Marcus Thames

Marcus Markley Thames (born March 6, 1977) is an American professional baseball player and baseball coach.

The New York Yankees selected Thames 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.

He played for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left fielder and designated hitter from 2002 through 2011.

Thames made his major league debut for the Yankees on June 10, 2002.

He hit a home run in his first at bat off of Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

On June 6, 2003, the Yankees, who were looking for a left-handed batter, traded Thames to the Texas Rangers for Rubén Sierra.

Thames hit a home run in his first at bat with the Rangers.

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.

The last Tiger to hit a home run to that area was Eric Munson in 2004.

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.

He was nicknamed "Country Strong" by then 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.

Thames hit eight home runs in a seven-game stretch from June 11 to 17, 2008, becoming the first Tigers batter in team franchise history to achieve that feat.

During that streak, eight consecutive hits were home runs.

On August 9, 2009, Thames hit his 100th career home run.

He was released from the Tigers at the end of the season.

Thames signed a minor league deal to return to the Yankees on February 8, 2010.

His contract was purchased prior to the regular season, adding him to the Yankees' opening day roster.

Thames began the season platooning in left field with Brett Gardner, although was soon moved to a bench role because of his poor defense and Gardner's ability to hit left-handed pitchers.

Thames would see more regular starts in left when Curtis Granderson was placed on the 15-day disabled list, as well as a few starts in right field when Nick Swisher was sidelined with an injury.

However, in the latter part of the season, he rarely played the outfield, especially after the acquisition of Austin Kearns.

He hit .288 with 12 home runs in 82 games.

Although he usually only started against left-handed pitchers, Thames came through with several big hits in 2010.

On May 17, he hit a walk-off home run against Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon.

On July 4, Thames returned from a DL stint to hit a game-ending single against the Toronto Blue Jays.

He coached with the Yankees from 2016 through 2021, the Miami Marlins in 2022 and the Los Angeles Angels in 2023.

He is currently the hitting coach for the Chicago White Sox.

For his career, Thames averaged a home run every 15.9 at-bats and holds the Tigers franchise record for average at-bats per home run, at 14.8.

Thames attended Louisville High School in Louisville, Mississippi, where he played baseball, basketball, and football.

He attended East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi, and played for their college baseball team.