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The 2012 season has finally gotten under way, and the Al Thomas Club has jumped out to a 3-0 record to begin the campaign. Under the direction of new pitching coach John Kostas and assistant coaches Mark Daly and Aidan Powers, and team captain Steve Lambert, the A's had their most comprehensive offseason in history, and things have carried into the season.

In game one, the A's took on arch-rival McKay Club in a rematch of last year's quarterfinals. Will Clang scattered 7 hits in 6 innings as the Al Thomas Club defeated the Beacons 6-3. Three players had two hits for the A's, while Tim Vogel picked up a save in his AT debut.

John Kostas, Chris McDonough and Mike Niland led the offense with two hits apiece. Clang walked none and struck out 9 in picking up his first win of the year. Vogel fanned two in his inning of work.

Game two pitted the A's against the up-and-coming East Boston Knights. Dan Gaughan tossed 6 innings of 3-hit shutout ball as the A's won 7-0. Nick Malatos threw a 1-2-3 7th inning in his Al Thomas debut. Bill Donahue and Zach Smith had 2 hits each to lead a balnced attack.  

Game three followed the same blueprint as the first two as sharp pitching and a few timely hits set the tone. Matt McDougall threw 5 shutout innings, allowing 2 hits, as the A's snuck by Beacon Hill 3-0. Tim Vogel pitched a scoreless 6th and Brendan Busa struck out the side in recording the save in his Al Thomas debut.

Steve Lambert led the offense with a 2-2 day, while John Kostas, Bill Donahue and Aidan Powers drove in the runs. Donahue also made a nice catch in right field, while left fielder Zach Smith made a couple of great catches of his own.

Al Thomas and Manager Joe O'Hara are proud to announce several administrative additions for the Al Thomas Baseball Club, Milton's entry in the Thomas A. Yawkey Amateur Baseball League.
 
Milton's Steve Lambert has been named team captain, the first one for the A's since Mike Hannon in the 1990's. Veterans John Kostas (Milton), Mark Daly (Milton) and Aidan Powers (Braintree) have been named assistant coaches and will serve as player-coaches for the team.
 
Lambert followed up his all star rookie and sophomore seasons with the A's with a phenomenal season that recently earned him the 2010 MVP award for the Yawkey League. He led the league in hitting at .453 and was among the top five in virtually every offensive category, finishing first or second in many, and won a gold glove for his outstanding defensive prowess in centerfield, including 13 outfield assists. He also played a bit at first and second base and was 1-0 on the mound.
 
Kostas and Powers have been perennial all stars in the YBL, and for a stretch were the team's ace pitchers, while Daly has made two all star appearances and played various infield positions for the A's.
 
The Al Thomas Club has won its division in four of the last five years and advanced one step further in the playoffs in each of the last two years. Manager Joe O'Hara looks forward to the increased roles of these four players. "I'm excited that these guys are stepping up to assume more responsibility in the advancement of the team," he quipped. "With a few key roster additions and a greater commitment to winning by the entire team, we feel confident that we can sustain a team capable of winning not just one, but a number of championships."
 
The year 2011 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Al Thomas Baseball Club. Anyone who has played for the team should send his contact information to Joe O'Hara at 45 Oval Rd. #27, Quincy, MA 02186 or joeohara64@hotmail.com to ensure proper involvement in any commemorative activities throughout the year.

In 2010, the Al Thomas Club overcame some early struggles to capture the Tarpey Division crown and earn a #3 seed in the playoffs. After a solid 3-games-to-one victory in the quarterfinals against South Boston, the A's saw their 2-games-to-one lead against the defending champions, West Roxbury, disappear as they fell in five games.

In winning its fourth division title in five years, the 2010 Al Thomas Club experienced the emergence of a number of young players poised to lead the team to greater things in the near future. Third-year centerfielder Steve Lambert proved that hard work does pay off as he picked his game up several levels to earn the Yawkey League MVP award. Lambo led the league in hitting, hits, triples, on base percentage and slugging, while finishing second in stolen bases and home runs and in the top five in runs, doubles and rbi. He also played a sensational center field and amassed 13 assists, earning himself a Gold Glove award.

James Katsiroubas was right up there with Lambert in many offensive categories, finishing second in batting with a .447 clip, first in stolen bases and second in doubles, runs and walks. "Katzy" also won a Gold Glove at third base. John Kostas batted a career-high .363, while throwing some mean leather at short, and Peder von Harten earned All-Rookie honors with a .333 freshman year. Chris McDonough boasted a .320 average while playing a solid outfield and first base. Mitch Monke was given a chance to swing the bat and responded with a .389 average in limited duty. Brendan Wheeler overcame a slow start (due to the need for glasses) and crushed the ball in the second have to wind up at .354 and in the top ten in doubles, triples and rbi. He, along with Lambert and Katsiroubas, won Silver Slugger awards at their respective positions.

Ryan Stoller followed up an all star 2009 season by leading the YBL in wins in 2010 with a perfect 8-0 mark and a sizzling 1.20 era and a second-place finish in the Cy Young voting. Mitch Monke jumped into the rotation and went 3-1 with a stingy 1.40 era. Veteran Will Clang joined the staff and was second in wins with 4 to go with a 2.86 era. Southpaw Chris McDonough was 2-0 with two shutouts before elbow trouble shut him down for the year. 

The A's have missed the playoffs just twice in the last 21 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. This past year, Steve Lambert and Ryan Stoller were selected to the YBL all star team that played the U.S. Military all star team at Jim Rice Field in Boston's South End.

The Al Thomas Club faced a grueling stretch of eight games in eleven days as the season wound down, and they needed to win at least six of those games to stay in the hunt for first place. The mission was accomplished and then some, as the A’s won all eight games and overtook rivals South Boston and the McKay Club to seize the division title in the fierce Carl Yastrzemski division of the Dan Tarpey Conference of the Yawkey Baseball League.

The surge landed the A’s a number-three seed in the 2010 playoffs, and they opened with the South Boston Saints in a best-of-five series. In game one, Ryan Stoller tossed a complete game 5-hitter as the Thomas Club won 4-1 behind contributions up and down the lineup. The A’s dropped game two, but came back in style in the third contest, putting up seven runs in the top of the first on route to a 9-4 victory. League batting champion Steve Lambert led the offense with 3 hits, a walk and a stolen base, while James Katsiroubas and John Kostas each collected two hits.

Game four proved to be a classic, as the A’s held a slim 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the 4^th inning, when the wheels fell off the wagon. Five walks and a few base hits gave Southy what appeared to be a commanding 5-1 lead. The Saint’s pitcher, Steve Hueston, was mowing down the Al Thomas Club on two days rest, having thrown a complete game to beat them in game two. But showing the same fierce resiliency it had all season long, the green & white scored a run in the 5^th, then started a rally with two outs in the top of the 7^th as Kostas (double) and Lambert (triple) drove in runs to get it closer and Katsiroubas singled in the tying run.

Katzy then took the mound in relief in the 7^th after two solid innings of relief by Matt Quigg and proceeded to throw seven shutout innings as the A’s came up with three runs in the 13^th inning to take the game and the series!   

As heavy underdogs against the two-time defending champion West Roxbury team, the Al Thomas Club marched into game one of the semifinals and used a 6-run 5^th inning to earn a 6-3 win. After rbi singles by Will Clang, Lambert and Katsiroubas, Chris McDonough launched a 3-run bomb to right field to close out the scoring. Mitch Monke threw a complete game, scattering five hits. Once again, excellent defense led the way for the A’s.

The Bluefish tied the series at one game apiece, but the Thomas Club came back in game three for a 7-2 win. Will Clang scattered 8 hits on route to a complete game 7-2 victory to put Al Thomas up 2-1 in the best-of-five series.

Steve Lambert had three hits, a stolen base and 2 rbi's while Chris McDonough (rbi double) and John Kostas (2-run triple) each had 2 hits to pace the offense.

West Roxbury went on to take games four and five and win the series to advance to the finals. It was a disappointing finish, but the Al Thomas Club had a great season and many bright spots on which to build for the future.

The Al Thomas A's battled all season long in the Carl Yastrzemski Division, the toughest division in the Tarpey Conference. The club spent the majority of the season chasing South Boston, Beacon Hill and the McKay Club, but for the third time in four years, The Thomas Club strapped it on when the going got tough and pulled out yet another division title. This year, they won 8 games in a row, including a brutal five-games-in-five days stretch, with huge wins against the McKay Club and two-time defending champ, West Roxbury.

The 2010 Al Thomas Club is a very deep and talented one. Many key contributions were made up and down the roster during the recent surge, as the A's captured the third seed in the playoffs.

One of the team's most significant leaders was Steve Lambert, who in his third year decided to pick his game up a few notches, resulting in one of the best seasons in Yawkey League history. Lambo led the league in hitting for most of the year and ended up winning the batting title with a .453 mark, edging teammate James Katsiroubas, who finished with a 4-4 game that raised his average to a robust .447, arguably the best 1-2 combo in the storied history of the Al Thomas Club. Lambo led the league in hitting, hits, triples and OPS, while finishing top 5 in runs, rbi (from the leadoff spot), home runs, OBP (2nd to Katzy), Slugging and stolen bases (2nd to Katzy). Steve also played a gold glove centerfield, had 9 outfield assists, played flawlessly at second base and first base, and was 1-0 on the mound with a 2.00 era.

Ryan Stoller led the league with 8 wins (against no losses) and was third wth a 1.20 ERA, and the team was third in the league in ERA. As a team, the Al Thomas Club finished second in batting, first in hits, doubles, triples (crushing the league record), slugging, OBP and OPS, and second in rbi and stolen bases. Lambert and Stoller were both elected All Stars and played against the U.S. Military All Stars at Jum Rice Field in July.

A job well done for a talented group of players, but they know the real season will begin soon! The team wishes speedy recoveries for players Pat Kelleher and Mike Niland, who sustained major injuries that ended their seasons in July. Kelleher broke his leg, while Niland crushes his PCL while trying to turn a doubleplay in a game. You're still on the field in spirit, guys!