Marcus Thames

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Marcus Thames bigraphy, stories - American baseball player

Marcus Thames : biography

March 6, 1977 –

Marcus Markley Thames ( ) (born March 6, 1977) is a former American professional baseball outfielder. He played for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers.

For his career, Thames has averaged a home run every 15.4 at bats. If he had the requisite 3,000 qualifying plate appearances, he would have the 10th best home run to at bat ratio among active players (25th all time). He also reached 100 home runs in 1,549 at bats which is fewer than any other player with 100 home runs.

Coaching career

Tampa Yankees

On January 10, 2013, Thames was named the hitting coach of the Class A-Advanced Tampa Yankees.http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/mlb-rumors/21539723/marcus-thames-joins-yankees-as-a-minor-league-hitting-coach

Collegiate career

He attended East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi.

Personal

Thames’s mother, Veterine, has been paralyzed since an auto accident when Marcus was five years old. As a result, she has only been able to watch him play in person a handful of times.

His nickname, "Slick", is the result of getting his hair cut too short when he was four years old.http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070707/SPORTS0104/707070367/1129

Thames served in the National Guard from 1994 to 1998.

Professional career

First stint with the Yankees

He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 30th round of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft.

Thames warranted "prospect" status from the Yankees following a standout 2001 season for the AA affiliate Norwich Navigators, in which he batted .321 with 31 home runs and 97 runs batted in. For his efforts he was named to the Baseball America minor league all-star team.

On June 10, 2002, Thames began his major league career with a bang as he was the 80th player in history to hit a home run in his first at bat. Thames hit the home run off the first pitch he saw from Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks. As his coaches and teammates were laughing in amazement, Thames stepped out of the dugout for a curtain call to a capacity crowd at Yankee Stadium.

Texas Rangers

On June 6, 2003, the Yankees (looking for a left-handed batter) traded Thames to the Texas Rangers for Rubén Sierra. at Baseball-Reference.com Thames hit a home run in his first at bat with the Rangers.

Detroit Tigers

Thames was granted free-agency on October 15 and signed with the Detroit Tigers on December 7.

The next two seasons saw Thames splitting time between the Tigers and their AAA affiliate Toledo Mud Hens. While dominating the AAA level, he found it difficult to crack the outfield rotation in place with the parent club. However, in 2006 Thames made his first opening day roster with the blessing of new manager Jim Leyland. Playing sparsely early in the season, he soon seized his opportunity for extended playing time due to injuries to Dmitri Young and Craig Monroe. Although he suffered through a slump near the end of the season, Thames was a key component to the Tigers vast improvement in the season. He set career highs in every offensive category, hitting .256 with 26 home runs and 60 RBIs in only 348 at bats, finishing with a solid .882 OPS. Infamously nicknamed "Country Strong" by Tigers broadcaster Rod Allen.

Thames spent a considerable amount of time during 2007 spring training learning the first base position, as Leyland sought ways to get Thames at-bats.

On July 1, 2007, Thames hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to score the only run in the game in a victory over the Minnesota Twins. On July 6, he hit the third grand slam of his career at Comerica Park against the Boston Red Sox. On July 8, Thames hit one of the longest home runs in the history of Comerica Park. Batting against pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Red Sox, Thames hit a home run to deep center field that bounced off the camera area. The last Tiger to hit a home run to that area was Eric Munson in 2004.