Veteran first baseman and outfielder Eric Thames took to Instagram yesterday to announce his retirement. “The day has finally come,” he says in the post. “In the year of our lord, twenty, twenty-three…HE GONE! I’ve been so blessed over these last 14 years to call baseball my job. The friendships that will last a lifetime, the memories that I’ll never shut up about (and those that I’m sworn to secrecy to take to my grave ).”
This announcement officially ends one of the more unique baseball careers, as Thames has spent the past few decades crisscrossing the globe. His professional baseball life began when the Blue Jays drafted him in 2008 out of Pepperdine University. He made his major league debut with the Jays in 2011 and performed well, hitting 12 home runs in 95 games. His batting line on the year was .262/.313/.456 for a wRC+ of 107, indicating he was 7% better than the league average hitter.
Things didn’t go as well the following year, as Thames hit .243/.288/.365 for the Jays and was optioned to the minors for a time. He was then traded to the Mariners in July for Steve Delabar, getting into 40 games with Seattle after that deal. In 2013, the Mariners kept Thames in the minors and eventually designated him for assignment. He was traded to the Orioles and then went to the Astros on a waiver claim, though neither team called him up to the big leagues.
Thames signed with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization for 2014, which transformed his career. After years of being on roster bubbles in North America, he emerged as a star in Korea. He hit 37 home runs for the Dinos that year and followed that up by hitting 47 and 40 in the next two seasons. His 2015 season stands out as being exceptionally impressive, as he also stole 40 bases and walked in 17.3% of his trips to the plate. His .381/.497/.790 batting line amounted to a 216 wRC+. He was crowned as the Most Valuable Player in the league that year.
After that strong three-year stretch with the Dinos, Thames returned to Major League Baseball, signing a three-year, $16MM deal with the Brewers. He was able to transfer a decent amount of his success from Korea to North America, as he hit 31 homers in 2017 while walking in 13.6% of his trips to the plate. His .247/.359/.518 batting line led to a 125 wRC+. Thumb surgery kept him out of action for a while in the following year, but he was still able to add another 16 home runs in 96 games, then hit another 25 in 2019. His three-year stretch in Milwaukee resulted in 72 long balls and a .241/.343/.504 batting line for a 118 wRC+. That last year saw the Brewers qualify for the Wild Card game against the Nationals. Thames went 2-4 in that game, including hitting a solo home run off Max Scherzer. But the Brewers ultimately lost 4-3 to the Nats, who would go on to win the World Series later that year, and that now goes down as the only MLB playoff game in which Thames played.
Despite that solid stretch, the Brewers surprisingly turned down a $7.5MM option on Thames for 2020 and went for the $1MM buyout instead. The Nationals scooped him up on a $4MM guarantee but he struggled in the pandemic-shortened season, hitting .203/.300/.317 with just three homers in 41 games. He signed with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball for 2021 but suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon after just one game with the club. He tried another return to the majors in 2022 by signing a minor league deal with the A’s, but struck out in 38% of his plate appearances in Triple-A and got released after 22 games.
In the end, it makes for quite a journey, with Thames having played for baseball teams all over the world. His major league career resulted in 96 home runs, 18 stolen bases, 451 hits, 286 runs scored and 235 driven in. But he’ll perhaps be best remembered by some fans for that magical three-year run in the KBO wherein he hit 124 home runs, stole 64 bases, scored 343 runs and drove in 382.
We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Thames on a fascinating and distinctive career, and wish him the best in his future endeavors.
Solid career but it was Thame for him to hang em up.
See ya on the River Thames
He is also a former Wave.
Was it bad that I immediately read that in Mike Tyson’s voice?
“Tho, Eric, I juth wanna congratulate you on a succethful batheball career… It’s a thame but I had to do it too after eating part of Evander’s head… Your friend, Mike”
Its actually not how his last name is pronounced. Unlike the river, it is pronounced with a TH as in THat or THis. Not being picky. I still say Chris Capwano instead of Chris Capyouano (Chris Capuano, MLB pitcher).
Come on get it right .
He is BELOVED in Korea
A bit surprised he didn’t return to Korea for one last swing.
He’s one of those guys that always gives off positive vibes. Congratulations Eric.
Made 20.5 mil just in the states. Not too shabby
Thames appears to have had fun writing his farewell message.
Congratulations on your wonderfully unique around-the-world baseball career, Eric.
Sayonara Robocop!
“This announcement officially ends one of the more unique baseball careers, as Thames has spent the past few decades crisscrossing the globe”.
…the past few decades…?
He’s only 36. A decade is 10 years. You make him sound 70.
Who edits these?
I’m sure he meant his career has spanned 3 decades (00s,10s,20s). Agree with you though could’ve been written better
Imagine complaining about free journalism.
It’s easy if you try….
And if one is a dickbag.
Free journalism can still be correct journalism. The fact that someone affixes an anatomical moniker to someone that is meant to deride and insult is just pathetic. I don’t think it bothered Darragh as it shouldn’t. If it did he’s just as free to comment as anyone else. Let’s ALL try to be the best we can be. No hurtful criticism was intended, just an observation.
Respectfully,
SL
Well, SL, your “observation” was made in a really dickbag way. How ironic that you act like a dickbag, then have the audacity to say “let all try to be the best we can.” How about YOU trying much, MUCH harder.
I love this guy. He would be a great one for an MLBTR chat.
He’s going to latch on as a coach and his players are going to love him.
When your career is all but over go to Korea, roid up and get your payday. Greg Bird should follow his lead.
Ah, one of those comments, made with zero evidence.
A member of the “it makes you scratch your head” crowd. Which Cubs pitcher said that after Thames’ remarkable April in his first year with the Brewers? Thames was tested so often that April that it became a running joke.
While I am not sure about PEDs with him, it is a weird coincidence his best years coincided with the electronic sign stealing era (much like his teammate Yelich).
What illegal drugs are you taking?
None. Many whispers about Milwaukee doing the same thing LA, Houston, New York, and Colorado were all doing at the same time. Nothing what I said was incorrect.
“I’m not making accusations, I’m just asking questions.”
Questions that are accusative…
I’m not denying my accusations. Those Milwaukee teams were 100% using electronics to steal signs.
Straight out of Tucker’s playbook…
It’s a good thing you’re a fan of the one team with the integrity to not steal signs…
Especially on the road in Cincy where Thames did a ton of his damage. Your inside knowledge is impressive.
“100% using” implies you have proof. Care to share it with the rest of the world?
I’m the fan of the team that took the fall for a league wide issue. Not one team in the league has integrity.
justification
If you ever saw what Thames looked like while he was with the Jays or Mariners, you could never think that his problem was a lack of muscle. If you want to accuse him of PEDs, he’d have to have been on them for his whole professional career because his body didn’t change.
His 15 Minutes of Thames are up. Thanks for my best fantasy team name ever.
In other words, no one offered him a contract.
I remember his time with the Brewers by wincing at how he beat up my team a couple of seasons before the league caught up with him.
Congrats on retirement. I imagine we will see him as a coach down the road. Maybe literally in my case.
The league didn’t catch up with him. Just the league started enforcing the ban on electronic sign stealing.
Appreciate the article calling out how unique of a career he had – this dude went from being a AAAA player in the states to a celebrity in Korea! If you haven’t already, check him out singing in Korean on the masked signer. He was truly a superstar there: youtube.com/watch?v=9RB_Zy5uzfY&t=162s
Always loved this guy. Hard, hard worker who made the absolute most out of the gifts he was given. Poor guy couldn’t ever hit lefty’s a lick. Nonetheless, a fine career, traveled the world, made some great money, had success at the highest level.
Thames was fun to watch mash, especially in 2017. Enjoy retirement Eric!
Darnest thing I was just thinking about him yesterday., and wondering where he was at. since more hitting is what the M’s need.. Wonder if the M’s could talk him out of it?
Just like Yelich. Great couple of years and then a fall off of a cliff when the ban on electronic sign stealing was actually enforced after the 2019 season. Coincidence?
Yes.
Just like Yelich going from all-time numbers to average the same exact time? Lol, ok buddy.
Yes, and right at the same time, each suffered major injuries. Of course, that doesn’t factor into your stupidity.
Nothing I said was stupid. If it weren’t for Bellinger, Yelich would be the largest recipient of the electronic sign stealing era.
And you are one of the dumbest piles of garbage of any ear.
Great player, fun guy, and a great message to go out with.
“Thames has spent the past few DECADES”?
Careful Terry, the natives can be brutal…. 🙂
Where is my reply to pdxbrewcrew?
My apology, it didn’t post right away, I guess.
Did the dickbag not get to see how he’s a paragon of dickbaggery fast enough? That’s a real dickbag move.
Grow up.
Don’t be a dickbag.
Well, he can now focus on competitive bodybuilding. Dude was a monster!
Maybe, but with his golden voice it’s more likely he gets a recording contract.
He was in RF in Felix Hernandez’ perfect game in 2012. What a memory that must be. Congrats on a long career in baseball! Not many can say that.
Enjoyed watching him when he was with the Brewers. Great beard too!
Good riddance. His warped and militant social views will not be missed.
That’s a new one.