- Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1979 Topps #376.
- Player Name, position, team: Gorman Thomas, pitcher, New York Mets.
- Major League Debut: April 6, 1973.
- Last Line of Statistics: 1978 stats (Brewers): 137 G, 452 AB, 70 R, 111 H, 24 2B, 1 3B, 32 HR, 86 RBI, .246 AVG.
- Any special information about player: Drafted by the Pilots, #1st, June 1969. Contract purchased by the Brewers 02/08/1978. Bats: right. Throws: right.
- Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 18. This is his fifth Topps card.
- Blurb on the back: "Led Midwest League with 31 Homers at Danville in 1971. Led Texas eague with 26 Homers at San Antonio in 1972. Hit .322 with 36 Homers, 114 RBIs and 114 Runs at Spokane in 1977. Also led PCL batters with 320 Total Bases."
- Commentary: A man who can claim to have been drafted by the Seattle Pilots (of the 45 men who were drafted by the Pilots, only nine, including Thomas, made it to the majors). Talk about buyer's remorse. The Brewers knew Gorman could hit for power, but once in the majors, he just couldn't hit consistently, with averages below the Mendoza line in three of his first four seasons. In 1977, the Brewers kept Thomas in the minors for the entire season, and then in October, traded him as the PTBNL in an August deal with the Rangers. But for some reason, the Brewers bought his contract from the Rangers, so he never got to suit up for Texas. With a chance to start anew with the Brew Crew in 1978, Gorman hit 32 home runs, drove in 86 rbi's, and finally got past the .200 career mark with a .246 average. In 1979, Gorman hit a career high 45 home runs (which led the league that year) with 123 runs batted in, an average of .244 and OBP/SLG/OPS percentages of .356/.539/.895 (all career highs). The problem? Prone to strikeouts, he also struck out a league high 175 times. Regardless, he was considered for the MVP that year, finishing 7th in the balloting. "Stormin' Gorman" was traded to the Indians in a five-player deal in 1983, and produced for the Tribe in 106 games. The following year, it was off to Seattle, where for two-plus seasons, finally got to play for the city he was originally drafted to play for (even though the Pilots would move to Milwaukee one year into their existence). In the middle of the 1986 season, he was released by the Mariners and signed on a month later with the Brewers. Back in Milwaukee for a swansong, in 44 games, he hit 6 home runs and 10 rbi's. He was released after that season and retired from playing. He still has ties to the Brewers organization, making appearances in the community representing the team and also meets fans at Gorman's Corner, a concession stand named in his honor, on many weekend games at Miller Park.
- Beckett value: $0.30-$0.75.
- How many cards of this player do I own?: 24 cards.
Sincerely,
JayBee Anama
This is a face only a mother could love. And Milwaulkee.
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