The Royals are hiring former big league outfielder and veteran coach Marcus Thames as a hitting coach, reports Anne Rogers of MLB.com. He’ll join recently hired Connor Dawson, 32, as a second hitting coach under senior director of hitting Alec Zumwalt. Kansas City did not renew the contracts of now-former assistant hitting coaches Joe Dillon and Keoni DeRenne at season’s end.
Thames, 48, enjoyed a decade-long career in the big leagues as an outfielder and designated hitter from 2002-2011. Shortly after his playing career ended, he took a job as a minor league hitting coach in the Yankees’ system. Within a three years, he’d been promoted to the major league staff in the Bronx.
From 2016-21, Thames was an assistant hitting coach or hitting coach with the Yankees’ big league staff. He’s since jumped to the Marlins, Angels and White Sox, holding hitting coach titles within each system. The Mississippi native spent the past two seasons as the hitting coach for the White Sox but was let go as part of a coaching staff shakeup at season’s end.
Thames played in 640 major league games and totaled 2016 plate appearances as a big leaguer. In that time, the former 30th-round pick slashed .246/.309/.485 with 115 home runs, 83 doubles, four triples, a 7.9% walk rate and a 25.3% strikeout rate. Thames’ bat was particularly potent against left-handed pitching in his playing days, as evidenced by a .260/.328/.496 line in his career. The 2026 season will mark his eleventh consecutive year on a big league coaching staff.
Country Strong!
Lets see which way the Royals hitting goes next season. Thames has a bad record as a hitting coach, but whether or not that’s related to the teams he’s worked for or not is not entirely certain.
Sounds like assistance to assistance hitting coach lolol
Story time: The first big league game I attended was on Aug. 24, 2010 in Toronto. It was Jose Bautista’s breakout season and the Yankees were in town. I was sitting down the first baseline about 15 rows up, edge of the infield.
In the top of the 8th inning, Marcus Thames hit a foul ball that bounced twice on the turf in foul territory before it hurled its way into my glove.
The Yankees won 11-5, but I couldn’t care less. I still have the ball and ticket stub in a glass case in my living room. Thanks Marcus!