Major Relief: Matt Thornton Went From Hoop Dreams to Field of Dreams
The Chicago White Sox started the baseball season last week with a closer-by-committee. Former college basketball player Matt Thornton, a lefthanded reliever, notched new manager Robin Ventura's first victory, a 4-3 decision over the defending American League champion Texas Rangers. Rangers reliever Mike Adams (Texas A&M-Kingsville) and San Diego Padres outfielder Will Venable (Princeton) are other active major leaguers who played college hoops.
Thornton is the latest among the following lengthy alphabetical list of ex-college cagers who went on to play for the White Sox: Jerry Adair, Bill Almon, Bosey Berger, Tim Cullen, Dick Culler, Guy Curtright, Larry Doby, Walt Dropo, George Earnshaw, Paul Edmondson, Sammy Esposito, Kerby Farrell, Dave Frost, Jim Geddes, Paul Gregory, Frank Grube, Steve Hamilton, Atlee Hammaker, Gail Hopkins, Ron Jackson, Duane Josephson, Howie Judson, Bob Keegan, Don Kessinger, Art Kusnyer, Vance Law, Kenny Lofton, Tony Lupien, Ted Lyons, Jim Lyttle, Ed Madjeski, Sam Mele, Lyle Mouton, Cotton Nash, Tim Nordbrook, Gary Peters, Don Rader, Gary Redus, Ron Reed, Steve Renko, Jeff Shaw, Art Smith, Jimmy Stewart, Tim Stoddard, Billy Sullivan, Cecil Upshaw, Joe Vance, Frank Whitman and Jim Wilson
The 6-6 Thornton averaged 5.8 points and 2.4 rebounds per game for Grand Valley State (MI) from 1995-96 through 1997-98, shooting 54.7% from the floor his last two seasons before becoming a first-round draft choice by the Seattle Mariners. Thornton is among the following alphabetical list of major leaguers who were first-round selections in the amateur baseball draft after playing varsity college basketball:
| First-Round Choice | Position | College | MLB Team Selector | Pick Overall | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Almon | SS | Brown | San Diego Padres | 1st | 1974 |
| Andy Benes | RHP | Evansville | San Diego Padres | 1st | 1988 |
| Tony Clark | 1B | Arizona/San Diego State | Detroit Tigers | 2nd | 1990 |
| Cameron Drew | OF | New Haven CT | Houston Astros | 12th | 1985 |
| Atlee Hammaker | LHP | East Tennessee State | Kansas City Royals | 21st | 1979 |
| Rick Leach | 1B-OF | Michigan | Detroit Tigers | 13th | 1979 |
| Jim Lyttle | OF | Florida State | New York Yankees | 10th | 1966 |
| Ben McDonald | RHP | Louisiana State | Baltimore Orioles | 1st | 1989 |
| Dennis Rasmussen | LHP | Creighton | California Angels | 17th | 1980 |
| Jeff Shaw | RHP | Rio Grande OH | Cleveland Indians | 1st | 1986 |
| *Mike Stenhouse | OF-1B | Harvard | Oakland Athletics | 26th | 1979 |
| Matt Thornton | LHP | Grand Valley State MI | Seattle Mariners | 22nd | 1998 |
| Dave Winfield | OF | Minnesota | San Diego Padres | 4th | 1973 |
*Did not sign that year.