From Falconi Field, er, uh, Consol Energy Park, to the major leagues

There is finally a player who has gone from playing at the ballpark on the hill - choose your favorite name, Falconi Field or Consol Energy Park - to a major league roster.

OK, so it's not a former Wild Thing and the guy only played one inning at the ballpark, but Joe Thatcher is the answer to a trivia question.

Thatcher, a left-handed relief pitcher for the River City Rascals in 2005, was traded Wednesday by the Milwaukee Brewers to the San Diego Padres in a four-player deal. Thatcher will join the Padres Thursday in Houston.

Thatcher made only one appearance at then-Falconi Field in 2005. He pitched one scoreless inning in the 2005 Frontier League All-Star Game. The Brewers purchased Thatcher's contract less than a week after the all-star game, so he missed the Rascals' series in Washington later in the season.

Thatcher was a combined 3-1 with 1 save and a 1.43 ERA for Class AA Huntsville and Class AAA Nashville this year.

Thatcher likely won't be the only player to go from playing in Washington to the majors this season. Former Kenosha pitcher Matt Whilhite is a reliever for the Angels' Triple-A affiliate and made his professional debut at Falconi Field. He's a candidate for a September call-up. The Pirates also could give a call-up to former Pine-Richland catcher Neil Walker, who played at Falconi in high school playoff games. A longer shot to make it to the majors this season is former River City second baseman Justin Christian, who played two games in Washington (going 1-for-6) with the Rascals in 2003. Christian is playing for the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate.

Does anybody recall the current major leaguer (he's never played for the Pirates) who visited the Wild Things' clubhouse before a game in 2003 and stayed to sign autographs for fans?