Richard William Thon (born June 20, 1958) is a Puerto Rican-American former professional baseball shortstop who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the California Angels, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, and Milwaukee Brewers, during the course of his 15-year big league career. Early life Thon was raised in Puerto Rico after spending only the first two weeks of his life in Indiana where his father had just completed a bachelor's degree at the University of Notre Dame. Professional career He was signed by the California Angels as an amateur free agent on November 23, 1975, while in high school in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. During his 15-year career, Thon spent two seasons with the Angels (1979–1980), seven seasons with the Houston Astros (1981–1987), one season with the San Diego Padres (1988), three seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies (1989–1991), one season with the Texas Rangers (1992), and finished his career with the Milwaukee Brewers (1993). He led the National League in triples in 1982 and was selected to the 1983 All-Star Game. Potential and beaning By 1984, Thon was drawing excitement about his potential. "He's already the best shortstop in the league," said Craig Reynolds, whom Thon had replaced as the Astro shortstop. Al Rosen, Thon's general manager, said, "when I see Dickie Thon, I see a future Hall of Famer." His career was permanently altered on April 8, 1984, when he was hit in the face by Mike Torrez's fastball. Bill James thinks Thon might have been a Hall of Famer had the injury not occurred. The pitch broke the orbital bone around his left eye and ended his 1984 season. He returned in 1985, but had problems with depth perception that permanently hampered his potential. In 1991, Thon received the Tony Conigliaro Award in recognition of his recovery from this severe injury. In 2013, Thon said, "I couldn't see the ball very well after I got hit in my left eye. I had to make adjustments, and open up a little bit and see the ball better. It's tough to do that in the big leagues, but I did manage to play 10 [more] years." He viewed the injury as just one bad moment in a life filled mostly with blessings: "I've had a lot of good things happen to me. I try to think about it that way." Personal life Thon is a