THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 14, 1994 TAG: 9408140144
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
Count Nathan Thomas among the struggling youth seeking direction in life.
Thomas needs to take a position. He wants to. But at age 20, he's still bouncing back and forth between vocations. Is he a pitcher stuck in first baseman's clothing? Or vice versa?
He is one or the other, that's for sure. He was excellent at both in 1993, when he led First Colonial High School to the state championship and was named the Tidewater Player of the Year.
But he's a pro now, a second-season rookie leaguer who wants to get on with his career as a player or as a pitcher.
The unfortunate thing is he went through all this last year, after the Chicago Cubs drafted him in the 20th round. The Cubs saw in Thomas a lean, live-armed lefthanded pitcher. Thomas saw in himself a guy who could do what he did in high school - play first and hit when he wasn't pitching.
The Cubs humored him last summer and let him do a little of both. But Thomas and everybody else figured he'd be relegated to pitching this season.
Which he was. That is, until injuries created a need at first base for the Cubs' Gulf Coast League entry in Kissimmee, Fla. So the Cubs took Thomas and put him at first, then played him in the outfield a couple of times. It only caused trouble.
They wound up teasing him. It was a temporary move, but Thomas mistook it for permanent. After a few weeks, the Cubs made it known Thomas was to return to pitching, exclusively.
Though he was hitting only .167 through 25 games, ``I was crushed,'' Thomas said. ``Once I started playing, I thought my pitching days were over. I was ready to come home. My bags were packed.''
Talked down, so to speak, Thomas returned to the mound - and a funny thing has happened. He has enjoyed a total reversal from last summer, when, in 13 innings, he had an 8.31 earned-run average and gave up 15 hits and 14 walks.
In his first 10 1/3 innings this summer, Thomas yielded four hits, three walks and no runs, while striking out nine.
``My attitude's good right now,'' Thomas said. ``I'm actually enjoying pitching. My outings have been good since I've been throwing. I've seen the down parts of playing, and it got frustrating.''
Actually, some frustration came in the form of a shoulder injury that forced Thomas home after spring training in Mesa, Ariz. He expected to go to extended spring training and be assigned, he hoped, to the higher-level short-season club in Huntington, W.Va.
But he was sent back to Virginia Beach to rehabilitate his arm from April to June, when he returned to rookie ball in Florida.
His progress proceeded to be set back by the move to first and by a stomach virus that weakened him for about two weeks.
Healthy, and apparently finally happy about being on the mound, Thomas hopes to finish strong and leave Florida behind.
``I've gotta start doing something,'' Thomas said. ``Soon enough I'll be 21, then 22. I've gotta get out of rookie ball.''
For Thomas, one position probably means one direction. Up. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
DENIS FINLEY/Staff file photo
Nathan Thomas, left, led First Colonial to the 1993 state
championship, but he has struggled to settle on one position as a
pro.
by CNB