The first at-bat of Marcus Thames’s career was June 10, 2002, when he homered off Randy Johnson in an interleague game at Yankee Stadium. The best season for the former Yankees farmhand was a 26-homer mash for the Tigers in 2006. His mother suffered severe spinal injuries in a car crash. He hit the ball that inspired this picture. The Yankees traded him for Ruben Sierra. And now he is a Yankee again, per SI.com’s Jon Heyman. With Thames, Nick Johnson, and Javier Vazquez, it appears the Yankees are trying to sign everyone they once jettisoned. So, look for Johnny Damon next year.
