Centreville High School graduate and former Major League Baseball pitcher Matt Thornton addresses the Centreville Alumni Association during their annual banquet at the high school gym Saturday.
By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
CENTREVILLE — The Centreville Alumni Association’s annual banquet Saturday was visited by a notable alum of the high school.
Matt Thornton, who starred in basketball and baseball for Centreville and played in Major League Baseball for 13 seasons, was the guest of honor at Saturday’s banquet, attended by dozens of Centreville High School alumni dating as far back as the 1940s.
In his brief address to the crowd, Thornton, who now lives in the Phoenix area, said he enjoyed growing up in Centreville and playing sports in the village.
“Looking back at all the things I’ve done, some of the best memories came from here,” Thornton said.
Thornton, who said he considered baseball a secondary sport during high school, was drafted twice by MLB teams – in 1995 by the Detroit Tigers in the 27th round, and in 1998 by the Seattle Mariners with the No. 22 overall pick out of Grand Valley State University.
He played 2004 and 2005 with the Mariners before being dealt to the Chicago White Sox in March 2006, where he played up until mid-2013, when he was traded to the Boston Red Sox for their World Series run and received a championship ring despite not playing in the postseason. He played three more years after that between the New York Yankees, Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres, retiring after the 2016 season just shy of his 40th birthday.
In high school, he starred in basketball, playing on the 1993-94 Bulldogs boys’ basketball team that made it to the state semifinals. He recalled plenty from that time in his address, in particular how involved and engaged the community was with the team at the time.
“I remember the city closing here for a basketball game. We literally shut down when we had a game. And it wasn’t just shut down when a game was going on, it was like, as our bus left, people closed businesses, left their houses, lights were off, and here you all came,” Thornton said. “It’s something I’ll never forget. It’s been a long time since that, but what a special place to grow up.”
Thornton recalled one moment in particular regarding the community support in an interview following the banquet.
“I remember walking into a district game somewhere in the county, and I remember our team bus showed up, and literally our fans had already consumed one side of the stadium, and they’re waiting [for us,]” “It was three hours before the game, like the bus had just showed up, and our fans, the entire town, were already there. That’s how much it meant to them.”
Following his playing career, Thornton helped contribute funding for the baseball program and its field, thanks to a grant from Major League Baseball a few years back, which helped cover some of the $150,000 total cost of a new baseball field located near the high school.
“It’s something I found out about, that the [MLB] Players Association was doing things for different communities to help build fields, and I asked what it took, and they said to just let them know and they’ll check it out,” Thornton said after the banquet. “They were a little not big into it when they came to check it out, and I said, the complex they have there, they’re playing baseball on part of a football field next to a jail, and I think the softball field had maybe been built and needed to be updated, and they came in and did their thing. I got it started and pointed in the right direction, and MLB does a lot of great things like that.”
Thornton said he got his first chance to see the new baseball and softball complex earlier Saturday, and said it looked “beautiful.”
“I love the woods in the background, it’s just beautiful. It looks like it’s maintained well, and it’s really nice,” Thornton said.
Centreville officials have, in recent weeks, looked into the possibility of naming the baseball field after Thornton, something Thornton himself said he hadn’t been aware of before Saturday. While he said it’d be “great” to possibly receive the honor, he was humbled by the possibility.
“It’d be great. Anytime you can be honored for the career you had, I know most people in town remember me for basketball, but baseball turned out to be the one. I’m glad I could help them out with [the field], and I know they said they use the facility for some tournament stuff because of the numerous fields, and it’s wonderful,” Thornton said. “I’m glad to help out, and I don’t need anything from them; they already gave me enough around here.”
In his speech, he thanked the community for their support of his career over the years, and said it was great to be back in his hometown.
“Thanks for having me, I had a great run, and I appreciate everyone that’s supported me over the years and tuned in once in a while. I hope I didn’t let you down too often,” Thornton said. “I did my best, and I hope I did you proud.”
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@threeriversnews.com.