Joe Thatcher

The first relief pitcher to break into the big leagues from Howard County, Joe Thatcher carved out a solid career at baseball’s highest level over nearly a decade of competition. Thatcher starred in both baseball and basketball while at Kokomo High School and then went on to pitch four seasons at Indiana State University. The southpaw served as the Sycamores’ closer in 2004, his senior year with the team.

Undrafted out of college, Thatcher signed with the River City Rascals of the independent Frontier League in 2004. Thatcher was then signed by the Milwaukee Brewers as a free agent in 2005 and made his Major League debut with the San Diego Padres in 2007.

Over his 9-year MLB tenure, Thatcher had stints with the Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Houston Astros between 2007 and 2015.  His best statistical season came as a member of the Padres in 2010 when Thatcher appeared in 65 games and had a miserly ERA of 1.29.

Thatcher pitched in 405 games in the majors as a left-handed relief pitcher with a career ERA of 3.38 while collecting 270 strikeouts. He retired from professional baseball in 2016 and then spent time as an assistant baseball coach with the Indiana University Kokomo Cougars.