Dan Thomas | |||
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1977 rookie card
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Left fielder | |||
Born: Birmingham, Alabama |
May 9, 1951|||
Died: June 12, 1980 Mobile, Alabama |
(aged 29)|||
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MLB debut | |||
September 2, 1976, for the Milwaukee Brewers | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
May 18, 1977, for the Milwaukee Brewers | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .274 | ||
Home runs | 6 | ||
Runs Batted In | 26 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
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Danny Lee Thomas (May 9, 1951 – June 12, 1980) was a Major League Baseball player who played for the Milwaukee Brewers in late 1976 and early 1977. During his brief major league career, he became known as the "Sundown Kid" because of his well-publicized refusal to play on seventh-day Sabbath.
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Thomas grew up in East Carondelet, Illinois, graduated from Dupo Senior High School, and played college baseball at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. In June 1971, he played in the College World Series; the Southern Illinois Salukis advanced to the championship game, but lost to the USC Trojans 7–2 on June 17.
The next year, Thomas was picked sixth overall in the 1972 amateur draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. In 1975, he was suspended for a half-season for striking an umpire, but in 1976 he had a league-leading .325 batting average in the Eastern League, playing for the Berkshire Brewers, and was named the league's Player of the Year. He won the Eastern League's Triple Crown by also leading in home runs and runs batted in, an accomplishment that was not equalled in that minor league until Lou Montañez garnered the Eastern League Triple Crown 32 years later, in 2008.