by Krunk City King$ » Thu Jul 15, 2004 9:52 pm he was hitting almost .370 in the international league...
here is a nice story on him...
Thomas having 'awesome time' with the Braves
By Bob Berghaus, Sports editor
July 14, 2004 11:06 p.m.
Charles Thomas realized he was in a different world when he received meal money for the first time from the Atlanta Braves.
"That money was more than any two-week check I ever got in the minor leagues," said Thomas, the former Asheville High and Western Carolina University star who will continue his major-league career tonight in Atlanta when the Braves host the Montreal Expos.
Major-league meal money is $77.50 per day on the road, or $57.50 more per day than he was receiving in Class AAA. Thomas was also given that amount for each of his first seven home games when he was staying in an Atlanta hotel. That 12-day amount of $930 was bigger than the $837 he was receiving every two weeks from the Richmond Braves before he was called up to the big club at the end of last month.
By the way, the major-league minimum salary is $300,000, which means Thomas is earning about $1,850 for every game he dresses in the majors.
"It's like a different life, said Thomas by phone Wednesday night. "Somebody takes care of everything and if he can't, then they find somebody who can."
Thomas is enjoying his new life. He's hitting .348 with 16 hits in 46 at-bats. Of those hits, nine are for extra bases - four doubles, two triples and three home runs - which has contributed to Thomas' .717 slugging percentage.
More important to Thomas is that the Braves have been winning. When he joined them June 23 in time for their road game against Florida, the Braves lost and dropped to 6 1/2 games behind the leading Marlins. They were in fourth in the National League East and floundering. But the Braves have turned around since then, with help from Thomas.
Since that loss, they've won 13 of 17 games to improve to 45-42 and move into second place, one game behind the Philadelphia Phillies, who felt the sting of Thomas' bat last Saturday. He hit two home runs in leading Atlanta to a 4-0 victory.
"Honestly, the biggest thrill was just being able to help us to win the game after we had lost the night before," he said. "We had let one get away and it was disappointing. So it was a big game for us and I was happy to contribute."
He had similar comments about his first major-league homer, a two-run shot that came July 7 in a 14-2 victory over the Expos in Puerto Rico.
"Honestly, I didn't think too much of it," he said. "I was more happy that it gave us a 2-0 lead."
Thomas does have the ball he hit for his first big-league dinger.
"Eddie Perez helped me get it," said Thomas of his teammate. "It was pretty cool. Eddie had me sign a couple of balls for it."
It's conceivable the Braves could send Thomas back to the minors, but given his hot bat and the fact his arrival coincided with the team's turnaround, he's likely to stick. Thomas says he's not concerned about that. He's just thrilled the Braves are winning and he's been able to contribute.
"I've been having an awesome time," he said.
