MILWAUKEE BREWERS

Defiant Thames says bring on the drug testing

Tom Haudricourt
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Brewers' Eric Thames hits a home run in the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Miller Park on Tuesday.

Major League Baseball’s drug testing is supposed to be conducted randomly in-season but you’d have a difficult time convincing Eric Thames of that.

The Brewers’ slugging sensation thinks MLB might be listening to all the chatter.

Thames was drug tested for the third time since the start of spring training Tuesday night, coincidentally after becoming the first Brewers player to slug 11 home runs in the month of April.

All players are drug tested at the outset of spring training, with samples of both blood and urine. Thames was given another urine test while the Brewers were playing the Cubs in Chicago last week. It was during that series that Chicago pitcher John Lackey and pitching coach Chris Bosio made comments and gestures during interviews that seemed to call into question Thames’ power-hitting exploits. There were no actual accusations but it was easy to read between the lines.

After the record-setting 11th homer capped a 9-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Miller Park, Thames was asked to submit both blood and urine again. Random? Thames didn’t think so.

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TOM HAUDRICOURTTuesday chat transcript

But, bring it on, he basically said to the drug testers.

“If people keep thinking I’m on stuff, I’ll be here every day. I have a lot of blood and urine,” said Thames, still wearing the Band-Aid in the crook of his left arm from the blood draw.

It has been patently unfair to Thames that anyone, especially others wearing major-league uniforms, suggested he must be doing something extracurricular to come back from three years in South Korea and seemingly slug home runs at will. Never mind that he belted 124 homers in 388 games in the KBO.

It doesn’t matter if that league is the equivalent of junior varsity baseball (which it isn't). Forty-plus homers a season shows you have some serious power.

So, Thames keeps belting homers – he has an amazing eight in six games against the Reds – and keeps getting drug tested. Sooner or later, he’ll either cool off and people will lose interest or he’ll keep slugging them and folks will understand it’s legit.

Thames is an easygoing, likable sort, with a big smile and laugh, so it was easy to assume he was taking it all in stride. But nobody likes being called a cheater, even in whispers behind his back. In an interview on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight on Monday, after he hit two more homers against the Reds, he said he heard the steroid talk all the way back to age 16.

“I’m getting blown up,” Thames said of all the innuendo. “I went the long way around to come back here. This whole thing is surprising me as well. I really had no goals for this year. I’m not trying to break any records or try to set anything.

“I just want to apply what I learned in Korea to see how it would fare here. I’m shocked at all the results. I’m just here to play ball and do my best to stay healthy.”

That’s when Thames made his “I have a lot of blood and urine” comment. He laughed when he said it but it’s really not funny if testing has slipped from being random to following the trail of cowardly whispers in back rooms.

The so-called “Steroid Era” has made skeptics of many of those who witness anyone doing amazing power things. In that regard, it’s the unwanted gift that keeps on giving.

Understandably, the Brewers don't want to give legs to any suggestion that Thames is anything but a natural slugger. Accordingly, manager Craig Counsell was restrained in his comments when asked about the topic.

"I don't think this is a story," Counsell said. "Look, Eric's handled everything that's come at him beautifully. All the attention, he's handled it wonderfully and, to me, it's a tribute to the journey he's been on.

"This isn't new to him, handling all the attention. He's handled the stuff on the field really well and he's handled the stuff off the field really well."