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November 30, 2006

By PEDRO VELAZCO The Kokomo Tribune Thu Nov 30, 2006, 12:05 AM EST

Joe Thatcher’s last game in Hawaii left a lasting impression.

“I got trampled,” he said.

The Kokomo High School graduate was on the mound, completing a player-of-the-game performance in relief for the North Shore Honu as his squad won the championship game of the Hawaii Winter Baseball league in Honolulu.

The last batter for Waikiki hit the first pitch to center field for the final out.

“It was one of those things where as soon as it was hit, everybody knew it was going to be the last out,” Thatcher said. “Next thing I knew, I’m on the bottom of the pile.”

There was no better place to be at that moment. Thatcher was dominant in picking up the win in the title tilt. He pitched the final 41/3 innings, allowing no runs, just one hit and no walks while striking out three. North Shore topped the Waikiki BeachBoys 5-1 in the championship game of the four-team league.

“I hadn’t won a championship since I played down at UCT [youth baseball league] growing up,” said Thatcher, one of four players in the Milwaukee Brewers organization playing in the winter league. “It felt really good. It was one of those things where guys came from all over and came together. We really wanted to win and go out on top. It’s always good to go back to the organization and be able to say we won a championship. People can be labeled as winners, and that is [something] good to be known as.”

The Hawaii Winter Baseball League draws prospects from major league organizations and also from Asian leagues. For Thatcher and his Brewers organization teammates, playing in Hawaii was both an opportunity, and a reward for strong seasons. The championship game was Nov. 22.

Usually used as a set-up man out of the bullpen, Thatcher’s long stint in the title game came as a surprise. He entered with two outs in the fifth inning and his squad behind 1-0.

“That’s the longest [pitching stint] I’ve had since my days when I was starting in college,” the former Indiana State player said. “They kept asking if I was all right after every inning and I kept saying yeah. After the seventh inning, I thought they’d go to another closer.

“There was a great atmosphere and our team really wanted to win the championship. I just went out there and caught some breaks and had a really good outing. Things worked out for us.”

The championship game drew 3,783 to the University of Hawaii’s field as locals turned up to support the league in its first season back after several years of inactivity.

Thatcher spent two months in Hawaii playing in the league, amassing a great stat line. He appeared in 14 games, pitching 242/3 innings. Thatcher’s ERA was a tiny 0.73. He allowed just two earned runs, struck out 27 and walked only five. Opponents batted just .189 against him.

After finishing the season in Double-A Huntsville, Thatcher said he was glad for the time in Hawaii.

“I pitched about as good as I could; played against some great competition,” Thatcher said.

He said it’s a positive “any time you can get out and keep throwing. I worked on my change-up a lot when I was out there and I got pretty comfortable with that. That was one of my main goals. I used it in big situations, which I’d never done before.”

More vivid than his time on the mound were his cultural experiences, seeing Hawaii for the first time and teaming up with several players from overseas.

“One of the biggest things that I enjoyed was playing with guys from the Japanese professional leagues,” Thatcher said. “We had six or seven of them. They were really excited to play over here. They play the game a little differently in Japan — they had a lot of energy.”

Thatcher also noted the difference between the culture of Hawaii versus all his other stops on the U.S. mainland. Living in dorms with players from all four teams in the league, he had plenty of chances to see Hawaii and hang out with new friends.

“It was great because most of the guys in the whole league stayed in these dorms,” he said. “It’ll be fun running into those guys in future years. The dorms were right on Waikiki beach. It was unbelievable. There were always things to do.”

Thatcher is enthused about the feedback he and his Brewer teammates received from the organization.

“It only helped us all being out there,” he said. “The general manager and the front office were following what we were doing. It’s going to be exciting next year. As long as you’re in Double-A, then you’ve always got a shot, being one phone call away from being called up to Milwaukee.”

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