Gary Thomasson

Gary Leah Thomasson (born July 29, 1951) is a retired Major League Baseball player. An outfielder and first baseman, Thomasson played with the San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1972 to 1980. He was part of the Yankees' 1978 World Series winning team over the Dodgers.

Career

Thomasson attended Oceanside High School in Oceanside, California and was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 7th round of the 1969 Major League Baseball Draft.^[1] He made his Major League debut on September 5, 1972, pinch hitting for pitcher Frank Reberger in a 4 - 3 Giants' win over the San Diego Padres.^[2] In 1973, his first full Major League season, Thomasson hit .285 in 112 games.

A significant trade on March 15, 1978, sent Thomasson to the Oakland A's along with Gary Alexander, Dave Heaverlo, Phil Huffman, John Henry Johnson, Alan Wirth, a player to be named later (Mario Guerrero), and $300,000, in exchange for All-Star pitcher Vida Blue.

Thomasson spent only a few months and 47 games with Oakland before being traded to the New York Yankees for Dell Alston, Mickey Klutts, and $50,000, on June 15, 1978. Eight months later he was on the move again, dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers for catcher Brad Gulden on February 15, 1979.

Purchased from the Dodgers by the Yomiuri Giants of Japanese Nippon Pro Baseball on December 22, 1980, Thomasson spent his final two professional seasons (1981–82) in Japan. Signed with great fanfare to the biggest contract ever given to a player in the Nippon league, Thomasson was a disappointment in his two years in Japan, coming close to setting the league strikeout record before a knee injury ended his career.^[3]

Tokyo writer and conceptual artist Genpei Akasegawa published a book containing photographs of found objects which he termed "Hyperart Thomasson".^[4] The book enjoyed a cult following among late-1980s Japanese youth.

See also

• Joe Pepitone
• 99% Invisible

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)