NEWSLETTER
About nine days ago, the Milwaukee Brewers were playing the Cubs in a three-game set at Wrigley Field.
And if you were online (or in a bar … or in my living room) for any amount of time during that series, you could tell that the fans in Chicago were justifiably frustrated by one man:
Who the Heck Eric Thames, and Did He Really Just Hit His Sixth Home Run in Five Days? https://t.co/lIxGiwNxtx pic.twitter.com/lOvrbSMZe1
— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) April 18, 2017
Eric Thames has been MLB’s hottest hitter this season, and his story is especially interesting because he was playing in Korea just one year ago.
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By the time that game was over, Thames was hitting .405/.479/.1000 with 7 home runs, 4 doubles, and 12 RBI. But Cubs fans were not the only ones frustrated and fascinated by Thames’ offensive explosion.
In the eight games that followed that night at Wrigley, Thames added another four home runs, three of which came against the Cincinnati Reds.
And that was after he already hit four against Reds’ pitchers earlier in the year:
1/4 of the home runs allowed by the Cincinnati Reds have been courtesy Eric Thames. pic.twitter.com/z6lqd013vA
— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) April 25, 2017
THE TOP SEVEN REASONS CINCINNATI HATES THIS MAN … NUMBER 3 WILL SHOCK YOU! (and numbers 1,2,4,5,6, and 7).Â
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As of the start of play today, Thames is hitting .371/.482/.929 with a league-leading ELEVEN home runs. No one else is even close.
2017 MLB Home Run Leaders:
- Eric Thames: 11 HRs
- Bryce Harper: 7 HRs
- Freddie Freeman: 7 HRs
- Ryan Zimmerman: 7 HRs
- Joey Gallo: 7 HRs
But unfortunately, because of 1) his unique path to MLB greatness and 2) the world we live in today (and, more accurately, the one that surfaced in the mid-2000s), some have suspected Thames’ of using performance enhancing drugs (to no avail, mind you!).
In fact, since that Monday night in Chicago just nine days ago, Thames has been tested not once, but TWICE for steroids. The first was a urine test, the second a mixture of both urine and blood. But Thames isn’t letting it get to him.
Instead, he’s employed a real bring it on mentality, including the most fantastic quote I’ve ever heard in response to something like this:
Eric Thames was drug tested again tonight. "If people keep thinking I'm on stuff, I'll be here every day. I have a lot of blood and urine." pic.twitter.com/De1smFWVj7
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) April 26, 2017
“I have a lot of blood and urine.”
THAT’S how you handle it, my man. Just keep hitting dingers and passing drug tests and the only time your name will be in the headlines is when you pad your home run totals with more deep drives against the NL Central.
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