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Andre Thornton
André Thornton (born August 13, 1949), nicknamed "Thunder", is an American former professional baseball player and business entrepreneur. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and designated hitter from 1973 to 1987, most prominently as a member of the Cleveland Indians where, he was a two-time All-Star player and won a Silver Slugger Award. He also played for the Chicago Cubs and the Montreal Expos.
In 1979, Thornton was named the recipient of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award for his involvement in local community affairs. After his playing career, Thornton owned a chain of restaurants as well as his own sports marketing firm. He was also the CEO and chairman of a supply chain management company. In 2001, he was voted one of the 100 greatest players in Cleveland Indians' history by a panel of veteran baseball writers, executives and historians. Thornton was inducted into the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame in 2007.
Thornton grew up in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, in a family of athletes, and graduated from Phoenixville Area High School. In 1967, a week before his 18th birthday, the Philadelphia Phillies signed Thornton as an amateur free agent. He played Minor League Baseball in the Phillies organization from 1967 through 1972. In 1972, the Phillies traded Thornton to the Atlanta Braves with Joe Hoerner for Jim Nash and Gary Neibauer. The Braves traded Thornton to the Chicago Cubs for Joe Pepitone on May 19, 1973.
Thornton made his major-league debut with the Cubs on July 28, 1973, as a pinch hitter. He collected his first hit on August 3, in a win over the Montreal Expos. He was named to the 1974 All-Rookie Team as a first baseman by Baseball Digest. Thornton had one of his best seasons in 1975; although his 18 home runs were only the seventh-best season total of his career, he hit .293 with a .428 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of .516. It was the first of six seasons during his career in which Thornton walked more than he struck out. Thornton played for the Cubs until May 1976, appearing in 271 games with a batting average of .267 with 30 home runs and 122 RBIs.
Thornton was traded to Montreal on May 17, 1976, for Larry Biittner and Steve Renko. He played in 69 games for Montreal through the end of the season. Overall for 1976, in which he battled injuries, Thornton hit .194 with 11 home runs and 38 RBIs.
Thornton was dealt from the Expos to the Cleveland Indians for Jackie Brown on December 10, 1976. The trade would prove to be one of the most lopsided deals of the 1970s, as Brown would only pitch one more year in the majors. Thornton sustained high levels of production through much of his Cleveland career. After hitting 28 home runs in 1977, his debut season in Cleveland, Thornton hit a career-high 33 home runs in 1978 (a total he would match in 1984). In 1979, he was honored with the Roberto Clemente Award, given to the player who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement, and team contribution. Thornton missed all of 1980 with a severe knee injury that required two surgeries, and all but 69 games in 1981 due to other injuries.
From 1981 to 1984, Thornton played primarily as a designated hitter. In 1982, Thornton hit 32 home runs and set career highs with 116 runs batted in, 109 walks, and 285 total bases. From 1982 through 1986, a healthy Thornton appeared in an average of 140 games each season, and hit a total of 121 home runs with 446 RBIs while hitting for a .261 average. He won a Silver Slugger Award as a designated hitter in 1984, and then played exclusively as a designated hitter from 1985 to 1987. In 1987, he started 12 of the first 20 games, but injuries and a decision to essentially bench him kept him out of all but 24 games for the rest of the season, including only seven starts. He retired after the season.
Overall, in his ten seasons with the Indians, Thornton appeared in 1,225 games, batting .254 with 214 home runs and 749 RBIs. He spent most of his career as one of the few marquee players on a team that was usually barely competitive; he only played on a winning team twice (not counting the strike year of 1981) during his time in Cleveland. He later said that while the Indians had some very good players, management simply couldn't keep them in Cleveland for any period of time.
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Andre Thornton
André Thornton (born August 13, 1949), nicknamed "Thunder", is an American former professional baseball player and business entrepreneur. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and designated hitter from 1973 to 1987, most prominently as a member of the Cleveland Indians where, he was a two-time All-Star player and won a Silver Slugger Award. He also played for the Chicago Cubs and the Montreal Expos.
In 1979, Thornton was named the recipient of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award for his involvement in local community affairs. After his playing career, Thornton owned a chain of restaurants as well as his own sports marketing firm. He was also the CEO and chairman of a supply chain management company. In 2001, he was voted one of the 100 greatest players in Cleveland Indians' history by a panel of veteran baseball writers, executives and historians. Thornton was inducted into the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame in 2007.
Thornton grew up in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, in a family of athletes, and graduated from Phoenixville Area High School. In 1967, a week before his 18th birthday, the Philadelphia Phillies signed Thornton as an amateur free agent. He played Minor League Baseball in the Phillies organization from 1967 through 1972. In 1972, the Phillies traded Thornton to the Atlanta Braves with Joe Hoerner for Jim Nash and Gary Neibauer. The Braves traded Thornton to the Chicago Cubs for Joe Pepitone on May 19, 1973.
Thornton made his major-league debut with the Cubs on July 28, 1973, as a pinch hitter. He collected his first hit on August 3, in a win over the Montreal Expos. He was named to the 1974 All-Rookie Team as a first baseman by Baseball Digest. Thornton had one of his best seasons in 1975; although his 18 home runs were only the seventh-best season total of his career, he hit .293 with a .428 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of .516. It was the first of six seasons during his career in which Thornton walked more than he struck out. Thornton played for the Cubs until May 1976, appearing in 271 games with a batting average of .267 with 30 home runs and 122 RBIs.
Thornton was traded to Montreal on May 17, 1976, for Larry Biittner and Steve Renko. He played in 69 games for Montreal through the end of the season. Overall for 1976, in which he battled injuries, Thornton hit .194 with 11 home runs and 38 RBIs.
Thornton was dealt from the Expos to the Cleveland Indians for Jackie Brown on December 10, 1976. The trade would prove to be one of the most lopsided deals of the 1970s, as Brown would only pitch one more year in the majors. Thornton sustained high levels of production through much of his Cleveland career. After hitting 28 home runs in 1977, his debut season in Cleveland, Thornton hit a career-high 33 home runs in 1978 (a total he would match in 1984). In 1979, he was honored with the Roberto Clemente Award, given to the player who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement, and team contribution. Thornton missed all of 1980 with a severe knee injury that required two surgeries, and all but 69 games in 1981 due to other injuries.
From 1981 to 1984, Thornton played primarily as a designated hitter. In 1982, Thornton hit 32 home runs and set career highs with 116 runs batted in, 109 walks, and 285 total bases. From 1982 through 1986, a healthy Thornton appeared in an average of 140 games each season, and hit a total of 121 home runs with 446 RBIs while hitting for a .261 average. He won a Silver Slugger Award as a designated hitter in 1984, and then played exclusively as a designated hitter from 1985 to 1987. In 1987, he started 12 of the first 20 games, but injuries and a decision to essentially bench him kept him out of all but 24 games for the rest of the season, including only seven starts. He retired after the season.
Overall, in his ten seasons with the Indians, Thornton appeared in 1,225 games, batting .254 with 214 home runs and 749 RBIs. He spent most of his career as one of the few marquee players on a team that was usually barely competitive; he only played on a winning team twice (not counting the strike year of 1981) during his time in Cleveland. He later said that while the Indians had some very good players, management simply couldn't keep them in Cleveland for any period of time.