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Marietta College Athletics

Marietta College Athletics

MARIETTA PIONEERS

Hall of Fame

Joseph Thomas

  • Class
    1997
  • Induction
    2008
  • Sport(s)
    Baseball
Thomas, the 1997 Way-Weigelt Award winner and two-time National Player of the Year, wore the pin-stripes as a member of the baseball team from 1994-97. During his time with Marietta, the Etta Express, who won four Ohio Athletic Conference titles, qualified for the World Series in both 1995 and 1996 after winning the Mideast Regional Championships.

The Pitcher and first baseman, who was a captain in 1997, was named first team All-OAC and first team All-Mideast Region as a sophomore, junior and senior. Thomas was also awarded the Jack Rafeld OAC Player of the Year and MVP of the OAC Tournament in 1996 and 1997. After receiving second team All-American honors in 1995, he was awarded first team All-American honors and named the National Player of the Year in both 1996 and 1997.

Thomas holds a share of the school’s single-game (3) and the single-season (22) record for doubles. In addition, he is ranked second all-time in doubles (57) while third in career batting average (.415), fourth in career putouts (1.076) and fifth in career hits (240) at Marietta. He also ranks first in the OAC in doubles in a game and in a season while second in doubles in a career and fourth in career batting average.

Following his senior year, Thomas was drafted in the 21st round by the Boston Red Sox in the 1997 draft. He played seven years of minor league baseball. Thomas, a member of the Independent Frontier League’s All-Decade Team, spent time as an assistant coach at New York Institute of Technology (2003), Mercyhurst (2005-06) and with the Kalamazoo Kings of the Frontier League (2006-07) before being hired as the pitching coach at Temple this fall.

Thomas lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 

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