Over two-plus decades, Thom Hinton was the Sea Dogs’ constant
Thom Hinton, the official scorer for the Sea Dogs, works in the press box before the start of Portland’s game against the Rumble Ponies at Hadlock Field on Saturday. Hinton retired after the game, his 1,449th. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer)
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From his seat in the press box at Delta Dental Park at Hadlock Field, Thom Hinton watched modern baseball history unveil itself in real time. In 23 seasons as scorekeeper for the Portland Sea Dogs, Hinton chronicled the fortunes of hundreds of ballplayers. Quite a few went on to strong major league careers. Many more did not.
“It’s baseball. You’ve got to love it. A ball and High-A ball are very, very instructional. Here it’s prove you can do it, and do it consistently,” Hinton, 73, said before a recent Sea Dogs game.
Saturday was Hinton’s final game as the Sea Dogs official scorer. He did 1,449 games in his two-plus decades. He hoped to retire after an even 1,500 games, but recent health issues mean it’s time to stop now. Hinton is at peace with that.
“Once doctors start poking at you, they’re going to find something,” he said. “I didn’t get there, and that’s OK. That’s baseball.”
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You know who did it consistently? Hinton himself. No matter if the play was a routine groundout to shortstop or a run down that involved every player on the field touching the ball at least once, Hinton strived to get it right. Minor league careers ebb and flow on the decision of the official scorekeeper. An extra run batted in or base hit could be the difference between promotion to Triple-A or stagnating in Double-A.
That’s why Hinton made it a point to check with both managers after games. Was there something I missed? You’re so much closer to the field. Is there anything I should review?
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Get it right.
“It’s a question all these players and all these umpires and all these coaches need to ask themselves and others every day, and it’s not a bad question for us, either,” said Hinton, who served in the Navy and worked as IT systems administrator at Midcoast Hospital. “What do I need to do to be better? How do I get to that next level? How do I take that next step?”
Hinton could create a big league All-Star team from the players he saw over the years.
When Jackie Bradley Jr. was playing in Portland, he began the season without being caught stealing on his first dozen or so attempts.
Then there was a steal attempt, and Bradley slid past the bag. The umpire’s not signaling anything. Bradley is sitting on the third base side of second base, and he and the fielder are waiting for a call. The fielder makes a swipe tag at Bradley but misses. The ump is not signaling safe, but he’s not signaling out either.
Bradley knows he can’t sneak back to second without getting tagged, so he takes off for third, where he’s caught in a rundown and is tagged out. How does this tomfoolery go into the official record?
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“Caught stealing,” Hinton said. “The issue is, if you overslide the bag, you don’t have the bag and you’re not credited with the bag. Now if (Bradley) had gotten to third, he’d get credited with two stolen bases.”
Kennedy Caldwell has been Hinton’s apprentice for a decade, filling in occasionally as official scorer if Hinton couldn’t make the game. Caldwell will take over the job.
“It’s going to feel empty. Not nervous, I got those bugs out a long time ago,” Caldwell said.
Throughout a ballgame, Hinton is talkative. He’ll announce the gametime temperature and wind speed as soon as the first pitch is thrown, while the pop of the catcher’s mitt still echoes. He’ll announce his scoring decision, like the “L4” he announced when Portland’s Tyler McDonough lined out to second base during Friday’s game against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
“I want us all to be in sync, but another part of that is, if I say it, it’s easier for me to remember what I said so I don’t have to write it as I go,” he said.
When he was first starting with the Sea Dogs, Chris Cameron, now the team’s vice president of communications and fan experience, handed Hinton some paperwork to fill out. This is to make sure you get paid, Cameron said.
“I said, ‘I get paid?'” Hinton said. “Anyone who is doing this for the money, give up, go home, and go do something else. ‘Cause this is not about the money. This is about getting it right.”
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Tagged: portland sea dogs, Sports Columns, travis lazarczyk
Travis Lazarczyk has covered sports for the Portland Press Herald since 2021. A Vermont native, he graduated from the University of Maine in 1995 with a BA in English. After a few years working as a sports. More by Travis Lazarczyk
