Dickie Thon

Richard William Thon

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.
• High School Colegio San Antonio
• Debut May 22, 1979
• Final Game October 3, 1993
• Born June 20, 1958 in South Bend, IN USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Shortstop Dickie Thon of the Houston Astros was an up-and-coming star for the Houston Astros in the early 1980s, leading the National League in triples in 1982, and hitting 20 homers while making the All-Star team in 1983. However, early in the 1984 season, he was struck in the eye by a pitch thrown by Mike Torrez of the New York Mets. He suffered permanent damage and missed the remainder of the year. Over the next four seasons, Thon played rather sparingly before finally becoming a regular starter again with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1989.

Thon ended up playing 15 seasons in the big leagues, of which he played in 100+ games in six seasons. While his best season was 1983, when he was # 7 in the MVP voting, he also had a good season in 1989 when he hit 15 home runs in 136 games.

Thon twice stole over 30 bases in a season. In 1982 he had 37 steals while getting caught only 8 times. Thon, while appearing in post-season play three times, never played in a World Series.

He broke into the majors hitting .339 with the California Angels in 1979; the Angels won a division title that year.

Thon's grandfather, Fred Sr., spent 1940 on a farm team for the Brooklyn Dodgers then was a mainstay of the San Juan Senators in the Puerto Rican Winter Baseball League. Fred Jr. pitched for Notre Dame but developed calcium deposits in his arm; Junior later coached Dickie and his other son, Frankie, along with Ed Romero in the teenagers' Pony leagues. Frankie played in the minors from 1978 to 1980 and later worked as a scout. Dickie's nephew, Freddie Thon, played in the Texas Rangers organization from 2004 to 2007. His son Dickie Joe Thon began his minor league career in 2011.

Dickie played for the Bayamón Cowboys, San Juan Metros, San Juan Senators, Arecibo Wolves and Santurce Crabbers in the Puerto Rican Winter Baseball League. He was one of the most productive batters of the league during the early 1980s. While born in the United States, he was of Puerto Rican origin and grew up on the island.

Notable Achievements

• NL All-Star (1983)
• NL Silver Slugger Award Winner (1983)
• NL Triples Leader (1982)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1983)

Related Sites

• Dickie Thon at the SABR Bio Project