In 1928, Thomas missed the whole first half of the season with an undisclosed illness. Once again the Yankees were in the World Series, but Thomas didn't pitch - the Yankees swept, and used just four pitchers! Overall he was 7-4 with a 4.87 ERA (80 ERA+) and 1.737 WHIP, with nine starts and 12 relief appearances. But after an ugly July (6.08 ERA, 2.250 WHIP in 13.1 IP), was hardly used at all the rest of the year. That earned Thomas a spot in the starting rotation, and in June he went 5-1 with a 4.19 ERA. Six days later he was again the long man in the bullpen, going seven innings and giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits and three walks as the Yankees, down 6-1 heading into the bottom of the 3rd, roared back in a 15-7 win over the Red Sox. but "Tommy" remained unused again until May 23, when he gave up three runs on six hits and three walks in a start the Yankees lost, 3-2. He pitched great, throwing seven scoreless innings after Yankee starter Dutch Ruether was blown up for six runs on six hits in just a third of an inning. Resuming his garbage man status in 1927, Thomas wasn't used the first month of the season, finally getting into a game on May 4. In each appearance, Game 3 and Game 6, he was doing "mopup duty" in a blowout loss. Thomas pitched twice in the World Series, giving up one run on three hits in three innings. the final out was Babe Ruth thrown out trying to steal second base. The 1926 Yankees won the pennant for the first time since 1923, but lost to the Cardinals in a seven-game World Series. Used interchangeably as a starter and reliever the rest of the year, overall he went 6-6 with a 4.23 ERA (91 ERA+) and 1.461 WHIP in 140.1 innings. to ugly results, giving up five runs on four hits and a whopping 10 walks in just 5.1 innings. It was an impressive enough debut (3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER) that four days later, Thomas was given his first major league start. In the top of the 9th, Bob Meusel - another previously forgotten Yankee - hit a two-run home run to tie it up, but the Yankees would lose it in the 11th on an error by Tony Lazzeri. Thomas's first batter was future Hall of Famer Goose Goslin, and Thomas struck him out. Thomas made his debut with the Yankees on April 18, 1926, in relief of previously forgotten Yankee Bob Shawkey, with the Yankees losing 2-0 in the bottom of the 8th. Miller Huggins announced yesterday the purchase of one of the best minor league pitchers in the country, a young man named Myles Thomas.” The Yankees won out, to some fanfare in The New York Times: The Yankees and Tigers found themselves in a bidding war to acquire the now 27-year-old pitcher. Thomas's struggles saw him sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the International League, where he had two mediocre years followed by an outstanding one - 28-8 with a 2.52 ERA in 1925! Like many young pitchers, he struggled with his control, with 92 walks in 134 innings. "That sniff may have cost the Yanks a large sum of gold," The New York Times a few years later when Thomas had become a top prospect.Īfter that he was promoted to the Reading Aces, where he had a terrible year, going 2-8 with a 5.37 ERA. The Yankees scouted him again, but passed. and threw a no-hitter in his professional debut! That year he would go 9-13, but with a 2.41 ERA. Thomas was scouted by the Yankees but went to the minor league Hartford Senators. Naturally he attended Penn State! With Thomas on the baseball team, the Nittany Lions won a then-record 30 straight games between 19, and Thomas threw a no-hitter against Washington & Jefferson. Myles Lewis Thomas was born October 22, 1897, in State College, Pennsylvania. Happy birthday to Myles Thomas, who more than 50 years after his death became a bit more famous than he had been in life when ESPN published a serialized historical novel in the form of his (fictional) "diary."
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