Josh Thole
| Josh Thole | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Toronto Blue Jays – No. 30 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: October 28, 1986 Breese, Illinois |
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| Bats: Left | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| September 3, 2009 for the New York Mets | |
| Career statistics (through 2012 season) |
|
| Batting average | .261 |
| Home runs | 7 |
| Runs batted in | 87 |
| Teams | |
Joshua Michael "Josh" Thole (pronounced toll-EE[1]) (born October 28, 1986) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Toronto Blue Jays organization.
Contents |
Early years [edit]
Thole grew up in Breese, Illinois, and attended Mater Dei High school.[2]
Professional career [edit]
Thole was drafted by the New York Mets in the 13th round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft.[2] In Double-A Binghamton, Thole established himself as a solid singles hitter.[2]
New York Mets (2009-2012) [edit]
After viewing Thole in the 2009 spring training, Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen "gushed" about Thole's catcher skills.[1] In 2009, Thole stated, "My throwing is still coming along."[2] On August 31, 2009, Thole was called up to the major leagues.[3] In his first major league at-bat, he singled to record his first major league hit.
After spending much of the 2010 season in Triple-A Buffalo, Thole was called up to the Mets in June.[4] On July 20, 2010, Thole hit his first major league home run, a solo homer, off of Barry Enright in a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field to give the Mets their first run of the game (3-1).[5] They would lose that game 3-2.[5] On October 1, 2010, he hit a walk-off home run off Tyler Clippard to give the Mets a 2-1 win.[6]
Thole spent the entire season with the New York Mets as a catcher. He hit .268, drove in 40 runs and hit 3 homeruns over 340 at bats.
Thole broke camp with the Mets as their starting catcher. On May 9, 2012, Thole was placed on the seven-day disabled list after suffering a concussion in a plate collision with Phillies first baseman Ty Wigginton on May 7.[7] Then on June 1st, 2012, Thole was reactivated and caught Johan Santana's no-hitter; becoming the first Mets catcher to participate in a no-hitter.
Toronto Blue Jays [edit]
On December 17, 2012, the Mets traded Thole, R.A. Dickey, and Mike Nickeas to the Toronto Blue Jays for Travis d'Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard, John Buck, and Wuilmer Becerra.[8] On January 18, 2013, the Blue Jays announced that arbitration with Thole had been avoided by signing him to a two-year contract worth $2.5 million, with a club option for the 2015 season at $1.75 million.[9] On March 24, Thole was reassigned to minor league camp and started the season with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.[10]
References [edit]
- ^ a b Noble, Marty (August 31, 2009). "Mets may wait a week to expand roster; Thole likely to lead callups when Minors season ends". MLB.com. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
- ^ a b c d Rubin, Adam (August 22, 2009). "Exclusive: September calls". New York Daily News. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
- ^ Rubin, Adam (August 31, 2009). "Thole is Colorado-bound, Beltran closer". New York Daily News. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
- ^ Perkins, Owen (September 3, 2009). "Misch records first MLB win as Mets roll; Bats bang 16 hits, including the first two of Thole's career". MLB.com. Retrieved September 4, 2009.
- ^ a b Sielski, Sielski (JULY 22, 2010). "Thole Is Missing His First Home-Run Ball". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ Kilgore, Adam (October 2, 2010). "Washington Nationals lose to New York Mets on Josh Thole's home run in 10th". Washington Post.
- ^ "Thole on seven-day DL with concussion". Mets.com. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
- ^ "Dickey trade to Blue Jays official". foxsports.com. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
- ^ "Blue Jays avoid arbitration with Happ, Bonifacio, Thole". TSN.ca. January 18, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
- ^ "Blue Jays pick Henry Blanco over Josh Thole for backup catcher’s job". Retrieved March 24, 2013.
External links [edit]
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- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
