptionist. "We had to bust our tails," Thomas said.

With his ascent over the past several weeks, though, Thomas may soon be able to retire his socket wrench.

A surprise addition to the Opening Day roster following an injury to centerfielder Curtis Granderson, Thomas has made a lasting impression. Even if he returns to the minors when Granderson comes off the disabled list -- which could happen as early as this week -- Thomas has carved a niche for himself in the team's future plans.

Thomas, a 24-year-old outfielder, may become for these slugging Tigers what Melky Cabrera was for the Yankees two years ago: a youthful, spirited underdog in a lineup of All-Stars.

"Certain players make that jump," says Al Avila, the Tigers' assistant general manager. "He's athletic, he's fast, and he gives us another dimension."

Thomas is hitting .271. He has good speed and bats left-handed, valuable commodities for a team that relies on right-handed power. Manager Jim Leyland is so enamored with Thomas' fielding ability that he has become a fixture in the Tigers' late-inning defense.

Closer Todd Jones recalls vividly what Thomas did in the Tigers' first win of the season, April 9 in Boston: In the eighth inning of a close game, he came off the bench -- on a cold night -- and executed a perfect sacrifice bunt. One inning later, he singled off side-arming left-hander Javier Lopez.

"He does all the little things that nobody really notices," Jones said.

Those who know Thomas best say his success starts with the unflappability that he has shown since his preteen years. He made it to the 1996 Little League World Series with R.L. Turner Little League, based in Panama City, Fla. He played first base, second base and pitched.

"He was a child that didn't show a lot of emotion," his mother, Kim Gann, said in a telephone interview. "When he pitched in the Little League World Series, they called him 'Ice Man.' You never could tell what he was really feeling."

Said his uncle Mike Scott: "He's always handled success with humility and the downtimes of baseball with calmness. He's very mature."

And it has never been difficult to see his motivation: He wants to win and often does.

Thomas played in two state championship games during his career at Mosley High School in Lynn Haven, Fla. He won the title as a senior, after his team rallied from a 7-0 deficit with four runs in the sixth and four in the seventh.

Doug Lee, then the Mosley coach, said Thomas had a key hit late in the game. Thomas can't recall what he did individually, but he remembers Darren Golema had the winning hit and Kyle Pearson scored the winning run.

"I was right there to greet him," Thomas said.

By then, former Auburn assistant coach Mark Fuller was aware that some professional scouts had compared Thomas to a young Mark Kotsay. Fuller feared a major league team would draft Thomas that June and woo him away from college with a big bonus. He was partially correct: Minnesota took Thomas in the fifth round, but he chose to go to school.

Jerome Cochran, then the Tigers' amateur scout in that region, watched Thomas play in each of his three seasons at Auburn. Cochran liked his ability, his hustle and his improvement each year.

When Cochran asked others about Thomas' personal qualities, the response was overwhelming. Great guy, he was told. A winner. A competitor.

To Cochran, he sounded like an outfielder from the Chicago area he had signed three years before: Curtis Granderson.

"I could tell," Cochran said, "that he (Thomas) was going to be a better professional player than he was in college."

Thomas posted good offensive numbers during his first three seasons in the Tigers' organization. He probably would have received more industry acclaim had he not been drafted the same year as another centerfielder: star prospect Cameron Maybin.

Thomas, about 3 1/2 years older than Maybin, remained ahead of him in the farm system until August. It was then that Maybin moved up to Double-A Erie and tore through Eastern League pitching for one week, on his way to a surprise call-up by the Tigers.

Maybin played centerfield during his stay at Erie ... which meant Thomas had to move to left.

It would have been easy for Thomas to complain to manager Matt Walbeck about switching positions. But he never did.

"Not a problem at all," said Walbeck, the former Tiger who now coaches third base for the Texas Rangers. "He wanted to play. I think those were his exact words: 'I don't care. I just want to play.'

"That's the kind of guy you want to have on your team."

How long, though, will the Tigers have him on their team?

He has the least experience of any position player on the team, and baseball can be a brutal business. Thomas has made it work with his enthusiasm and talent. His respectful manner has made him popular within the clubhouse; Jones said he hopes to take him shopping for new suits when the team travels to New York.

Thomas is a hardworking eldest son who married his college sweetheart. Susie is so devoted to helping Clete pursue his dream that she found a part-time job in Erie last year; Clete gave her Sage, the yellow lab, as a Valentine's Day gift before he left for spring training one year.

He might make millions in this game, but it doesn't seem he'll change. ("I think he'll be the same," his mother said. "I really do. He's just a grounded person.")

Said Fuller, the former Auburn assistant: "He's just a down-home country boy. If he's making $6 million a year, he'll still be wearing jeans, flip-flops and a camouflage Auburn hat."

Contact JON PAUL MOROSI at 313-223-4097 or jmorosi@freepress.com. Check out his Tigers blog at www.freep.com/sports.

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Fri May 30, 2008 8:58 pm

Leyland: Clete Thomas' energy is what Tigers need

FREE PRESS STAFF • May 30, 2008

After Wednesday's game, the Tigers called up outfielder Clete Thomas, who made a good impression during Curtis Granderson's season-opening stay on the disabled list.

Thomas came up from Triple-A Toledo this time when the Tigers sent down Matt Joyce, who had just lost the leftfield job to Thames.

"Thomas is a real energy guy. I think that's something this club needs," Leyland said.

------------------------------------------------------------

MEET CLETE THOMAS

By Jon Machota -- originally printed in April 2008

Some things you do to relax? Hang out with my wife and my dogs. (I like) hunting and fishing, anything outdoors.

Have you got a chance to fish the Great Lakes? No, actually me and my dad went up to north Minnesota in Ely near the Boundary Waters. We went up there a couple summers in a row. The first one we just paddled out and came back a week later. The next one they flew us in to Canada, so we paddled about halfway out and camped on an island for three or four days and just fished. (I just) enjoy the outdoors. It was really fun.

How did you get your middle name, Clete? (Michael is his first name.) I'm named after Clete Boyer. He played for the Yankees, way back when (1959-66). I guessed my mom and dad liked the name. My dad liked it more than my mom, but they gave me that my name.

What was it like getting your first hit in your first major league at-bat? It was a great feeling. I don't think it really sank in until that night. Because I remember being on second base and just being like, "Wow, it's awesome being out here."

Was there anything surprising about the Tigers or the facility? The locker room's huge. I've never been in a locker room like this. I wasn't expecting it to be this big. But it is really nice.

Who's a player you admired growing up? I liked Dale Murphy a lot. He was kind of my childhood guy, and I was really upset when he left the Braves and went to the Phillies.

Were you a huge Braves fan growing up? Yeah, kind of. I guess it was the closest team to where I grew up (Lynn Haven, Fla.). So it was kind of who we rooted for.

Since you attended Auburn University, were you, and are you still, a Tigers football fan? Yeah, I still check in on them and see how they do. I went to every game while I was there. It was a great experience.

Who's the loudest guy on the team? I guess (Miguel) Cabrera is kind of the most animated; he's probably the loudest on the field.

Favorite kind of music? Classic country. I like Willie Nelson a lot. I like Waylon Jennings.

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Fri May 30, 2008 9:04 pm

GO CLETE

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Sun Jun 01, 2008 4:29 pm

06/01/2008 5:17 PM ET
Thomas back with Detroit in old form
Outfielder returns to big leagues after new approach to game
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

SEATTLE -- Clete Thomas had to wonder if he was going to get back here again. He worked his way back by not worrying about it.

After making Detroit's Opening Day roster as an extra outfielder, Thomas' Minor League season finally began in late April once Curtis Granderson returned from the disabled list. Statistically, however, he had a hard time catching up.

The hits, the speed that marked his brief stint in Detroit in April with a .295 average, went missing soon after he arrived at Triple-A Toledo. He went 8-for-31 at the close of April, then fell into an 11-for-62 (.177) funk.

It wasn't anything mechanical, by his account, or bad habits. The root of it, he said, was mental.

After a few weeks in the big leagues, he came back out-thinking himself before he even took a swing, and it was getting in the way of his reactions.

"Analyzing where it's going to be, what pitch it is, whether it's too close to take, that kind of stuff," Thomas said.

It wasn't a matter of wondering what he did wrong to get sent down. He knew he was headed out as soon as Granderson was ready. But that didn't stop him from thinking about what he needed to do to become a better player and eventually stick.

"When I was sent down, I started thinking about stuff and started overanalyzing," he said. "You can't do that. So I stopped thinking and let it happen."

The results might well have turned his season around. Over his last nine games for the Mud Hens before the call up, Thomas went 12-for-35 (.343) with five doubles, a home run, seven RBIs and eight runs scored.

That allowed him to show a little more of the energy that stood out to Tigers manager Jim Leyland when Thomas was up with the Tigers earlier in the year.

"I just felt like I was being myself," Thomas said. "That's all I can be. [Leyland's remarks] just let me know that I was doing what I can do to not change anything, just being myself. I'm just high-strung [on the field], you know. I just play hard."

His chance to play again will have to wait until the upcoming series at Oakland. With Carlos Guillen now joining Marcus Thames in the mix in left field, Thomas spent most of this weekend's series on the bench. Leyland said he wants to get Thomas a start in left for one of the three games against the A's.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Mon Jun 30, 2008 8:59 am

Clete is sweet. This kid has got some presence!!

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Fri Jul 11, 2008 4:30 am

Clete gets baptized into the Tigers:

http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200807103108184

He looked pretty bewildered after his spanking but kept his cool!
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There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Fri Jul 11, 2008 5:56 am

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Fri Jul 11, 2008 6:23 am

I think they use the same code for each days activity.

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Fri Jul 11, 2008 7:22 am

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Fri Jul 11, 2008 7:47 am

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Fri Jul 11, 2008 8:24 am

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Fri Jul 11, 2008 8:27 am

Baseball baptizing! Big Smile

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There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Fri Jul 11, 2008 8:45 am

Welcome to Detroit, :clete:
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There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Sat Jul 19, 2008 4:43 pm

Apparently he has a fan club on facebook and his "wife" posts pictures of him. Facebook fans might want to check it out. Mrsrabelo can give you the link.
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Coming soon: A better signature!

Guest

I joined it!

Subject: Re: Clete Thomas Thu Sep 11, 2008 1:26 pm

Tidbits

Outfield prospect Clete Thomas was scheduled to undergo Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery Thursday to fix a right elbow ligament tear that had been bothering him for much of the summer, Tigers head athletic trainer Kevin Rand said. Noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews will perform the procedure in Birmingham, Ala.