Charles Thomas (baseball)


Charles Wesley Thomas is a former left fielder in Major League Baseball. Thomas played with the Atlanta Braves, and Oakland Athletics. He batted and threw left-handed.

Career

Amateur

Thomas played college baseball at Western Carolina University. In 1999, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was selected by the Braves in the 19th round of the 2000 MLB Draft.

Professional

He steadily improved while splitting time between two teams in, hitting.324 in 47 games after being called up to Double-A Greenville. That season, he got a chance to play at Triple-A Richmond when Atlanta called up or released the outfielders ahead of him. Thomas took advantage of the opportunity. He went 31-for-79 in June, led the International League in hitting and on-base percentage, and was selected to the All-Star team.
Thomas started 2004 as the fourth outfielder for Richmond and made the big club in the mid-season. He posted a.288 batting average with seven home runs and 31 RBI in 83 games. He showed a great batting eye, speedy running, and outstanding defense.
Before the 2005 season, Thomas was sent to Oakland in the same trade that brought Tim Hudson to the Braves.
In the 2005 season, he had a rough start and despite starting nearly every game went weeks without getting a hit. Eventually, Thomas was demoted to AAA, where he spent most of his remaining time in Oakland. On May 4, 2007, he was dealt to the Brewers in exchange for JD Closser. He played the rest of the 2007 season with Milwaukee's Triple-A club, the Nashville Sounds.