Stormin Gorman Thomas One Of Milwaukee’s Early Stars

When Gorman Thomas first came into the Major Leagues he was not a guy you thought who would have a successful career in baseball. His low batting average combined with a high strikeouts was the big knock on him and in today’s game he would have never gotten out of the minors. Luckily for Gorman Thomas though he played ball in a different era where strikeouts and batting average was really something that was low on the list of problems teams looked out. The one thing Thomas could do was hit home runs and he hit some mammoth blasts for the Brewers.

Thomas was drafted by the Seattle Pilots in the June 1969 draft and promptly was sent to the minors where he won two home run titles and made his debut in Milwaukee in 1973.  Thomas quickly won over Brewers fans with his ability to hit home runs and play centerfield. From 1978 through 1982 no player in the American League hit more home runs then Gorman Thomas as his popularity soared. During his career Thomas hit 268 home runs and drove in 782 runs  with a .225 batting average. His high strikeouts and low batting average really hurt the perception of what he did as a Brewer player.

Gorman Thomas will always be one of the most popular players in Brewers history as he brought a working man’s mentality to the game that fans love. He was great with the fans always signing autographs and is a guy who is still that way today. Thomas runs some fantasy camps and still loves the Brewers and tha game of baseball. Gorman Thomas a true Brewer!