HOUSTON — In times like these, White Sox hitting coach Marcus Thames remembers his roots.
An apartment, where he grew up in Louisville, Miss. A picture of it is on his phone’s screensaver, to remind him.
“I’m going to tell you, man, I’m doing good. I’m just grinding,” Thames, sitting in the visitors dugout before a game against the Astros, told the Sun-Times.
“People say, ‘How you doing?’ I tell them all the time, I always look at my phone, where I grew up and it was hard. I look at that. Got to keep coaching. My [five] kids always say why don’t you have us on your phone? You’re on there. You were made by me being dealing with some of the things I grew up with.”
Thames was 5 when his mother Veterine was badly injured in an auto accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down. His father had deserted the family, so he moved in with his aunt and uncle while his four siblings lived with his grandmother. Thames would join them and his mom when he was 10, but money was scarce and life had its challenges.
Thames grew up in a hurry, while his mother managed to raise him in her paralyzed state. Veterine died in 2012, a year after Marcus’ last of 10 seasons as an outfielder, first baseman and designated hitter with the Yankees, Rangers, Tigers and Dodgers.
Twelve years later he’s in his seventh season as a hitting coach, and his first with the Sox.
It hasn’t been fun.
“You lose 21 games in a row, it stinks,” Thames said. “But things could be a lot worse.
“You gotta want it. You have to fight. You have to fight for days, man. When things go rough, you have to find a way to get through it. Especially hitting. It’s a tough league.”
How tough? The Sox entered Sunday’s game against the Astros with a 30-94 record. Their 21-game losing streak tied an American League record. Their elimination from the playoffs Saturday was the earliest calendar date for a team since the divisional era began in 1969, and they are on pace to break the 1962 Mets’ record 120 losses.
The Sox are last in the major leagues in runs, slugging and on-base percentage, items that will be glued to Thames’ resume. But he has his supporters in the clubhouse and had big one in Paul DeJong, whom Thames helped enjoy a bounce-back season before he was traded to the Royals.
“Awesome person,” said Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn, who was batting .283/.332/.485 in his last 60 games after a bad first two months. “The first months were a struggle, but his mentality kept me going. He was really positive, just ‘keep working’ and that helped me get through it. A good mentality, having the right focus on each individual guy separately.
“He’s been fantastic for us,” catcher Korey Lee said. “Super approachable as a person and a coach. Works with you every day, makes you feel prepared every day. Fights for you, is in your corner.”
When things are this bad, all you can do is fight.
“Yes. Baseball,” Thames said. “It’s been a rough one, buddy, I can tell you that. It’s the first time I’ve ever gone through something like this.”
Thames saw manager Pedro Grifol and three of his fellow coaches – bench coach Charlie Montoyo, third base coach Eddie Rodriguez and assistant hitting coach Mike Tosar – get fired on Aug. 8. Thames survived.
“We had a good relationship,” Thames said. “It’s part of the game. We wished each other the best of luck. Got to keep fighting.”
It’s all you can do.