From Bearden to the big leagues
The hit planted a seed in Tate’s mind, and the first-year coach held onto it until Thomas arrived from West Valley that fall to begin his freshman year.
“Before he came out on the field for fall workouts, I met with the older players,” Tate said. “I told them I wanted them to treat him like he’s been here forever because he’s going to play on TV one of these days.”
It’s been 16 years since Tate offered that prediction, and it has been proven correct countless times.
After being drafted in 2014 by the Toronto Blue Jays, Thomas has played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals, Cleveland Guardians and Kansas City Royals.
Most recently, he signed with the Atlanta Braves, located just three hours south of his alma mater in west Knoxville.
And when Tate arrived home on Thursday, Aug. 7, he turned on his television to find announcers talking about the same player who had learned from him almost two decades ago.
“I turned the channel right when he was on-deck to pinch-hit, and I got my iPad up to try to film it,” said Tate, who moved on from Bearden in 2020 to become the sports information director at Farragut High School. “He hit a double down the line, and the announcers talked about him a lot.”
The discussion ranged from Thomas’ likeable nature to his walk-up song, Brooks and Dunn’s “Boot Scootin’ Boogie.”
Tate spotted that same laid-back nature in a young Thomas, who flashed his talent early during Tate’s
second year as the Bearden coach.
“He started the first game his freshman year,” Tate said. “We went down to a tournament in Florida, and he led all the teams in that tournament with nine hits through five games.”
Thomas went on to start most of the games that season, playing in the corners in right or left field.
As a sophomore, he moved over to centerfield and hit leadoff, becoming one of the top home-run hitters in the state while delivering a .404 average at the dish.
“And nobody could ever intentionally walk him,” Tate said, “because we had three senior All-State players in the two, three and four spots. So they couldn’t pitch around Lane.”
Nor could they score on him — something Maryville players learned the hard way.
“During a district game that year, (Maryville) had a runner on third with one out, and they hit a ball to the warning track in center field at Bearden,” Tate said. “I thought that would be a run, and the Maryville runner was going three-quarter speed toward home thinking he’d score. Lane threw a one-hopper that beat the guy to home plate. I was shocked, and so was that runner.”
Through his final two years at Bearden, Thomas’ stock continued to rise. He posted a .410 batting average as a senior, slamming 17 home runs with 40 RBIs before being drafted by Toronto in the fifth round at 144th overall.
“When he first got drafted, I went and saw him with the Gulf Coast Blue Jays,” Tate said. “They were playing at the Phillies’ stadium, and I was so nervous and excited his first at-bat.”
He stayed the rest of that week to watch Thomas, then saw him again in Bluefield, West Virginia, and again in Nashville when Thomas starred for the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds.
The following continued once Thomas made the big leagues with St. Louis, Washington, Cleveland and Kansas City.
It continued this season, too, as Tate caught the Braves’ series against Tampa Bay from Tuesday, Sept. 8 to Thursday, Sept. 10.
And when Tate spotted Thomas warming up inside Truist Park, he might have thought back to the moment he first saw that potential 16 years ago.
“I’m just so happy for him and proud of him,” Tate said. “His wife, Chase, I had her in class before I had Lane, and his whole family is great. It’s been a pleasure to watch him succeed.”
