Thon singled in his first at-bat, against Rich Hinton of the Chicago White Sox in the second game of a doubleheader on May 27 at Chicago. Thon took advantage of his opportunities, going 6-for They really know this game. The win kept the first-place Angels three games ahead of Kansas City, and the team went on to win the American League West. Thon finished with a. As a rookie Thon met teammate Rod Carew, whom he would mention as the most influential player in his career.
Thon started at Salt Lake City in and in 40 games blistered minor-league pitching, batting. He was recalled and went 5-for-5 in his first game back, on May 28 against Texas. I have to be patient. In the strike-shortened season, Thon played a utility-infielder role for Houston, backing up veteran Craig Reynolds. He batted. Thon also feasted on home cooking and left-handed pitching, batting. His on-base percentage from August to October was.
Thon cooled off in the postseason, batting only. Thon returned to Puerto Rico in the offseason and batted. Thon replaced Reynolds as the starting shortstop in and asserted himself as one of the top shortstops in the National League, with the glove and the bat. He led the National League in triples 10 and was ninth in stolen bases He was fourth in the league among shortstops in fielding percentage.
He hit his first major-league home run in his th at-bat, off Bob Walk in Atlanta on June Thon finished the season batting. His 6. His value to the improved , third-place Astros was immense, and his 7. Thon was seventh in at-bats , six in plate appearances , seventh in hits , and fourth in total bases He ranked first in shortstop assists , third in putouts , and second in double plays turned as a shortstop Thon had a game hitting streak from May and three two-home run games, on June 17, 28, and July 9.
His 14th-inning walk-off home run on August 10 beat San Diego. His power was a surprise even to him. Thon got off to a good start in , batting.
Thon used a batting stance that leaned into the plate. New York Mets pitcher Mike Torrez had caught him looking in his first at-bat on a called third strike on the outside part of the plate. In his next at-bat, Thon crept even closer to the plate. Torrez decided to pitch him inside.
It was a strategy decision, nothing more. But my ball was sailing that day. The Astrodome crowd went eerily silent as team physician William Bryan and manager Bob Lillis bolted to the field. Bryan said. I was scared. At Methodist Hospital, X-rays revealed a fracture of the orbital rim, the bone above the left eye. My thoughts will be with him and his family tonight. I blame myself. Three days after he was hit, Thon had surgery on the left orbital bone, but the blurred vision continued.
He never had a chance to play in the majors. I have to come back, for me and for him. He was examined by Stephen J. Ryan, an expert in retina damage at the University of Southern California. With time off, Thon took business courses at a community college. It [beaning] affected his visual acuity — his ability to read letters — and his depth perception. Thon returned to the field in late in the Arizona Instructional League.
He played in five games and had five hits. In spring training , Thon was hopeful. I know I can do it. I have a lot of faith in God. If he wants me to play again, I will. The post-injury Thon was a much different player, one who had to constantly battle physical and mental hardships. Before, it was fun. The regular season is different from spring training.
I wanted a groundball hit at me early to get it out of the way. And the first hit helped. Thon struggled early on, batting. He returned to the field in mid-June, but by July 10 was batting. Thon batted. With a new two-year contract, Thon arrived at spring training in optimistic.
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