Based on his impressive performance at the NC Dinos, Eric Thames, who wrote the ‘reverse export myth’ in the major leagues, puts an end to his active career.스포츠토토
Thames announced his retirement from active duty on the 16th (Korean time) through personal SNS. Thames, who started his professional career in 2009, is coming to an end after a 14-year career.
Thames began his professional career after being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 219th overall in the 7th round of the 2008 draft. Thames finally stepped on the big league stage after a long minor league career in 2011. Thames played in 95 games in his first season and made a decent impression with 95 hits, 12 homers, 37 RBIs, 58 runs batted in, a 0.262 OPS of 0.769.
However, his performance did not continue into the following year. Thames stayed with 3 home runs batting average 0.243 OPS 0.653 in 46 games in Toronto in 2012, and even after moving to Seattle Mariners, he failed to rebound with 6 home runs batting average 0.220 OPS 0.695 in 40 games. And after staying in the minor leagues in 2013, he stepped on the KBO league stage in 2014.
Thames’ performance in the KBO League was ‘overwhelming’. Thames played in 125 games for NC in 2014 and swung a bat with 152 hits, 37 home runs, 121 RBIs, 95 runs, a batting average of 0.343 OPS and 1.111. And in 2015, 180 hits, 47 homers, 140 RBIs, 130 points, 40 steals, a batting average of 0.381 OPS 1.288 in 142 games, and won the regular season MVP title. 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases were the first KBO records.
Thames accompanied NC in 2016, and participated in 123 games, recording 140 hits, 30 homers, 121 RBIs, 118 runs, a batting average of 0.321 OPS and 1.106. Thames, who recorded 472 hits, 124 home runs, and 64 stolen bases in 390 games over three seasons, with a batting average of 0.349 OPS and 1.172, transferred to the Milwaukee Brewers prior to the 2017 season and finally succeeded in re-exporting.
Thames played in 138 games in his first season at Milwaukee, hit 31 home runs, and made a soft landing with an OPS of 0.877. And the following year, he hit 16 home runs and 25 home runs in the 2019 season, continuing his winning streak. However, after he transferred to the Washington Nationals in 2020, his performance began to decline rapidly.
In the end, Thames signed a contract with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan prior to the 2021 season, but suffered a major injury called an Achilles tendon rupture, and ended his active career without being able to rebound.
Thames said on social media, “The last day has finally come. I am blessed to have made baseball my profession for 14 years. This friendship will last a lifetime, and the memory will last forever. I am so grateful for the support of the fans,” he said of his retirement.
Thames, who has a deep relationship with NC, did not forget to say hello to Korean fans. He said, “Everything from worrying about retirement to signing with NC happened in a few days in 2013. I didn’t know I would fall in love with a country so quickly. I had no idea how much fun it would be to play in the KBO. I trained to the best of my ability,” he said.
Continuing, Thames said, “Thank you so much for accepting me and the NC Dinos.” he emphasized.