Marcus Thames
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Detroit Tigers — No. 33 | |
| Left fielder / First baseman | |
| Born: March 6, 1977 Louisville, Mississippi |
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| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| June 10, 2002 for the New York Yankees | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through May 28, 2008) |
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| Batting average | .242 |
| Home runs | 68 |
| Runs batted in | 185 |
| Teams | |
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Marcus Markley Thames (pronounced "TIMMS")[1] (born March 6, 1977 in Louisville, Mississippi) is an outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball who currently plays for the Detroit Tigers. He attended East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi, where he was known by friends and teamates as "Slick." He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 30th Round of the 1996 amateur draft. Thames has a reputation as a dangerous hitter with raw power.
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[edit] Early career
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 17th 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 Cy Young Award-winning pitcher 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 [1].
On June 6, 2003, the Yankees (looking for a left-handed batter) traded Thames to the Texas Rangers for Rubén Sierra. 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 2006 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.
[edit] 2007 season
Thames spent a considerable amount of time during 2007 spring training learning the first base position, as Leyland sought ways to get Thames some at bats. As a result, he has spent more time at first than in the outfield, often starting games when the opposing pitcher is left-handed.
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 and beat the Minnesota Twins. On July 6, he hit the third grand slam of his career at Comerica Park against the Boston Red Sox [2]. 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.
On July 18, Thames was removed from the game against the Twins in the eighth inning after an apparent hamstring injury. The following day, the Tigers placed Thames on the 15-day disabled list and recalled Timo Pérez from the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens to take Thames' spot on the roster [3].
Thames enters the 2008 season as candidate for a reserve role with the Tigers. He is expected to split time in left field with Jacque Jones and back up first baseman Miguel Cabrera.
[edit] Personal
Thames' 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.
In the summer of 2007, Thames and his wife welcomed their first child, a girl they named Jade. Thames also has another daughter, Deja (born in 1997), from a previous relationship.
His nickname, "Slick", is the result of getting his hair cut too short when he was four years old [4].
Thames served in the National Guard from 1994 to 1998.
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
- ESPN.com profile
- MLB profile
- Minor league statistics
