Eric Thames, new National, drawn in by winning, culture and Howie Kendrick - The Washington Post

Eric Thames, new National, drawn in by winning, culture and Howie Kendrick - The Washington Post

The winning and the clubhouse culture, hyped up by longtime friend Howie Kendrick, drew Thames to the Nationals. He signed a one-year, $4 million deal Monday. It took one 15-minute call with reporters two days later to see a personality that looks likely to fit well with a clubhouse stocked with such veterans.

“I can’t even contain myself,” he said Wednesday night. “That’s how excited I am.”

The left-handed hitter, who hit 25 home runs to go with a .247 average and 61 RBI in 149 games last season, is expected to platoon at first base, possibly with Ryan Zimmerman. Thames hits right-handers well (. 877 on-base-plus-slugging percentage last season) but isn’t as prolific against southpaws (. 679 OPS). He could pinch hit often and joked he’ll do his best because “I don’t think anybody’s good at pinch hitting.” The situation is secondary to Thames, whose only playoff experience was last season’s wild-card game.

“Whatever the role is, I’m ready,” he said, adding: “I want to win. That’s where I stand.”

Thames first met Kendrick in 2012, when he was with the Seattle Mariners and Kendrick was with the Los Angeles Angels. Thames remembered that once, while their teams played each other, he fouled a pitch off his face and got a black eye. The next day, even though he “couldn’t see out of one eye,” he was in the lineup. Thames somehow made it to second during the game and Kendrick, the longtime Angels second baseman, approached to ask how he was doing. The two truck enthusiasts hit it off.

The two didn’t see much of each other after that though because the Mariners traded him the next summer to the Baltimore Orioles. Thames bounced around their system, as well as the Houston Astros', and felt his opportunities to get back to the majors slipping. He was playing in the Venezuelan Winter League when a professional team in Korea approached. The NC Dinos wanted to sign him, the Astros agreed to release him, and Thames took the gamble.

Thames signed a one-year, $800,000 deal. He raked in 2014 — batting 343 with 37 home runs, 121 RBI in the Korean league — and decided to stay, inking a two-year deal. The pitchers in Korea threw more split-fingered fastballs and forkballs, Thames said, so he started “breaking down the old-timers” for hitting tips. He watched Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Lou Gehrig and Pete Rose, and through them learned how to flatten out his uppercut swing. The adjustments helped; he hit .381 with 47 home runs and 40 stolen bases and won league MVP.

“When you’re [older than] 20, it’s hard to change body mechanics you’ve been doing your whole life,” Thames said. He added: “But I got flatter through the zone, increased my hard-hit rate.”

Thames became interested in the science of hitting, and the prospect of working with hitting coach Kevin Long helped entice him. Thames had seen the videos of Long’s workouts with Robinson Cano. He’d looked at the numbers and concluded “all the teams he works for rake.” That was enough. Thames was in.

“I’ve heard great things,” Thames said of playing for the Nationals. Now he’ll get to see for himself.

More on the Nationals:

2020-01-09 01:40:00Z
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/01/08/eric-thames-new-national-drawn-by-winning-culture-howie-kendrick/

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