Marcus Thames
Thames played the past six seasons with the Detroit Tigers.
Collegiate career
He attended East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi.
Professional career
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.
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.
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. 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's spot on the roster.
2008 season
Thames entered the 2008 season as candidate for a reserve role with the Tigers.
However, after the Tigers released Jacque Jones, Leyland named Thames the starting left fielder. Thames hit eight home runs in seven consecutive games from June 11 to June 17, becoming the first Tiger in team history to achieve that feat. In mid-April, Thames was injured with strained cartilage in his rib cage, and was placed on the disabled list.
He returned on June 7, 2009.
Thames was released from the Tigers at the end of the 2009 season.
2010 season
Thames signed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees on February 8, 2010.
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.
In the summer of 2007, Thames and his wife welcomed their first child, a girl they named Jade.