When a player has a season marked by dramatic ups and downs, it inevitably is described as a roller-coaster ride.
In assessing the first half for Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Eric Thames, that description doesn't seem precise enough. His first foray back in the majors after three years in South Korea was more like a rapid roller-coaster ride up followed by a bungee jump off the Golden Gate Bridge.
Without knowing if the bungee cord was strong enough to save you.
That's the way it went for Thames, who made the "mistake" of having a dynamic first month that captured the attention of the entire baseball world. He might as well have worn a Superman cape in April, when he set a Brewers record with 11 home runs while compiling a gaudy .810 slugging percentage and 1.276 OPS.
Then came the plunge off the bridge in May, and yet a steeper plummet in June. Which raises the question: What the heck happened?
Well, for beginners, no player is as good over the long term as Thames was in April, which manager Craig Counsell cautioned against many times. But Thames was unable to find any middle ground, leaving both he and others scratching their heads.
"It's been really weird," Thames conceded before heading home to Las Vegas for the All-Star break. "I just need to find a way to stay even, stay in this range right here (even plane)."
When a new player comes into the league — Thames was, in essence, new after three years overseas — and makes an immediate impact, opponents start paying closer attention. They look for weaknesses, tendencies, holes in your swing, and they make adjustments.
Then, it's up to the player to make reciprocal adjustments. Thames struggled to do so and started pressing, getting away from what had been an extremely disciplined and patient approach at the plate. Home runs dramatically decreased, strikeouts started to soar.
In May, Thames batted only .221 with a .791 OPS, three home runs and nine RBIs in 23 games. Thames started pressing even more in June, batting a meager .163 with a .267 OBP, .669 OPS and 39 strikeouts in 105 plate appearances (he had only 45 strikeouts over the first two months).
Thames' overall numbers at the break were quite acceptable — .936 OPS, 15 doubles, 23 home runs, 43 RBIs from the No. 2 spot in the batting order. But the path to those numbers left him frustrated and a bit crazed.
"I'll go home and go over my first half, break down what I did wrong and what I did right. Anything I need to change, and all that stuff. I have to do that. I want to get better.
"You have four days to break down stuff. It's actually kind of fun."
No one can question Thames' dedication to his craft. He's always working, always studying. Taking endless swings in the batting cage. Going over video until he gets bleary-eyed. Using visualization techniques he picked up while playing in the Far East, he often can be seen in the clubhouse holding a bat in his stance, contemplating the perfect swing.
In fact, Thames soon discovered he was working too much between games. Unaccustomed to the major-league schedule with few days off, he was not giving himself the proper recovery time despite his bodybuilder physique. His legs soon became sore and heavy, negatively affecting his game.
"He's a good player; he knows that," Brewers hitting coach Darnell Coles said. "But you don't want to consume yourself with making outs or striking out. This game puts pressure on you. You don't need to put it on yourself.
"Coming into spring training, listening to him talk, he didn't set any expectations. Then you get off to a great start, and you kind of raise the bar.
"In his case, he understands that he's a big part of our offense. He wants to contribute on a daily basis, like everybody does.
"Those adjustments will come, just knowing how teams are pitching him. Knowing exactly what to do going into certain situations with your game plan. I feel very comfortable that he had a good first half, and I expect nothing less in the second half."
Thames certainly caught the attention of the MLB drug program. Including the mandatory testing for all players in spring training, he said he has been tested nine times "randomly." There was one stretch where nearly every time he homered, someone was waiting afterward in the clubhouse to collect urine and/or blood samples.
Good-natured and quick with a smile, Thames never let the constant testing get him down. He actually poked fun at the program at one point, proclaiming, "I've got plenty of blood and urine."
Thames is much more concerned with getting back to the proper approach at the plate. The left-handed hitter started chasing too many bad pitches as the first half progressed and consequently became far less effective against left-handed pitching, dropping his overall average vs. them to .208 with a .796 OPS.
As the calendar turned to July, Thames appeared to be headed back in the right direction, with a .333 batting average in six games, including three home runs, .440 OBP and .810 slugging percentage.
"I think that I'm fine, mentally," Thames said of the battle to get going at the plate again. "If we kept playing and there was no (all-star) break, I think I'd be OK.
"Baseball is weird. You never know what's going to happen. It has been fun to be part of this, what we're doing. I know people don't think we're this good but we can't worry about that. We just go out and have fun and play the game."
And hope the bungee cord is exactly the right length.
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