Gorman Thomas

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1973-1986)

Gorman Thomas was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1986 for the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cleveland Guardians, and the Seattle Mariners, a span of 14 seasons. In 1,435 career games, he hit .225 with 1,051 hits, 268 home runs, and 782 RBI. Gorman Thomas was an All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 8,637.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .225
HR 268
RBI 782
H 1,051
OPS .772
PIV 8,637
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 210 lb
Born
12/12/1950 in Charleston, SC, USA
MLB Debut
1973-04-06
Last Game
1986-10-05
Awards
All-Star

Full name: James Gorman Thomas

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Career Batting Statistics

Gorman Thomas — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,435 4,677 681 1,051 212 13 268 782 50 697 1,339 .225 .324 .448 .772 8,637

Career AVG .225 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 13.3% below league average.

Career OBP .324 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .448 vs. league average .383 across their career seasons — +17.0% above league average.

Career OPS .772 vs. league average .707 across their career seasons — +9.2% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Gorman Thomas Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1973 ML4 AL 59 155 16 29 7 1 2 11 5 14 61 .187 .256 (-27%) .325 (-22%) .378 (-25%) .703 (-24%) -581.1
1974 ML4 AL 17 46 10 12 4 0 2 11 4 8 15 .261 — — — — 143.3
1975 ML4 AL 121 240 34 43 12 2 10 28 4 31 84 .179 .257 (-30%) .327 (-18%) .374 (-1%) .701 (-9%) -424.1
1976 ML4 AL 99 227 27 45 9 2 8 36 2 31 67 .198 .255 (-22%) .320 (-8%) .360 (avg) .681 (-4%) -143.4
1978 ML4 AL 137 452 70 111 24 1 32 86 3 73 133 .246 .257 (-5%) .323 (+8%) .378 (+36%) .702 (+23%) 2108.3
1979 ML4 AL 156 557 97 136 29 0 45 123 1 98 175 .244 .265 (-8%) .329 (+8%) .397 (+36%) .727 (+23%) 2714.8
1980 ML4 AL 162 628 78 150 26 3 38 105 8 58 170 .239 .264 (-10%) .326 (-7%) .387 (+22%) .714 (+8%) 860.7
1981 ML4 AL 103 363 54 94 22 0 21 65 4 50 85 .259 .255 (+1%) .320 (+9%) .368 (+34%) .688 (+22%) 1451.7
1982 ML4 AL 158 567 96 139 29 1 39 112 3 84 143 .245 .261 (-6%) .324 (+6%) .388 (+30%) .712 (+19%) 2234.6
1983 ML4 AL 46 164 21 30 6 1 5 18 2 23 50 .183 .260 (-30%) .324 (-13%) .389 (-17%) .714 (-15%) -382.5
1983 CLE AL 106 371 51 82 17 0 17 51 8 57 98 .221 .260 (-15%) .324 (-1%) .389 (+4%) .714 (+2%) -382.5
1984 SEA AL 35 108 6 17 3 0 1 13 0 28 27 .157 .259 (-39%) .322 (avg) .384 (-45%) .707 (-24%) -355.2
1985 SEA AL 135 484 76 104 16 1 32 87 3 84 126 .215 .257 (-16%) .323 (+2%) .390 (+15%) .714 (+9%) 996.6
1986 SEA AL 57 170 24 33 4 0 10 26 1 27 55 .194 .257 (-25%) .325 (-5%) .395 (avg) .720 (-3%) -37.6
1986 ML4 AL 44 145 21 26 4 1 6 10 2 31 50 .179 .257 (-30%) .325 (-1%) .395 (-13%) .720 (-7%) -37.6
Career · 15 seasons 1,435 4,677 681 1,051 212 13 268 782 50 697 1,339 .225 — — — — 8,166

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Gorman Thomas — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
17 59 3 6 0 0 2 7 5 23 .102

Playoff Batting by Year

Gorman Thomas — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1982 ALCS ML4 5 15 1 1 0 0 1 3 2 7 .067
1982 WS ML4 7 26 0 3 0 0 0 3 2 7 .115
1981 AEDIV ML4 5 18 2 2 0 0 1 1 1 9 .111

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1436 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Gorman Thomas — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home7032271332518131408.228
Away7332406349533137374.222

Last 10 Games — Batting

Gorman Thomas — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1986-10-05 MILTORW 200000011
1986-10-01 MILDETL 100000031
1986-09-28 MILBALW 321100010
1986-09-21 MILBALW 301000012
1986-09-18 MILBOSL 301000001
1986-09-17 MILBOSL 401010001
1986-09-15 MILTORL 310000010
1986-09-09 MILDETW 300000011
1986-09-06 MILCLEL 100000011
1986-09-04 MILCLEL 400000001

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Gorman Thomas — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 6 6 47 3 1 3
3B 2 0 2 0 1 0
OF 1159 1061 2905 53 49 12

Season-by-Season Fielding

Gorman Thomas — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1973 ML4 3B 1 0 1 0 0 0
1973 ML4 OF 50 39 87 1 4 1
1974 ML4 OF 13 11 26 0 0 0
1975 ML4 OF 113 68 215 5 9 1
1976 ML4 3B 1 0 1 0 1 0
1976 ML4 OF 94 62 210 4 3 0
1978 ML4 OF 137 130 345 5 6 0
1979 ML4 OF 152 151 435 4 4 0
1980 ML4 OF 160 160 455 6 7 1
1981 ML4 OF 97 97 221 8 5 3
1982 ML4 OF 157 157 427 11 4 4
1983 ML4 OF 46 46 126 0 1 0
1983 CLE OF 106 106 313 7 6 2
1984 SEA OF 34 34 45 2 0 0
1986 ML4 1B 6 6 47 3 1 3

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Gorman Thomas Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 6
Third Base 1
Left Field 63
Center Field 969
Right Field 136
Designated Hitter 247

Awards & Honors

Gorman Thomas — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1985 TSN Comeback Player of the Year
1982 Player of the Week Week of 1982-08-13
1982 TSN All-Star OF
1979 Player of the Week Week of 1979-04-27

Salary History

Gorman Thomas's recorded salaries total $1,350,000 over 2 seasons, 1985 to 1986. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Thomas's career ran from 1973 to 1986. His seasons before 1985 are not included.

Gorman Thomas — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1986 ML4 AL $60,000
1986 SEA AL $600,000
1985 SEA AL $690,000
Total recorded salary (partial) $1,350,000

Award Voting History

Gorman Thomas — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1982 Most Valuable Player AL 8th 44.0 392 0
1979 Most Valuable Player AL 7th 87.0 392 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Gorman Thomas (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Rob Deer
    .220 avg, 230 HR
  2. 84
    Joc Pederson
    .236 avg, 244 HR
  3. 79
    Jorge Soler
    .238 avg, 215 HR
  4. 77
    Chris Young
    .235 avg, 191 HR
  5. 76
    Jose Cruz
    .247 avg, 204 HR
  6. 74
    Tom Brunansky
    .245 avg, 271 HR

Gorman Thomas: the record in brief

According to the bio, Gorman Thomas debuted on April 6, 1973 and played a final game on October 5, 1986. The season rows list, in order, the Milwaukee Brewers (1973 through 1986), the Cleveland Indians (1983), and the Seattle Mariners (1984 through 1986). At 210 pounds on a 6-foot-2 frame, Thomas is listed as an outfielder. The bio says Thomas threw and hit right-handed. The recorded birth is December 12, 1950, in Charleston, SC, USA. The given name on file is James Gorman Thomas.

Thomas collected 1,051 hits in 4,677 at bats across 1,435 games, good for a .225 batting average, adding 268 homers, 782 RBI, and 50 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .324 clip and slugging .448, Thomas finished with a .772 OPS. The league as a whole hit .259 across Thomas's seasons, which puts the .225 career mark 13.3% below average. The home run peak was 45 in 1979 with the Milwaukee Brewers. Thomas collected a career-high 150 hits in 1980.

Frequently Asked Questions about Gorman Thomas

What years did Gorman Thomas play?
Gorman Thomas played in Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1986.
Was Gorman Thomas a pitcher?
No. Gorman Thomas was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Gorman Thomas hit?
Gorman Thomas hit 268 career home runs with 1,051 hits.
What teams did Gorman Thomas play for?
Gorman Thomas played for 3 teams: the Milwaukee Brewers (1973–1976, 1978–1983, 1986), the Cleveland Indians (1983), and the Seattle Mariners (1984–1986).
Did Gorman Thomas win an MVP award?
No. Gorman Thomas did not win the MVP award.
What awards did Gorman Thomas win?
Gorman Thomas was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
What were Gorman Thomas's career stats?
In 1,435 games, Gorman Thomas had 1,051 hits, 268 home runs, 782 RBI, 681 runs, and 50 stolen bases, with a .225 batting average.
How much did Gorman Thomas earn in his career?
Gorman Thomas's recorded salaries total $1,350,000 over 2 seasons, 1985 to 1986. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Thomas's career ran from 1973 to 1986. His seasons before 1985 are not included.
What was Gorman Thomas's salary?
Gorman Thomas's last recorded salary was $660,000, in 1986. His highest recorded salary was $690,000, in 1985, and his lowest was $660,000, in 1986. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1986.
What position did Gorman Thomas play?
Gorman Thomas played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Gorman Thomas and how much did he weigh?
Gorman Thomas was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 210 pounds.
How many home runs did Gorman Thomas hit each season?
Gorman Thomas's home runs by season: 2 in 1973, 2 in 1974, 10 in 1975, 8 in 1976, 32 in 1978, 45 in 1979, 38 in 1980, 21 in 1981, 39 in 1982, 22 in 1983, 1 in 1984, 32 in 1985, and 16 in 1986. His most in one season was 45, in 1979.
What was Gorman Thomas's career batting average?
Gorman Thomas batted .225 over his career, with 1,051 hits in 4,677 at bats.
How many RBI did Gorman Thomas have?
Gorman Thomas drove in 782 runs in his career.