Such is the case here as we attempt to construct a roster from the 40 or so big leaguers who have borne that particular surname. Of course, as always ...
... we are only accepting surnames, so sorry to the one big leaguer (catcher Thompson Orville "Mickey" Livingston) who had "Thompson" as a first name, or to the seven who had it as a middle name, including 327 wins (and 346 losses) worth of left-handed pitchers in Jonathan Thompson Walton "Tom" Zachary (186-191) and Woodrow Thompson "Woodie" Fryman* (141-155), not to mention the fine young second-generation big leaguer the A's currently employ in OF/1B Nicolas Thompson Swisher.
And of course, we will not consider the alternate spellings such as Thomasson and Thomson -- though the latter would provide us a fine RHSP in John Thomson (surprisingly just 60-77 career through 2005) and The Staten Island Scot, All-Star OF Bobby Thomson, who apparently hit quite a famous home run once upon a time.
That said, it's time to meet a real gonzo team, one that will bear the seal of Orion (the hunter) on their uniforms, it's time to assemble ...
THE THOMPSON HUNTERS
** indicates Hall of Famer
* indicates All-Star
MGR: A.M. Thompson (2-6 with St. Paul Apostles in 1884)
STARTING LINEUP
C Tim Thompson (.238 in 187 games, 1954-58 BRK, KCA, DET)
1B Jason D. Thompson* (.261, 208 homers, 1976-86)
2B Robby Thompson* (.257, 119 homers, 1986-96 SFG)
SS Danny Thompson (.248, 1970-76)
3B Hank Thompson (.267, 129 homers, 1947-56, mostly NYG)
LF Milt Thompson (.300+ in three of first four seasons; .274, 1984-96)
CF Ryan Thompson (.243, 1992-2002)
RF Sam Thompson** (.331, 127 homers, 1885-98, 1906)
DH Ruppert "Tommy" Thompson (.266, 1933-39)
BENCH
C John "Tug" Thompson (1-for-5 for 1882 Reds, 20-for-97 for 1884 IND; also OF)
IF Fresco Thompson (.324 for 1929 PHA; .298 over nine seasons, mostly at 2B)
IF Frank E. Thompson (3B/2B was 9-for-53 for 1920 SLB)
OF James "Shag" Thompson (.203, 16-for-79 for 1914-16 PHA)
OF Don Thompson (.218, 1949-54 Brooklyn)
OF Bobby Thompson (.225 in 120 AB for 1978 TEX)
STARTING ROTATION
RHSP Junior Thompson (47-35, seven saves, 1939-42, '46-47)
LHSP Justin Thompson (15-11 as 1997 DET All-Star; 36-43 through 2005)
RHSP Mark Thompson (18-24, 1994-2000 COL, STL)
LHSP John "Jocko" Thompson (6-11, 1948-51 Phillies)
5SP-R Mike Thompson (1-15, 1971-75 Senators, Cardinals, Braves)
BULLPEN
CL-RH Brad Thompson (4-0, 1 save for 2005 STL)
LH-SET Forrest Thompson (7-13, 4 saves for 1948-49 WSH)
RH-SET Rich N. Thompson (3-10, 5 saves, 1985 CLE, 1989-90 MON)
LH-LONG Harry Thompson (0-4, 1 save in 15 games with 1919 WSH, PHA)
RH-LONG Tommy C. Thompson (0-2 in seven games with 1912 NYY)
Thompson's Water Seals of Approval: Only one Thompson has managed in the big leagues, and A.M. (presumably he was a morning person!) compiled just a 2-6 mark in nine games with the 1884 St. Paul Apostles before the team apparently folded ... Though as noted, New York Giants legend Bobby Thomson is not eligible for this team, longtime San Francisco Giant Robby Thompson not only is eligible, he starts at second base ... One of the most interesting things about the All-Star Robby's time in the big leagues is that in eleven years, he was never once involved in a transaction ...
There have been two Jason Thompsons in big league history, and both played 1B; but Jason D. belted 208 homers, or 206 more than Jason M., so it's really not hard to pick the starter in this case ... Danny Thompson, this team's starting shortstop, was diagnosed with leukemia before the 1973 season, but actually played four more years; he died in the winter of 1976 after playing in 98 games for the Rangers and Twins the preceding season ...
You know the pitching staff is in trouble when the "ace" is also the all-time Thompson leader in saves (with a career total of seven) and the only obvious candidate for the fifth starter's role sported a career win/loss mark of 1-15 ...
Among the dozen or so Thompsons not to make the squad are two late-19th / early-20th century hurlers for whom BBRef doesn't even have data on which hand they threw with -- Art (0-1 in 1 start, eight IP, 11 runs, six ER for 1884 Washington Nationals) and Gus (2-2 for 1903 PIT, 2-11 for 1906 STL) ... Two southpaws didn't make the cut, in youngster Derek (0-0 in four games, three starts for 2005 LAD) and Lee "Lefty" ("Leefty"?) Thompson, who was 0-3 in four starts for the 1921 CHW ... Righties Fuller (0-0 in three games with 1911 Boston Rustlers) and Will (0-1 in one start, 3 IP, 1 ER for 1892 PIT) also get the axe ...
As for position players, there are surely some great stories behind the careers of people like C/OF Andrew M. Thompson (who was 4-for-41 for the 1875 Washington Nationals), OF Andy Thompson (1-for-6 for 2000 TOR) and another Toronto OF in Rich C. Thompson, who was 0-for-1 in six games with the 2004 KCR and for whom the Blue Jays acquired the immortal John "Wayback" Wasdin ... So Wasdin went from being traded even-up for Jose Canseco to being dealt 1-for-1 for Rich C. Thompson ...
Then there's backstop Homer Thompson, who had no at-bats in one game for the 1912 NYY, as well as one putout and one error, so he retired with a career average of .500 -- that's a career fielding average of .500 ... Tommy C. and Homer were both with the 1912 NYY, but we can't confirm if they ever formed baseball's only All-Thompson battery ... On the other end of the spectrum is OF Frank (no middle initial) Thompson, who retired with a career batting average of exactly .400 after finishing 2-for-5 with the 1875 Brooklyn Atlantics ...
According to my genealogy-keen significantly better half Sandra, though none of the Thompsons listed above appear to be related to her side of the family, the family tree does branch off into a cousin Danny, an Uncle Donald and her father, Tommy ... I'm no dummy; you'll see that Danny, Don and two Tommy Thompsons all made the team above -- on merit, of course!
But just to cover all the spousal bases, as it were, let's also provide a brief sidebar, showing off baseball's All-Sandy squad; I should note for the record that she spells her name "Sandye," but since when has any baseball player been opposed to one less "E" next to his name? Anyway, it's time to take a walk along ...
SIDEBAR: THE SANDY BEACHES
According to BBRef, there have been 21 players in big league history who have sported the nickname "Sandy" -- 10 of them have been pitchers, including just one lefty, a certain Hall of Famer you've probably already identified. Of the remaining 11, three were primarily catchers, two played primarily 2B and and the other five were primarily outfielders; but if we do some positional gymnastics, we ought to be able to fill out a complete lineup, if not a full roster ...
For instance, Sandy Nava was mostly a catcher, but played seven games at shortstop ... Sandy Alomar Jr. played one game 1B but his pops played there 14 times, so you'd think that the elder Alomar would grab the spot ... However, Senior is also the only Sandy to play 3B, a grand total of 43 times, so he moves over to the hot corner instead while Junior wears the first baseman's mitt ...
Once you get past Koufax and Consuegra, who were a combined 216-119, no other Sandy even reached double digits in career wins, with the other eight combining for a 21-29 career mark ... Sandy Piez was mostly a "designated pinch runner" for the 1914 NYG, long before Herb Washington ever donned the Oakland green and gold, but Piez also compiled a career batting average of .375 by finishing 3-for-8 in 37 games, so he lands the designated role all right, but on this team it's as the designated hitter ... The only Sandy positional player to not make the squad is 1879 Troy Trojan OF Taylor (21-for-97, .216) ...
MGR: Sandy Griffin (2-4 with 1891 Washington Statesmen)
C Sandy Martinez (.230, 1995-2000, '04)
1B Sandy Alomar Jr.* (.273, 111 homers through 2005)
2B Sandy McDermott (0 AB, 0 chances in 1 game for 1885 Baltimore Orioles)
SS Sandy Nava (.177, 1882-86, Orioles, Providence Grays)
3B Sandy Alomar Sr.* (.245 in 15 seasons)
LF Sandy Amoros (.255, 1955-60)
CF Sandy Valdespino (.230, 1965-71)
RF Sandy Griffin (.275 in parts of 1884, '90-91, '93)
DH Sandy Piez (3-for-8 in 37 games for 1914 NYG; mostly PR)
LHSP Sandy Koufax** (165-87)
RHSP Gene C. "Sandy" Vance (9-8, 1970-71 LAD)
RHRP Sandy Consuegra* (51-32, 26 saves)
NOT MAKING THE CUT
RHS-RP Sandy McDougal (1-4, 1 save 1895, 1905)
RHRP Sandy Liebhardt (0-1, 31 games, 1930 PHA, '36 and '38 SLB)
RHRP Joe A. "Sandy" Vance (3-2, 1935 CHW, '37-38 NYY)
RHRP Sandy Wihtol (1-0 in 28 games, 1979-80. '82 CLE)
RHRP Sandy Ullrich (3-3 for 1944-45 Senators)
RHR-SP Sandy Burk (2-11, 1910-13 BRK, STL; 2-0, 1915 Fed League Pittsburgh)
OF Sandy Taylor (.216, 21-for-97 with 1879 Troy Trojans)
So that's about it, Bauxites ... Given the names of the two squads above, the only question is, how can these Thompsons-of-Beaches be any better?
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20051016193129805