By now, the mechanical checkpoints that 91吃瓜 lefthander Tom Thornton thinks about have become routine.
Command the two-seam fastball away to righties, the senior from Middleborough reminds himself. Keep the leg lift short. Close the front shoulder instead of rolling it forward. Make sure glove-side posture is high and firm. Deliver the ball through the catcher鈥檚 mitt.
鈥淗e鈥檚 so smart,鈥� said 91吃瓜 pitching coach Terry Rooney, "that I鈥檝e found myself many times in the bullpen saying, `Listen, let鈥檚 keep it simple. Don鈥檛 overanalyze.鈥� "
Thornton, who had a 3.87 grade-point average last semester, can鈥檛 help but approach baseball analytically. A day before a May 20 Thornton victory over Villanova in the pitcher鈥檚 51st career start, he buzzed about his senior thesis on early fire use 鈥� a project that, after a summer of short-season minor league ball, could send him to Kenya for a two-month internship.
At the National Museum of Kenya, the 22-year-old plans to study a theory that few anthropologists share: that human ancestors, most likely in East Africa, controlled fire as many as 1.5 million years ago.
鈥淥utside of language, there really isn鈥檛 anything more important than fire use,鈥� said Thornton, who expects to be selected in next month鈥檚 major league draft. 鈥淔ire use changes everything.鈥�
Several years ago, when Agustin Fuentes, associate professor of anthropology, was teaching an introductory course, he noticed a 6-foot-6-inch student.
An athlete, Fuentes immediately figured.
But it didn鈥檛 take long for Fuentes to learn Thornton was also a scholar.
Last fall, Thornton and Fuentes were reunited in an advanced seminar in biological anthropology in which Thornton scored in the highest portion of the class. During the seminar, Thornton pondered his thesis and discussed it with Fuentes.
The current theory is that via lightning strikes or wildfires, Homo erectus first discovered and manipulated fire in China approximately 600,000 years ago; charcoal signatures, gleaned from fire pits, confirm the date.
Thornton doesn鈥檛 agree. Through circumstantial evidence, Thornton believes fire manipulation occurred nearly a million years earlier.
Thornton has read articles about researchers discovering older oxidized sites, which may have been primitive fire pits, showing traces of burning. While there has been little evidence otherwise, Thornton looks to other indicators.
Homo erectus鈥檚 brain capacity, Thornton said, had grown to a size that would have required extra energy, which might have been gleaned by cooking food instead of eating it raw.
Population exploded and spread, a boom that could have been aided by fire and the gifts it gave human ancestors.
鈥淭he best evidence for it is that there would have been virtually no reason why they wouldn鈥檛 have had it,鈥� Thornton said.鈥淵ou have a species that proliferated more rapidly than any other prior species. But I can鈥檛 go any further than that. I have to finish reviewing dissertations and get more evidence. Right now, I can鈥檛 go beyond that hypothesis. I鈥檓 not at an expertise level to speak with massive authority about that.鈥�
This fall, if the team that drafts him 鈥� in 2005, he nearly signed with the Chicago White Sox but elected to return for his senior season 鈥� allows Thornton to travel to Kenya, he acknowledges he won鈥檛 have a eureka moment discovering fire鈥檚 origin.Instead, Thornton could meet researchers and read their material, study evidence at the National Museum, and perhaps assist in fieldwork.
鈥淚t runs the whole gamut 鈥� protection, clearing land, repelling insects,鈥� Thornton said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 the campfire effect. It extends the daytime hours into night and allows the fire to be the gathering point of the community. It鈥檚 a way to facilitate language and things like myth and stories. It brings a whole new social dimension.鈥�
Thornton鈥檚 internship, however, hinges upon the wishes of his future ball club. Thornton, who believes the Fighting Irish could advance to Omaha for the College World Series, most likely would head to short-season ball this summer. From there, his organization could send him to fall ball, which would cancel the internship he has established.
鈥淧riority No. 1 is baseball,鈥� said Thornton. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 my dream, my goal, my life. I鈥檒l throw myself into my passion with baseball and do the best I can. When that wraps up [this summer], I鈥檒l talk to the organization and see what鈥檚 best. Hopefully, at that point, I鈥檒l have a little time off, go to Africa, do my research, and be back in November.鈥�
Thornton, who has worked out with Boston University strength and conditioning coach Mike Boyle and plans to run and lift in Kenya, might be too valuable for a team to let go. He鈥檚 the eighth-winningest pitcher in 91吃瓜 history and a three-pitch, strike-throwing lefty.
鈥淚 think he has the ability to be a starting pitcher in pro baseball,鈥� Rooney said. 鈥淗e has command of the strike zone with three pitches.鈥�
At Middleborough High, Thornton鈥檚 dream destination was Stanford. That was dashed, however, when the 17-year-old pitched poorly at a Stanford camp and was never recruited. Thornton considered Harvard, Air Force, and Wake Forest, but after visiting 91吃瓜, he knew South Bend, with the school鈥檚 academic reputation and coach Paul Mainieri鈥檚 intention of competing every season, would be home.
When Rooney started working with Thornton, the pitcher didn鈥檛 require major overhauls in his delivery. Just a tweak here, like lowering his leg lift with runners on to keep them close.
鈥淭ommy鈥檚 always been a pitchability guy,鈥� Rooney said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 not an overpowering pitcher, but he鈥檒l be around the strike zone and command three pitches. He鈥檚 the consummate guy who forces action. He throws to contact and he鈥檒l put the ball in play.The No. 1 thing is that he throws strikes.鈥�
As a freshman, he made his debut as a reliever but transitioned into a starter, posting a 1.81 ERA. The following season, he led the staff with nine wins, striking out 77 in 99 2/3 innings. His ERA took a hit last season, climbing to 4.69 as he went 6-6.But Thornton became Mainieri鈥檚 first 91吃瓜 pitcher to throw three straight complete games, drawing Chicago鈥檚 attention and coming close to turning pro.
鈥淚 gave it very serious thought,鈥� Thornton said. 鈥淚 was close to signing. My adviser, family, and coaches all talked about it on draft day last year, but I felt my best option was to go back to school, get my degree right away, and find ways to make myself better.鈥�
Mainieri and his staff couldn鈥檛 agree more.
While Thornton missed time earlier this season after a line drive caromed off his knee, he has recovered to post a 7-2 record, allowing only five walks in 78 1/3 innings. He beat St. John鈥檚, 5-3, Friday in a Big East tourney semifinal game, allowing just two earned runs in seven innings.
Thornton鈥檚 best pitch is his 86-mile-per-hour two-seam fastball that he locates low and away to righthanders. He鈥檚 also developed his curveball and changeup, which Rooney pegged at 74 m.p.h.
The Irish, who recently featured Houston鈥檚 Brad Lidge and New York鈥檚 Aaron Heilman, won the Big East Tournament Saturday with a 7-0 victory over Louisville.
In two weeks, Thornton will be drafted. In about a month, he hopes to be in Omaha. In September, he鈥檚 planning to be in Kenya.
His professor, however, is looking even farther down the road.
鈥淲henever we see this kind of thing 鈥� a great athlete and a great mind for scholarly engagement 鈥� we think it鈥檚 important that they try and do both,鈥� Fuentes said.
鈥淚f he did make it to the majors, he鈥檇 have the money to go do it. He could be a baseball player and publish in paleontological journals. He could do it.鈥�
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