You've reached the website of the Al Thomas Club of the Yawkey Amateur Baseball League. The YBL is one of the largest amateur baseball leagues in New England, consisting of 17 teams in and around the city of Boston.
The Al Thomas A's have just completed their 27th year in 2008, with 5 league championships and 15 division championships. This year, the Al Thomas Club won a fierce battle to capture the last playoff spot, but bowed out gracefully in 2 games to the #1-seed Malden in the playoffs.
The A's added seven 19-year-old rookies from Milton this year: Steve Lambert, Ryan Stoller, Greg Potts, Mike DeBesse, Chris Moore, Harry Durgin and John Foley, in addition to 18-year-old Ricky Salvucci of Quincy and 19-year-old Dan Gaughan of Braintree. With some new additions expected, the future looks bright for the team.
The A's have missed the playoffs just twice in the last 19 years and have never recorded a season under .500 in the Yawkey League. The Thomas Club was fortunate enough to send 42 players to Fenway Park as All Star representatives over the years.
We are proud to boast of the success of one of our alumni, Rich Hill of Milton, who battled through a rough beginning to his major league career before enjoying a solid second half of the season for the Chicago Cubs in 2006. In addition to recording the Cubs' only complete game and shutout of the year, Rich also set the Cubs' record for K's by a lefty with 11. In 2007, Rich enjoyed his first full year in the majors, posting an 11-8 record with an era of 3.92 and 183 strikeouts. Rich suffered a back injury in Spring Training 2008, and it affected him throughout the entire season, as he tried to beat the mysterious injury by shutting it down early. He recently returned from Venezuela, throwing some winter ball and hopefully finding the cause of his ailment and treating it. We are proud of Rich and wish him continued success in his professional career. As an update, Rich was traded, Monday, February 2nd to the Baltimore Orioles.
Primarily based in Milton and on the South Shore, the team has branched out over the years to include players from all areas. Many colleges have been represented on this team, including Boston College, Bowdoin, Babson, Curry, Holy Cross, UMass Lowell, Harvard, Massasoit, Bridgewater St., Salem St., Fairfield, Nichols, Westfield St., Franklin Pierce, UMass Boston, Northeastern, Boston University, Providence, Suffolk, Assumption, UVM, U Maine and many more. We play a 32-game schedule, followed by playoffs for 8 of the 17 teams. We benefit from top-level SSUA umpires and a fierce competition level.
The Al Thomas Club is sponsored by the Alfred D. Thomas Funeral Home in Milton. Mr. Thomas has been the franchise holder since the team's inception and regularly attends the games each year, along with our loyal fan base. Mr. Thomas has been one of the best sponsors and contributors to the YBL in the league's history, and was inducted into the Yawkey League Hall of Fame in 2001.
The team usually begins its spring with batting practice and throwing indoors at the batting cages around mid-late January. Anyone interested in trying out for the team can contact manager Joe O'Hara at joeohara64@hotmail.com or 617-821-2642.
Any Coaches interested in volunteer coaching opportunities with the Al Thomas Club, please contact Joe at joeohara64@hotmail.com and include a brief baseball background. The team is also in need of a scorekeeper.
