Marcus Thames

Marcus Thames made an unforgettable debut with the New York Yankees on June 10, 2002, when he hit a home run off future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson in his first major-league at-bat. Hitting home runs became the trademark for the right-handed slugger, not because of the total number he amassed over his 10-year major-league career, but because of the frequency and timeliness with which he hit them. Thames never played a season as a full-time starter. He accepted his role as a part-time outfielder and designated hitter, whose value stemmed from his penchant for hitting home runs at opportune times.

Marcus Markley Thames (pronounced “TIMMS”) was born on March 6, 1977, in Louisville, Mississippi, a small town in the central part of the state, approximately 100 miles northeast of Jackson. He was only 5 years old when his mother, Veterine Thames, became paralyzed as a result of an automobile accident. Ms. Thames was a passenger in an auto driven by G.W. Hughes, the father of four of her five children. Her spine was permanently damaged, leaving her unable to move her legs and torso. She was also unable to hold items.1

Marcus was the youngest of his siblings: sisters Tabitha and Carnetta, and brothers E.W. and Stacy. Hughes, who was not injured in the crash, was not significantly involved in the care of the children.2

With Ms. Thames unable to care for herself or her family, the children were moved into the homes of relatives in Louisville. When Stacy and Tabitha reached the age of responsibility for household duties, the children moved back home with their mother. The family’s income consisted solely of welfare and food stamps.3

Thames’s career was inspired by his mother’s perseverance in dealing with her disability. In an interview with the New York Times in 2006, he said, “When you have somebody who can’t get themselves a glass of water, you look at this baseball stuff and it’s easy in comparison. You can’t take life for granted. It just made me a stronger person.”4

His former Louisville High School baseball coach Charlie Smith remarked about Thames, “He wanted to play, he wanted to be good, and he’s talented. But I think the driving force of his mom is 90 percent of it for him.”5

Thames emerged from his difficult upbringing to become involved in sports. As a 16-year-old, he played on the Louisville team that won the Mississippi Junior Dizzy Dean championship and finished fifth in the World Series in Jasper, Alabama.6

He went on to play baseball and football for Louisville High School. He joined the Mississippi National Guard after his junior year to earn extra money for the family. He came back from his nine-week basic training duty 20 pounds bigger and stronger. He learned mental toughness from the disciplined environment.7

Thames came into his own during his senior year. As a wide receiver on his football team that advanced to the state playoffs in 1994, he led the team with 11 receiving touchdowns.8 He also earned a second-team all-state selection in 1995 as a senior infielder and pitcher.9

Thames received a baseball scholarship from East Central Community College, 50 miles from his hometown. He spent the 1996 season under head coach Jamie Clark, to whom Thames later attributed the development of his work ethic. He played well enough to attract the attention of the New York Yankees, who selected him in the 30th round of the 1996 amateur draft.

Thames did not sign after the draft, instead choosing to return to East Central for the 1997 season. The school had one of its best seasons in recent history, led by Thames’s .420 batting average, 13 home runs, and 70 RBIs. The team finished in second place among junior colleges in Mississippi and fourth in Region 23 of the national junior-college postseason. Thames was named to all-state and all-region teams.10 He didn’t wait for the coming June draft, instead signing with the Yankees and scouts Joe Robison and Leon Wurth on May 16, 1997.11

Thames had a promising minor-league debut season in the rookie Gulf Coast League in 1997, earning league all-star team honors.12 Yet a Tampa sportswriter characterized him as an “untamed talent with untapped potential.” Lee Mazzilli, his manager at Tampa in 1998, saw him as coachable and willing to learn. Mazzilli said, “He’s learning the strike zone. The situations of hitting. Knowing what his limitations are. Knowing how to hit in game situations. Not just going up there free swinging.”13 Thames ended the season with a respectable .285 batting average, 11 home runs, and 59 RBIs in 122 games.

Thames struggled for the next two seasons with Double-A Norwich. He would later say it was his inability to hit sliders that caused his performance to drop off. At one point he considered giving up the game.14

In 2001, his fifth minor-league season and his third with Norwich, Thames had a breakout year. He slashed .321/.410/.598, with 31 home runs (a Norwich franchise record) and 97 RBIs. With Juan Rivera (in a split-season between Norwich and Triple-A Columbus), Thames was named the co-winner of the Player of the Year Award for the Yankees’ minor-league organization.15 Norwich manager Stump Merrill remarked about Thames’s impact, “I’m surprised Marcus didn’t get the MVP of the league, but he’s certainly been our MVP.16

Coming off the best season of his career, Thames impressed Yankee manager Joe Torre in spring training the next year, despite not having Triple-A experience. With Rondell White injured during spring camp, Thames became one of Torre’s considerations for backfilling the veteran outfielder at the start of the season. Thames was enthusiastic about his opportunity to get visibility in the big-league camp as an up-and-coming outfield prospect, and his work ethic stood out to the Yankees’ staff. He attributed his dedicated approach to his junior-college coach, Jamie Clark, whom Thames commemorated by writing his name on the inside of the bill of his cap.17

However, White healed by the end of camp and Thames was sent to Triple-A Columbus for more seasoning. He was in a slump, batting only .218, when he went on the injured list for two weeks.18 But when Yankees outfielder Rivera, who had moved up to the majors in 2001, crashed into a golf cart while shagging flies during batting practice, Thames got his first call-up to the big leagues.19

He made his major-league debut with the Yankees on June 10 against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Yankee Stadium. Manager Joe Torre started Thames in right field, batting ninth in the lineup. In his first at-bat in the third inning, against hard-throwing lefty Randy Johnson, he hit Johnson’s first pitch for a two-run home run off the screen in left-center above the Diamondbacks’ bullpen. Shane Spencer hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to power the Yankees’ 7-5 win.

Thames was only the second Yankee to hit a home run in his first plate appearance. John Miller first accomplished the feat in 1966. After the game, sitting in front of his locker, an elated Thames said, “I’m going to sit here in my uniform awhile and then go call everyone I know. I’m going to watch ‘SportsCenter’ and ‘Baseball Tonight’ all night.”20 According to Baseball Digest, Thames was the 17th player in the majors to hit a home run on the first pitch of his first at-bat.21

Thames saw action in six more Yankees contests before being sent back to Columbus to make room for hot-hitting Karim García, who was called up from Columbus.22 Thames finished the season with the Clippers, batting only .207, with 13 home runs, 21 doubles, and 45 RBIs in 107 games.

After starting the season with Columbus in 2003, Thames was traded by the Yankees for Texas Rangers veteran Rubén Sierra on June 6. Following an initial assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City, he joined the Rangers after the All-Star break. He was one of several prospects the last-place Rangers wanted to evaluate.23

In his first game with the Rangers, on July 17, Thames hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning off Tampa Bay pitcher Joe Kennedy. But that was his best showing during the balance of the season. A shoulder injury in September set him back.24 He failed to hit another home run and batted a meager .205 in 30 games.

The Rangers released Thames to free agency after the season. Detroit signed him on December 7.

He was back in the minors with Triple-A Toledo to start the 2004 season. In one of the best games of his career, he hit three homers and a double for the Mud Hens on April 25 against Louisville.25 He maintained a hot bat, and at the time of his call-up to Detroit on June 22, he was leading the International League with 24 homers while compiling 59 RBIs and batting .329. But his bat cooled off in his first days in the Tigers lineup. He had trouble making contact, unable to hit the ball out of the infield.26 He collected only one hit in his first 20 at-bats.

Tigers manager Alan Trammell stuck with Thames, though, and he eventually rebounded to hit 10 home runs and get 33 RBIs in 165 at-bats for the season. It was the beginning of a trend he would continue for the balance of his career – a low rate of at-bats per home run. Thames’s 10 home runs made him the 11th Tiger to reach double figures that season, a new major-league record.27

Coming out of spring training in 2005, Trammell kept outfielder Bobby Higginson over Thames, because Higginson had more major-league outfield experience. Thames, upset with being sent to Toledo to start the season, went 5-for-5 with a two-out homer in the ninth to tie the game in Toledo’s home opener.28 He was immediately recalled when outfielder Magglio Ordoñez had to miss several games with a viral infection. Thames responded with a grand slam in his first game back, on April 9.

He stayed with the big-league club while Ordoñez had an extended stay on the injured list. When Thames was in the lineup with some regularity, he hit for power. With 13 starts in 19 appearances in May, he averaged a homer for every 10.2 at-bats. But he also had a sagging batting average and on-base percentage.

Thames was sent back to Toledo by mid-June until he was recalled in September. He finished the season with 7 home runs, 16 RBIs, and a .196/.263/.411 slash line in 38 games with the Tigers. By contrast, in 73 games with Toledo, he slashed .340/.427/.679, with 22 home runs (one per 12 at-bats) and 56 RBIs.

For the first time in his five-year major-league career, Thames made the Opening Day roster in 2006. As he stood on the field for player introductions before the game, he said, it was a dream he’d “never forget.”29 With Jim Leyland replacing Trammell as manager, Thames spent the entire season with the Tigers as they captured their first American League pennant since 1984.

Now 29 years old, Thames contributed to the team’s success with a breakout season. He was in the starting lineup in 100 of his 110 games played, splitting time between the outfield and designated hitter. He relished the periods when he could play consecutive games regularly. Thames remarked, “I’m getting the chance to play ball, getting a chance to play in the major leagues. I never really had an opportunity like I’m getting now to go out there every day.” He added, “I’m making the most out of it and trying to go out every day and keep working hard.”30

Thames ended the season with a career-best 26 home runs (one per 13.3 at-bats) and 60 RBIs, while batting .256. He batted .333 in 15 at-bats in the Tigers’ ALDS win over the Yankees. The first person he called after the series was his mother, wanting to share his and the team’s successes with her. She had been his inspiration during his struggle to get to the majors and remain there. He said, “She’s given me so much that I’m happy I’m able to give her a little something like this. And she kept reminding me about the power of believing in yourself when others aren’t. Just keep fighting and keep battling.”31

Thames saw limited action in the Tigers’ defeat of the Oakland A’s for the 2006 AL pennant and the loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.

Thames spent another full season with the Tigers in 2007, except for a minor rehab appearance with Toledo. During spring training, Leyland asked him to play first base, to provide an option for a backup at the position and avoid the need for a separate backup first baseman.32 Plus, after the Tigers’ acquisition of Gary Sheffield in a trade with the Yankees during the offseason, Thames would see fewer opportunities to fill the designated-hitter role.

Thames ended up playing in a utility role: 33 games at first base, 46 games in the outfield, and 15 as a DH and pinch-hitter. He remained proficient in hitting home runs. Three games at the beginning of July, referred to as the “Thames Trilogy” by the Detroit Free Press, demonstrated the kind of impact he had. Thames hit a home run in the eighth inning to defeat Minnesota, 1-0, on July 1. He hit a grand slam in a series opening win against Boston on July 6, and he hit a 440-foot home run on July 8 to help sweep the Red Sox.33

The Tigers battled Cleveland for first place in the division during the majority of the season, holding a slim lead as late as August 16. But Cleveland broke away during September, leaving the Tigers in second place, eight games behind. Thames delivered 18 home runs (one per 15 at-bats) and 54 RBIs for the season. In an end-of-season assessment of Thames’s future with the Tigers, Leyland asserted that he didn’t project him as an everyday outfielder. Leyland explained, “I think he’s a nice platoon (outfield) player, part-time DH, part-time first baseman. I think he’s a very, very valuable player for this team.”34

During the offseason Detroit acquired two All-Stars, first baseman Miguel Cabrera and shortstop Édgar Rentería, to complement an already talented team that included catcher Iván Rodríguez, second baseman Plácido Polanco, third baseman Carlos Guillén, outfielders Ordoñez and Curtis Granderson, and DH Sheffield. In 2008 Thames continued in his part-time role, splitting time with Matt Joyce in left field while also serving as an occasional DH and pinch-hitter.

Thames’s confidence as a hitter was bolstered by his previous season’s improvements in batting average with runners in scoring position (.315) and batting average against left-handed pitching (.310). During spring training, the New York Mets expressed interest in him as a needed right-handed power hitter. But Leyland’s solid relationship with Thames squashed any consideration the Tigers’ front office might be willing to entertain. Leyland insisted, “He can play on my team anytime.”35

Thames made the headlines with a grand slam in a win over Seattle on May 21. It was the fifth slam of his career, which was also his 66th career home run. Tigers hitting coach Lloyd McClendon called attention to Thames’s penchant for success with the bases loaded. “Marcus understands that when the bases are loaded, the pressure is on the pitcher. He’s so darn strong that when he hits strikes, good things usually happen.” McClendon was referring to the fact that coming into the game Thames had a career average of .556 and 31 RBIs when batting with the bases loaded.36

On June 17 against the San Francisco Giants, Thames hit a home run for the fifth consecutive game. He tied a team record shared with several Tigers greats: Rudy York (1937), Hank Greenberg (1940), Vic Wertz (1950), and Willie Horton (1969).37 Thames missed a chance to potentially break the record the next day. He was hitless when he was replaced in the outfield by Brent Clevlen for defensive purposes in the sixth inning. If he had stayed in the game, he would have had at least one more at-bat. But Thames wasn’t bothered by the move. “As long as we keep winning ball games, I’m happy.” He added, “It’s not about me; it’s about the team.”38

Thames’s attitude made him one of the most popular players on the team. Teammate Brandon Inge said, “He’s not for personal stats; he’s for the team. You don’t find too many guys like that. He’s one of my favorites of all time.” Pitcher Kenny Rogers echoed Inge’s sentiments: “He has a great attitude. When he sat on the bench a lot the last few years, he never complained. He just waited for his shot. Those types of guys are nice to be around.”39

Thames posted one of the best months of his career in June 2008. He hit 10 home runs and had 16 RBIs in 72 at-bats, while slashing .306/.375/.764. He was a key factor in the Tigers’ 19-8 record during the month. Leyland said about his slugger, “The one thing I like about Marcus, and for me, the most important thing is Marcus hits [home runs] when they mean something.40

Yet June was the only month in which the Tigers posted a winning record. Except for one day in May, the team never rose above third place in the standings, despite the talent in its ranks. September’s 8-18 record placed them last in the American League Central Division. Thames finished the season with 25 home runs (one per 13 at-bats) and 56 RBIs.

Despite speculation about the number of home runs Thames could hit if he were a full-time player, Leyland preferred to use him off the bench in 2009. When Detroit released Sheffield before the start of the 2009 season, Leyland saw a path to give Thames more at-bats as a designated hitter. Leyland said, “He’s got the best home-run ratio – or one of them – in the last three years. That’s a way to get him some at-bats. We were really going to have our hands tied (with Sheffield on the team) because I wasn’t going to be able to find Marcus at-bats. Now I can.”41

The Tigers bounced back in 2009. They led the Central Division for practically the entire season, with Minnesota never far behind. Detroit ended the season tied for first place with the Twins, but then lost a one-game tiebreaker.

Thames played in the outfield in only 20 games, while being predominantly used in DH and pinch-hitter roles in 73 games. A rib injury caused him to miss 43 games and included a 12-day injury rehabilitation assignment with Toledo.42 He finished the season with 13 home runs and 36 RBIs, while batting .252. His home-run productivity declined (one per 20 at-bats), compared with previous seasons. At a time when the Tigers needed his powerful bat to maintain their distance with Minnesota in the standings, he failed to hit a home run in his last 29 games involving 71 at-bats (during August 14 to October 1).

After six years with the Tigers, Thames was let go and he entered the free-agency market. The Yankees, his first major-league team, signed him to a minor-league contract in February 2010. He went to spring training as a nonroster invitee to compete for a backup role in the outfield and a right-handed DH.

Thames didn’t hit well during spring training but was put on the regular-season roster because the Yankees needed a right-handed-hitting outfielder. The Yankees’ coaching staff looked back on his offensive productivity with the Tigers as a reason for awarding him a roster spot.43

Thames didn’t disappoint. Through May he slashed .323/.443/.484 with 2 home runs and 10 RBIs in 21 starts. But in the middle of June, he went on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring. When he returned on July 4, he delivered a walk-off pinch-hit single in the 10th inning to increase the Yankees’ lead over Boston by 1½ games.

From August 24 to August 30, Thames hit six home runs in five starts. The last one was his 10th home run in 151 at-bats for the season. As he maintained before, Thames said, “I’ve been playing a little more and if you look at every year, I’ve been playing I’ve done something like this when I get more at-bats consistently.”44 He ended the season with 12 home runs, 33 RBIs, and a career-high .288 batting average in 212 at-bats.

The Yankees’ season went down to the wire on the last day of the season, tied for the division lead with Tampa Bay. The Red Sox defeated the Yankees at Fenway Park, while Tampa Bay defeated the Kansas City Royals to claim the division championship, The Yankees went into the postseason as a wild-card entry. Thames hit a home run in Game Three of the ALDS. The Yankees swept the Minnesota Twins in three games.

Against the Texas Rangers in the ALCS, Thames was limited to only two hits in 16 at-bats, as the Rangers won their first pennant.

The Yankees made Thames a free agent in November, and he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers on January 18, 2011. First-year Dodgers manager Don Mattingly planned to platoon Thames in left field against left-handed pitching, overlooking any defensive liabilities he might bring. Mattingly’s interest was getting 20 to 25 home runs from the position, even though Thames admitted his shortcomings defensively.45

Neither Thames nor the other platoon players in left field delivered as Mattingly had hoped. He played sporadically in the field and didn’t produce offensively as he had in the past. He spent a month on the disabled list with a quadriceps problem, which included a short rehab stint with Triple-A Albuquerque. Later he dealt with a strained calf muscle. With a .197 batting average, 2 home runs, and 7 RBIs in 70 plate appearances in mid-July, the Dodgers decided to go in a different direction. Thames was designated for assignment and released to make room for newly acquired outfielder Juan Rivera.46 (Thames had replaced the injured Rivera when the two were with the Yankees organization in 2002.)

The Yankees reportedly re-signed Thames shortly after his release from the Dodgers,47 but he did not appear in additional games in 2011. He returned to Mississippi after the 2011 season.

During his 10-year major-league career, Thames slashed.246/.309/.485, with 115 home runs and 301 RBIs. He finished with an AB/HR ratio of 15.6, which put him 15th among major leaguers with 80 or more career home runs from 2003 to 2010. He was ahead of noteworthy sluggers such as Sammy Sosa, Mark Teixeira, Gary Sheffield, Ken Griffey Jr., Vlad Guerrero Sr., and Chipper Jones during the same period.48

Back in his home state, Thames enrolled in classes at Mississippi State University and helped out with his mother. She died on September 23, 2012. During his time away from the game, Thames learned that he didn’t want to sever his baseball ties. “When I lost my mother, that’s when I knew I had to get back into the game of baseball before it was too late,” Thames said. “I didn’t want to stay out too long. I knew I eventually wanted to coach.”49

Mark Newman, then the Yankees’ vice president of baseball operations, contacted Thames before the 2013 season and offered him a coaching position with Yankees’ Class-A affiliate at Tampa. It was the opportunity Thames was looking for. He joined the team as hitting coach under manager Luis Sojo.50 He advanced quickly as a coach through the Yankees’ farm system, working with Double-A Trenton in 2014 and Triple-A Scranton in 2015.

In 2016 Thames joined the Yankees’ major-league staff as assistant hitting coach with manager Joe Girardi. When Aaron Boone became manager in 2018, Thames was promoted to hitting coach. He stayed four more years with the Yankees.

Thames moved to the Miami Marlins in 2022, followed by a year with the Los Angeles Angels. As of 2024, Thames was a member of the Chicago White Sox staff as hitting coach.

Thames and his wife, Danna, have three daughters, Deja, Jade, and Ella Grace, and two sons, Marcus Jr. and Kole.51

Notes

1 Jack Curry, “Marcus Thames’s Mother Inspires and Amazes,” New York Times, October 22, 2006. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/22/sports/baseball/22thames.html. Accessed February 28, 2024.

2 Curry.

3 Curry.

4 Curry.

5 Curry.

6 “Local Dizzy Dean Champs Place Fifth in World Series,” Winston County Journal (Louisville, Mississippi), September 15, 1993: 11.

7 Curry.

8 MSHAA State Playoff Games, Jackson (Mississippi) Clarion-Ledger, November 25, 1994: 4C.

9 “Clarion-Ledger All-State Baseball,” Jackson Clarion-Ledger, June 4, 1995: 6D.

10 “ECCC Has Successful 96-97 Season,” Winston County Journal, July 9, 1997: 1-B.

11 2002 New York Yankees Information & Record Guide, 184.

12 2002 New York Yankees Information & Record Guide, 184.

13 Bill Chastain, “Thames an Untamed Talent with Untapped Potential,” Tampa Tribune-Times, May 24, 1998: 5.

14 Stephanie Storm, “Thames Turns Corner,” Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, April 9, 2002: 6.

15 2002 New York Yankees Information & Record Guide, 183.

16 “Minor Leagues,” Yankee Magazine, October 2001 (Vol. 22, No. 9): 70.

17 Anthony McCarron, “Thames Makes Marc on Yanks,” New York Daily News, March 24, 2002: 56.

18 “Thames Goes From DL to Cleanup Spot,” Columbus Dispatch,” May 19, 2002: E7.

19 Roger Rubin, “Juan Lands on DL After Cart Mishap,” New York Daily News, June 10, 2002: 61.

20 Roger Rubin, “D-Backs Back: Treats Champs to Grand Ol’ Time, New York Daily News, June 11, 2002: 70.

21 Baseball Digest, October 2002 (Vol. 61, No. 10): 9.

22 Marty Noble, “El Duque to Start After All,” Newsday (Long Island, New York), June 28, 2002: A84.

23 Carlos Mendez, “Thames, Drese Called Up From Minors,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 17, 2003: 5D.

24 T.R. Sullivan, “Few Questions Remain After Showalter’s Season of Evaluation,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, September 29, 2003: 6D.

25 “Thames Leads Mud Hens,” Bryan (Ohio) Times, April 26, 2004: 13.

26 Gene Guidi, “No New Spin for 2nd-Half Rotation,” Detroit Free Press, July 12, 2004: 4D.

27 John Lowe, “Tram Seeks Late Fixes Next Season,” Detroit Free Press, October 4, 2004: 3D.

28 John Lowe, “Ordonez May Miss Tribe Due to Virus,” Detroit Free Press, April 8, 2005: 4G.

29 John Lowe and Jon Paul Morosi, “Opener Among 16 Games on TV 20,” Detroit Free Press, April 8. 2006: 7C.

30 John Lowe, “Rogers, Family Ready for 200,” Detroit Free Press, June 18, 2006: 13D.

31 Drew Sharp, “At Last, Redemption for All-American Rejects,” Detroit Free Press, October 10, 2006: 4D.

32 John Lowe, “Thames Takes Big Bat to Infield,” Detroit Free Press, February 24, 2007: B1.

33 “Best Moments,” Detroit Free Press, July 12, 2007: 5C.

34 Jon Paul Morosi, “Jones Close to 300 Club,” Detroit Free Press, September 16, 2007: 11D.

35 Jon Paul Morosi, “Mets Like Thames, but So Does Leyland,” Detroit Free Press, March 7, 2008: 4C.

36 John Lowe, “Thames Grand With Bases Loaded,” Detroit Free Press, May 22, 2008: 5C.

37 John Lowe, “Thames Homers in 5th Game in a Row,” Detroit Free Press, June 18, 2008: 6C.

38 “Thames Homers in 5th Game in a Row,” 7C.

39 John Lowe, “Teammates Call Thames an All-Star Person,” Detroit Free Press, June 20, 2008: 1C.

40 “Tigers’ Thames Finds Strength in Mother’s Plight,” New York Times, June 29, 2008. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/sports/baseball/29thames.html. Accessed February 28, 2024.

41 John Lowe and Jon Paul Morosi, “Thames Will Get Chance to Hit More Home Runs,” Detroit Free Press, April 1, 2009: 14A.

42 Carlos Monarrez, “Tigers Welcome Thames’s Big Bat,” Detroit Free Press, June 8, 2009: 3B.

43 Mark Feinsand, “With Thames in a Fill-in Role, Just Smashing,” New York Daily News, September 1, 2010: 57.

44 Peter Botte, Kristie Ackert, and Anthony McCarron, “Dallas Does Bronx,” New York Daily News, August 31, 2010: 74.

45 Dylan Hernandez, “At Least the Price Is Right in Left,” Los Angeles Times, February 26, 2011: C9.

46 Dylan Hernandez, “Dodgers Acquire Juan Rivera,” Los Angeles Times, July 13, 2009: C4.

47 Greg Logan, “Thames Returning to Bronx?” Newsday, July 23, 2011: A43.

48 The data for the player AB/HR rankings was obtained using Baseball-Reference.com’s Stathead Player Finder query function.

49 Thomas Golianapoulas, “Somebody to Lean On,” Yankees Magazine, April 17, 2018. https://www.mlb.com/news/marcus-thames-goes-above-and-beyond-for-nyy-c272547142. Accessed February 28, 2024.

50 Golianapoulas.

51 2020 New York Yankees Official Media Guide & Record Book, 30.