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Thomas, Stan (1987)

Writer: Maine Baseball HOF
Maine Baseball HOF
Aug 8, 2019
2 min read

Thomas, Stan (87)

One baseball honor had escaped Mexico native Stan Thomas, who in a four-year major league career had pitched for Texas, Cleveland, Seattle and the New York Yankees.

‘‘Hey, find out from those guys back there when I’m going to make the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame,’’ he prompted an interviewing reporter in 1984.

A bit late, perhaps, the powerful righthander joins that select group.

He’ll fly to Portland from Redmond, Wash., where he resides with wife Jayne and five-year-old daughter Jayne Leigh. Thomas represents Washington and Oregon for a sporting goods firm based in Santa Ana, Calif.

Teenager Thomas left Maine for a summer Williams’ baseball camp, two years at Florida State and a summer with the Rookie League. He was 14-3 at the University of New Haven, Conn., and was first signed by the Washington Senators.

Then came the minors — Burlington, N.Y., of the NY-Penn League, Pittsfield, Mass., of the Eastern and Spokane, Wash., of the Pacific Coast.


Spokane’s parent club, the Texas Rangers, summoned Thomas June 27, 1974. On July 6, he was called to the mound in the first inning by Rangers’ manager Billy Martin to face the Yankees with the bases loaded and none out.

Stan’s first pitch was cracked for a single. Next night — the same bases-full situation. Bobby Murcer promptly singled. Things were a bit better in the final game of the series.

Thomas toiled for the Maracaibo (Venezuela) Oilers of the Inter-American League in 1979, and for the Mexico City Tigers of the Mexican League in 1980.

Thomas’ first meeting with South Portland’s Jim Beattie was unique. Thomas came on in the ninth inning to relieve Syracuse, N.Y., Chiefs starter Beattie. The Yankees’ International League Triple A farm team beat Tidewater, 6-1.

Thomas received more ink from one incident than in compiling an 11-14 record. He was fined a reported $1,000 by Seattle manager Darrell Johnson for seemingly taking aim at the head of Minnesota’s Mike Cubbage.

Thomas recalls a phone conversation with his Dad after a miserable 1-6 record at the All-Star break. Henry cautioned, ‘‘If you can’t get ’em out you can come home and work around the yard with your brother.’’ What a motivator can do to lift you to a 7-7 record and to the big leagues in two years!


From Baseball Reference


Stan Thomas

Position: Pitcher


Bats: Right • Throws: Right


6-2, 185lb (188cm, 83kg)


Born: July 11, 1949 (Age: 70-018d) in Rumford, ME us


Draft: Drafted by the Washington Senators in the 27th round of the 1971 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of New Haven (West Haven, CT).


Schools: Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL), University of New Haven (West Haven, CT)






Thomas, Stan (87) Yankees Bday







Thomas, Stan (87)



Thomas, Stan (87) HOF with Stan Musial

 
 
 

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Meet the 2026 Maine Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
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Portland Press Herald 4/10/2026
https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/10/meet-the-2026-maine-baseball-hall-of-fame-inductees/?copylink=true

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Former St. Dominic and current Gray-New Gloucester coach Bob Blackman and Cony coach Don Plourde are among the 11 members of the newest class. Four coaches currently preparing for the upcoming high school baseball season are among the 11 inductees in the 2026 Maine Baseball Hall of Fame class.

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Gray-New Gloucester’s Bob Blackman, Brewer’s Dana Corey, Hampden Academy’s Jon Perry and Cony’s Don Plourde are all part of the class that will be inducted on Oct. 4 at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland. Blackman coached St. Dominic High School to nine state championships in 22 seasons before the school closed at the end of the last school year. He was named the coach at Gray-New Gloucester in September. Corey hit .359 at the University of Maine in 1971. He played two seasons in the Chicago Cubs system and has been the head coach at Brewer for 18 seasons.

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Perry hit .381 at the University of Maine in 1981 and helped the Black Bears reach the College World Series. He has coached for the past 45 seasons at the high school, American Legion and collegiate levels. 

Plourde is in his 17th season as the coach at Cony High School and has been named the KVAC Coach of the Year five times. He has been coaching at various levels for more than 30 years. 

Others earning induction are: 

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• Al Cloutier, who has been involved in baseball in Augusta as a player, Cony High and American Legion coach, Babe Ruth League director and volunteer. 

• John Kolasinski, who was a college coach at for 37 years, first at Husson and later at Siena Heights University in Michigan. He is a five-time New England Coach of the Year winner.

• Mark Littlefield, a Portland High graduate, who is now in his 36th season working on the medical staff of the New York Yankees organization. 

• Scott Littlefield, a Portland High graduate, who will be inducted posthumously. Littlefield coached at Florida State University and the University of Southern Maine before working for 34 years as a Major League Baseball scout, including 16 as a player personnel special assistant for the Texas Rangers.

• J. Ronald Livington, who will be inducted posthumously. Livingston was an All-Star infielder for the semi-pro Presque Isle Indians in the Northern Aroostook League in the 1930 and 1940s. He also coached and was a director in the South Portland National Little League.

• Mike McCullum, of Portland, who hit .338 at the University of Southern Maine and earned ABCA Division III All-American honors in 1999. 

• Jim Taylor of Lewiston, who was a founding member of the Central Maine Board of Approved Baseball Umpires and was instrumental in starting the Maine chapter of the Collegiate Baseball Umpires Association.

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Maine Baseball Hall of Fame day  Delta Dental Park aka Hadlock Field 7/19/2026
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