The Eric Thames Hype Is Real
After hitting his 11th home run on Tuesday, Eric Thames is on pace to hit 81 homers this season. Can he keep it up?
Eric Thames has carried his success from the Korean baseball league last year right over to the Majors, where he’s already hit a league-leading 11 homers in just 22 games at first base for the Brewers.
Many people believe Eric Thames is on performance enhancing drugs. How can a guy go from hitting just 21 bombs in over 600 at bats through two seasons in the big leagues in ’11 and ’12 to the astounding numbers he’s putting up now?
Thames struggled in the big leagues when he first broke onto the scene. He wasn’t a well-known player and really didn’t establish himself as a legitimate big leaguer. So why all of the sudden, five seasons later, is he tearing the cover off the baseball in the big leagues?
Korea Gave Him Confidence
After a very subpar big league career, Thames bounced around to different big league organizations but mostly roamed around in the minors. He then signed with the NC Dinos of the KBO baseball league in Korea in December of 2013. Spending three seasons in Korea really gave Thames a boatload of confidence. He hit 126 home runs through just three seasons in the KBO, including 2015 where he was only the third foreign player ever to join the 40–40 club (40 homers and 40 doubles) while also being named the KBO MVP that same year. Thames was an absolute monster in Korea with a lifetime .348 batting average across three seasons, monster power numbers, and a ridiculous slugging percentage.
I’m sure when Thames left the U.S. to go pursue a baseball career in Korea, he wasn’t knowing what to think of it. Every ball player’s dream is to play in the big leagues. Sure, Thames did for a couple seasons, but he couldn’t solidify himself. There also could have been times where he questioned his abilities. Baseball is so mental. You’re going to have days where you second guess yourself. But going to Korea was the best decision he could have made. He proved overseas that he can be an offensive threat day in and day out in the MLB. I know the KBO is not the same caliber as the MLB, but it’s still professional baseball. You cannot deny the numbers he put up. I don’t care what professional baseball league you’re in. If you put up the type of offensive numbers that Thames did in Korea, you deserve a shot in America. It helps that he already had a track record in the big leagues. That’s why the Brewers took a chance and signed him to a deal. When an organization sees the eye-popping stats he put up, they’re going to get excited. The Brewers were smart to snatch him up. Thames has carried that confidence right from the Korean Baseball league over to the majors. It’s that simple. First hand, he saw what he can do at the plate in Korea. There were no doubts in his mind of who he was as a baseball player. People are so quick to jump on a guy just because they have some success out of nowhere, especially after being out of the big leagues for five seasons. But once you know the track record of Eric Thames and the type of success he endured overseas, it stands to reason.
Not a Fluke
Along with the extra confidence, Thames has completely changed his approach at the plate compared to the last time he was in the majors in 2012. He’s cut out unnecessary movement with his loading foot and lowered his hands. The front leg stays on the ground now as he loads, and his hands are in a better position to come through the hitting zone. Most importantly, he has better plate discipline and looks like a more patient hitter. Thames is using the entire field. He’s hitting the ball where its pitched and keeping it simple with a short, yet powerful stroke.
Many people will continue to say Eric Thames is taking PEDs. But if you consider his past and what he’s done in the last three years overseas, then you can understand why he’s off to such a hot start.
It’s not a fluke. It’s called hard work. Working on your craft day in and day out and believing in your abilities goes a long way in baseball. It certainly does help that Thames is a big, physical presence.
The results will come with hard work and practice — they certainly have for Eric Thames.
