"A New York Treasure" --Village Voice

A River Runs Through It

Marcus Thames is best known in the Bronx for hitting a home run in his first big league at bat against Randy Johnson. According to reports (Sherman, Heyman) Thames has signed a minor league deal to return to the Yanks.

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23 comments

1 Sliced Bread   ~  Feb 8, 2010 4:14 pm

Marcus Thames was a very good Bob Sheppard name.

2 ms october   ~  Feb 8, 2010 4:49 pm

that hr was basically his high point.

i didn't know he was almost 33.

3 Mattpat11   ~  Feb 8, 2010 5:00 pm

Eh why not.

4 Cliff Corcoran   ~  Feb 8, 2010 5:28 pm

[3] Exactly. I like it in a Josh Phelps kind of way.

5 thelarmis   ~  Feb 8, 2010 7:10 pm

i remember that HR well.

[3] i agree.

i originally thought winn's contract was $2 mil. i'm happier it's $1.1. the $9 mil in possible incentives are all w/ him batting against lefties. i imagine he'll get less than 5 AB's all year from the right side, so there's no worry there. if Thames makes it to the club, he gets $900,000. so, we get 2 players for the $2 mil Cashman was talking about. a righty w/ some pop, a lefty with some speed & defense. this should be fine...

6 RagingTartabull   ~  Feb 8, 2010 7:22 pm

I mean, it can't hurt

7 monkeypants   ~  Feb 8, 2010 7:34 pm

[2] The highpoint? That's a tad harsh, no? He has managed an eight year MLB career (.797 OPS), including 110 games, .882 OPS, 123 OPS+ in 2006. Not too bad for a guy who basically didn't get started until age 26.

[4] I agree. This is really a no lose move.

8 monkeypants   ~  Feb 8, 2010 7:37 pm

Meanwhile, according to ESPN.com, "The Chicago White Sox have unretired Luis Aparicio's No. 11, which will be worn by Omar Vizquel."

Does this strike anyone else as, well, weird?

9 thelarmis   ~  Feb 8, 2010 7:39 pm

[4] speaking of whom...rockies signed phelps to a minor league deal on saturday.

10 thelarmis   ~  Feb 8, 2010 7:40 pm

[8] yeah, i thought the headline was so weird, that i didn't even read the article.

11 Yankee Mama   ~  Feb 8, 2010 7:42 pm

Has there ever been a number unretired before? Talk about unsentimental.

12 monkeypants   ~  Feb 8, 2010 7:54 pm

[11] Worse, apparently they are unretiring the number so that Vizquel can honor Aparicio??? Or at least that's the official line. Bizarre.

13 RIYank   ~  Feb 8, 2010 7:57 pm

[5] the $9 mil in possible incentives are all w/ him batting against lefties.

Well, $900,000, not $9 mil. (He's just an outfielder -- we're not talking "drummer money" here, you know.)

14 thelarmis   ~  Feb 8, 2010 8:14 pm

[13] ah, what's a coupla zeroes between ketchup companies? ; )

15 williamnyy23   ~  Feb 8, 2010 8:55 pm

[12] Apparently, it was done with Aparicio's blessing. Like Vizquel (and Ozzie), Aparicio hails from Venezuela, so that's likely behind this, although I would question why Vizquel never wore #11 before.

16 Raf   ~  Feb 8, 2010 9:00 pm

[11] IIRC, the White Sox unretired #3 for Harold Baines, and I think the Giants unretired Mays' #24 for Bonds.

[15] Good question. Not at touchy as Hawkins wearing #21, but I can understand why Vizquel would want to honor Aparicio while playing with the White Sox.

17 RIYank   ~  Feb 8, 2010 9:29 pm

Has everyone seen this YouTube montage? (Via RAB)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5puMfLhwsvU

It's just so-so, but I have to admit I was stirred by the sequence of Daily News pages at the end.

18 Chyll Will   ~  Feb 8, 2010 9:38 pm

For anyone that's interested, Joel Sherman says Tampa Bay and Damon are seriously talking.

19 a.O   ~  Feb 8, 2010 10:39 pm

Damon and Tampon Bay are perfect for each other -- both are
about two years over the hill.

20 The Mick536   ~  Feb 9, 2010 8:38 am

Check out Baseball Reference for some info on first at bat homers. Only one Hall of Famer. Look him up for a surprise. Three with the bases loaded. Last one of those from an Indian. 22 hit the first pitch. 19 never hit another.

21 The Hawk   ~  Feb 9, 2010 8:51 am

I really like the name "Marcus Thames". So I'm all for this move.

22 Horace Clarke Era   ~  Feb 9, 2010 9:43 am

Hard to imagine anyone trying to create a debate on this one. I agree with what's above. It is cheap, possibly useful in depth and tools for Joe G. Move on, move on, but give Cash a smattering of applause.

23 FreddySez   ~  Feb 9, 2010 12:11 pm

For someone who's mostly a churl, Randy Johnson has had a few moments of conspicuous class. His reaction to that Marcus Thames home run was one of them.

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