Josh Thole
| Josh Thole | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Toronto Blue Jays – No. 22 | |
| Catcher | |
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Born: October 28, 1986 Breese, Illinois | |
| Bats: Left | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| September 3, 2009 for the New York Mets | |
| Career statistics (through 2013 season) | |
| Batting average | .251 |
| Hits | 260 |
| Home runs | 8 |
| Runs batted in | 95 |
| Teams | |
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Joshua Michael "Josh" Thole (pronounced toll-EE[1]) (born October 28, 1986) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball.
Early years
Thole grew up in Breese, Illinois, and attended Mater Dei High school.[2]
Professional career
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)
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 home runs 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 (2013–present)
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] He was recalled by the Blue Jays on June 7 when Henry Blanco was designated for assignment.[11] Thole made his Blue Jays debut in the 16th inning of an 18 inning win against the Texas Rangers on June 8, going 0-2 at the plate.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 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.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 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.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 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.
- ↑ "Blue Jays designate Blanco; recall Thole, LaRoche". TSN.ca. June 7, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
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