Former Brewer Eric Thames Retires: What We'll Remember About His Milwaukee Renaissance

The thing I'll always remember most about Eric Thames is an article that appeared on FanGraphs in May 2017. In it, Travis Sawchik detailed the way Thames reinvented himself as a player and matured as a person during his three-year sojourn in South Korea, where he was exiled after being unable to find a big-league job in the States. It was good writing, but what jumped off the virtual page wasn't Sawchik's work, but the marvelous material Thames gave him with which to work. 

If you don't recall the story, or never read it, go check it out now. If you do remember it, but only in outline, let's bring back a detail or two together, for the joy of it. The piece centers on the way Thames coped with the boredom and loneliness of being in a foreign country, alone, with no knowledge of the language and little of the culture. Two of the most delightful details, though, lay in the nitty-gritty stuff. 

For one thing, Thames remembered reading and hearing about how Barry Bonds used to focus on a spot about three and a half inches in diameter, and make the ball be there before swinging. He talked about how he strove to emulate that, and the awesome results he achieved once he did so. At the time that Sawchik wrote the piece, Thames did, indeed, look Bonds-ian, with one of the lowest chase rates in the majors and extraordinary power. That was what he had done over a full season in Korea, finally catching the Brewers' eyes.

Over time, of course, Thames was unable to sustain quite that caliber of mastery. He chased more often with each passing year during his Brewers tenure, and strikeouts became a problem, though his power never diminished much and he continued to draw walks at a stellar rate. In his stunning comeback season of 2017, he hit .247/.359/.518, with 31 home runs, helping keep the Brewers unexpectedly competitive late into the season. The encores to that spectacular showing were less impressive, but he still thumped 72 of his 96 career MLB homers with the Crew, and was a vital part of their playoff clubs in 2018 and 2019.

That he got worse after the piece ran is only a reminder that no matter how strong or disciplined one is, it's impossible for most people to see the ball the way Barry Bonds did. Thames also alluded to the flat swings of Ted Williams and Rod Carew in his discussions with Sawchik for the piece, and talked about his swing path being "like an airplane landing," a neat way to name the challenge of getting the bat on plane (pardon the pun) with the pitch while maintaining speed.

The other interesting thing, tossed off casually in the piece but a superb reminder of the athleticism and power required of great ballplayers, is that Thames felt lucky to have hardwood floors in his apartment in Korea.

"If you swing a lot on carpet, it tears up the carpet," he told Sawchik. "I got lucky on that one. A lot of dry swings in that apartment."

The implication there--the force a person has to be pulling from and moving through the ground to tear up a carpet just by swinging at imaginary baseballs in tennis shoes--is awesome. Thames had to work relentlessly to find the approach and the swing that worked for him, but that tiny anecdote is a reminder that he also possesses incredible physical gifts. The Brewers and their fans were lucky that when those gifts were in full bloom, Thames wore the ball-and-glove.

Here's his retirement announcement, from Instagram.

 

 

 

 

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Thames last played in MLB in 2020, with the Nationals.