AJ pops off on CF coach plea + New Royals HC Marcus Thames

00:00:04
Speaker 1: All right, and there he is Marcus Tims kind enough to join the program here on foul Territory, the newest member of the coaching staff for the Kansas City Royals. Marcus, great to be with you. Thanks for taking the time. Why did this make sense for you? Welcome to the show.

00:00:18
Speaker 2: Thanks for you guys for having me.

00:00:21
Speaker 1: Why did the Royals assistant or second hitting coach? Not assistant but second hitting coach? Why did that make sense for you? Right now?

00:00:28
Speaker 3: You know, I've been doing this long enough now and I am just willing to to help any organization try to win with my experiences and my expertise on the hitting side. Like I said, I've been doing it for a while. They have too me in place and just being able to assist him and to to help.

00:00:46
Speaker 2: The hitters to try to get better.

00:00:50
Speaker 4: Marcus, you been doing it for a while. Come on like you?

00:00:54
Speaker 5: I mean you There is I can go through on my rolodex of texts from you. I mean it is every year you get a new job at different places. What the heck is going on?

00:01:04
Speaker 4: Like?

00:01:04
Speaker 5: Why why do you feel like the hitting coach position? Because we've asked other guys this, why do you feel like the hitting coach position is something that is so just well, you know what, team hit good, you're fired, Team hit bad, You're fired. Why do you feel like that is the case? And do you ever I know you get sick of it, but do you feel like there's an answer that's out there unless you're unless you're k Long or I'm trying to think who else sites are kept a job for a little while, but nobody knows. You know, there's people who are like I hated Kevin Sitz as a hitting coach. I hated k Long as a hitting coach, Like is it because it's such an easy position to get rid of?

00:01:43
Speaker 2: Like what is it? You know, I'm trying to find find the root of it?

00:01:49
Speaker 3: Actually I have no idea, man, But I just I continue to just try to do my job and and and try to help help help players. But you know, I've had some situations where the manager was let go and I was part of the staff. You know, in Chicago, the manager let go, was let go, held me over to the next year, then I was let go again. But I keep getting jobs. Man, I guess I'm doing something right for somebody.

00:02:13
Speaker 1: I think you're doing a lot right for a lot of people. Let me ask you this, because you played ten years in the show, how has the position changed since you had hitting coaches to when you became one? The game is different now? How do you handle that that transition?

00:02:28
Speaker 2: Yeah, the game is different, you know.

00:02:30
Speaker 3: I go back to Yeah, like when I played, like there's only one hitting coach for thirteen guys or twelve guys or whatever it was.

00:02:35
Speaker 2: But now there's a lot of different different moving parts now.

00:02:38
Speaker 3: You know, you have a lot of the new things in the cages, a lot of the technology. Now you have two hitting coaches, in some cases you have three, just having the personnel in the cages with the with the hitting coaches to be able to evolve with the game, but to make sure you have somebody ready.

00:02:54
Speaker 2: For each each each each type hitter you have.

00:03:00
Speaker 4: Marcus, what's your philosophy on hitting?

00:03:02
Speaker 6: How do you blend analytics and and and the old school?

00:03:06
Speaker 4: Wait?

00:03:06
Speaker 6: What what's your what's your big thing that when you go into a job that you try to say to to the hitters.

00:03:11
Speaker 3: Number one thing for me, aj is it's getting to know my players. Crashing has been around me. I'm not a cookie cutter. I think in this game. I've evolved over the years of just just making sure each player know their strengths and try to maximize their strengths. And I think when you do that, you can get the best out of a group of guys. So so as a philosophy, that terminology is thrown around a lot, But for me, it's just each guy is totally different, and I try to get the best out of each guy and what they bring to the table. And so when it comes to philosophy, man, that word is thrown around a lot, but I just try to make sure I'll get the best out of each guy.

00:03:48
Speaker 5: I've seen it. I've seen it, so I can, I can, I can. I can agree with that. But my question is I played in Kansas City. Kansas City is a different type of stadium. Can you take your same approach? Because all you talked about was just getting.

00:04:04
Speaker 4: To know the guys.

00:04:04
Speaker 5: You didn't you didn't say, well, you know what, you know, we got to get this dip, we got to get this in the slot, all this stuff you said, getting to know the guys. But don't you also feel like there's some preconceived ideas, Like you look at this line and you're like, Wow, these guys they didn't strike out at all. The Blue Jays they didn't strike out at all. Okay, there's a comparison there. You're like, Ah, you know what, you guys got to hit a few more dingers, and they say, have you hit in Kaufman in the last fourteen years? The ball does not travel? Like how much do you have to shift that because of where you're getting a job? Because you went to Chicago before you had zero you know, besides talkman, you didn't have many big league hitters, so you had to shift your approach on that too.

00:04:47
Speaker 3: I think just with you know, in the game of baseball, you have nine guys on the field, right, not everybody's the same. So so for me, it's it's like, Noah, Kaufman is a big ballpark. You know, you're gonna have your bobbers, You're gonna have guys that get on base. So we have to make sure we maximize each guy that's in that line up their strengths. And if you're not a guy who's gonna hit the ball out of the ballpark, you got to get on basics score runs for they're the guys. So it's all about blending that blending that together, and that's what you make a good, good lineup with a team like what.

00:05:12
Speaker 2: We have in Kansas City to put.

00:05:15
Speaker 4: Out there every night.

00:05:17
Speaker 1: Marcus, everybody has a guy now, right, So many of the guys that you are mentoring and coaching have their own private hitting coach. How do you manage that and how do you make sure that what you're saying is kind of getting in because they have a lot of information, right, how do you work that?

00:05:34
Speaker 3: Getting to know my guys Like if gods have a hitting guy a line I've always been been open. I'm open because at the end of the day, they're going to go listen to these guys. I've been doing this for a while and they're going to go listen to these guys. They have their hear So for me, I'll make sure I try to get out and go see the guys who they're working with and try to build a relationship with those guys.

00:05:53
Speaker 2: It's a two way street, right, if they're.

00:05:54
Speaker 3: Going to continue to listen to them, I got to get my ego out of the way and go see these guys. And then because I'm with them every single day, So so for me, I don't do myself, as with any justice by not going to see guys. So I like going to see who they're working with, so I can have a good feel for guys when they do come.

00:06:09
Speaker 2: Come to our come to our ballpark.

00:06:12
Speaker 5: Right when you look ahead, I mean you you've played, you've played, You've coached on so many teams. Do you ever look at it and go, yeah, sure, I'll go to the Royals. I want to see what Bobby with Junior is all about. Like I've seen it six times throughout the year. Are there any players in the league where you're like, I'm kind of impressed with that guy, and is Bobby with one of those guys Crassy?

00:06:34
Speaker 3: I always watched the best player on each team. I've always done it even when I was playing. You know, I was a role guy as a player, so every team that came in, I would always get out and see how those guys took VP, you know, watch their at bast So Bobby, Bobby's been great, man. I've been blessed to be around some of the best hitters in the game, and I don't take that lightly. But I'm still even though even those guys Crassy, they want to be coached, So I got to try to find whatever it is Bobby watch from me needs for me and just try to be able to extra set of os for him to try to get them better.

00:07:06
Speaker 1: If you were a pitcher, you say that you've been around the best guys in the game in terms of hitting. If you were a pitcher, who would you not want to face right now? That's active.

00:07:17
Speaker 2: You can't put me on a spot like that.

00:07:21
Speaker 1: You don't even have to pick a Royal, pick some other team.

00:07:24
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's just there's there's a lot of guys out there, and you know, you can go from top. You know, the top guys is just one of the m vps in both leagues. I've had both of those guys and and I've seen the work that they put in behind behind the you know, behind the closed doors. But uh, it's tough. I can't pick one guy because I'm sure they're listening and they'll get out. But I'm blessed to be able to be around some really good talented players.

00:07:49
Speaker 4: All Right, I'm gonna make you pick. I'm gonna make you pick, but I'm gonna make you pick a different one. All right.

00:07:55
Speaker 5: I'm not gonna say it's show hey better than Aaron Judge at hitting. Should Cal have gotten more of a consideration than what he did for MVP He got thirteen of the thirty votes and your boy, a a Ron Judge got seventeen.

00:08:11
Speaker 2: Yeah, I am Cal did a hell of a job. He did a really, really good job.

00:08:16
Speaker 3: But I just just mean knowing Aaron and what he brings to that team over in New York, I just think that I think they got it right. You know, I enjoyed watching Cal. I thought he did it one heck of a job. But I still thought Aaron Aaron asked him out because of the numbers he.

00:08:29
Speaker 7: Put up.

00:08:32
Speaker 5: All right, working with Connor Dawson. Did you know Connor at all before you got this job?

00:08:38
Speaker 2: Haven't? Haven't. Haven't met him yet. Just talked to him on the phone briefly, and I'm gonna get with him.

00:08:44
Speaker 3: Here in the next couple of days and we'll start picking each other's brain and see how we can we can help the hitting department down there.

00:08:51
Speaker 5: What do you think, because we just talked to Jase Tingler, who's going to be most likely a bench coach or some kind of crazy name for Tony V. Tell him a guy like Hunter Dawson's been around based bore, he's been around pro ball.

00:09:04
Speaker 4: What things is he going to run into today? He's gonna have a struggle with.

00:09:08
Speaker 5: At the big league level being the head guy without ever being the head guy. Because you've been both. You were you were you, You've been the assistant, you've been a second coach. But you know, whatever the name is, you've seen all the roles. What do you feel like somebody coming in it's never been the head hitting coach can struggle with that. You can help him nip that in the bud right away.

00:09:33
Speaker 3: It's just the experience in a dougout crass, it gets fast, you know, you know, watching the game, watching you know, reading players swings and stuff like that. But I'm just gonna be able to help him, you know, with the games, the speed of it. He's never done it. He's mentioned that to me. He's like, Marcus, I'm gonna use your experience to help me out. So that's what I'll be there for because it does get fast. Because as a head guy had an assistant, I got thrown out of the game and then all of.

00:09:57
Speaker 2: A sudden he's he's out in the dugout by himself.

00:10:00
Speaker 3: After the game he comes in, he's like, man, that was really fast, So just making sure he can help help him slow.

00:10:05
Speaker 4: The game down.

00:10:07
Speaker 1: Marcus, how do you challenge or how do you balance rather the duties that you're going to have. Obviously being the second hitting coach, you're gonna be working with Connor, You're going to be doing some things. But do you do it based on guy's approach, personality, similarities, who you know who needs the work at the time. How will you manage the workload? How does that work?

00:10:30
Speaker 2: We haven't really talked about it yet Atlanta, but we will.

00:10:34
Speaker 3: But it's got a bit process and we have to make sure that that we're buttoned up to make sure like once the guys get in there, we're ready to go and be able to give the guys what they need.

00:10:46
Speaker 4: Can you still hit? They're gonna let you.

00:10:48
Speaker 5: You're gonna you're gonna get in there and show the boys because I've seen that, I've seen that swing. I'm glad the oblique stayed together. But can you still swing it? I mean, you're only forty eight. The gray on your chin looks like that feels like it might be a little bit more. But being a hitting coach, So I try to let the guys swing it.

00:11:10
Speaker 4: Man.

00:11:11
Speaker 3: But I got a bad hip now, so I can't can't do too much. I can't run, but my hands still work, so that never leaves me. But no, I'm just just now. I'm just here for the boys, man, and try to give them whatever they need to try to help them be the best players that.

00:11:24
Speaker 2: They can do.

00:11:25
Speaker 1: Marcus, so much of the game today, and you certainly know better than I is. You know, strikeout or home run, there's there's three, there's three possible outcomes, right, But the thing is, I wonder what your approach is. I know that JJ with the Royals obviously wants to you want to work on average for a team, but you also want to work on power. What is your philosophy in terms of you know, it's okay to strike out? A lot of it now is let's hit home runs. Like what's your philosophy around offense and how it should be?

00:11:53
Speaker 3: Yeah, nobody think it's okay to strike out. And I hear that a lot, and people say, and I have buddies that like, they don't care about striking out. I have an eight year old son. He doesn't want to streak it out so that narrative is out there. And just for me, I think when gods talk about power, you have to know what part of the zone that you you perform well in and it's up to us to you some of the numbers, some of the metrics to make sure we give these guys the right information because you can't go up there and cover the whole play, you know, And that's the thing I think guys get in trouble with when you're trying to hunt for power, because I always say, if you chase power, you're going to chase pictures. So for me, it's all about letting my guys know what part of the zone they do damaging and what they don't, because you got to make sure you maximize what you do well. And I think that's going to help moving forward. But when people say guys don't care about striking out, I don't. I don't think so because I did have Aaron Judge in New York and he hated striking out. And I know the numbers were open, but the numbers have started to come down over over quite the last few years. Have an experience. So for me, when people say guys don't care about striking out. I don't think that that's not fair because you've played this game. You don't like walking back to that, Doug, because it's a lonely good.

00:12:58
Speaker 5: Straight AJ says is we say it all the time on the show, striking out sucks.

00:13:02
Speaker 4: Nobody wants to strike out.

00:13:04
Speaker 5: But I know you've meld into the you know, the old school approach with the new school, and I know you got a little bit of a temper. Have you ever broken one of the iPads? When you see dudes using too many of them?

00:13:20
Speaker 2: I'm a big fan.

00:13:22
Speaker 3: I'm a big fan of make sure the guys watched the game, chrasy, you know me, I think sometimes that the iPad is a devil, but you know they have it, they're gonna use it. I'm just I'm just trying to make sure you guys are using it the right way.

00:13:33
Speaker 4: You know.

00:13:33
Speaker 3: I'm a big fan of like, yeah, you can look at it. You're like, as soon as I get it, if you look at it and your and your timing is off, don't even look at anything else because you're gonna go down a rabbit hole that you don't need to.

00:13:43
Speaker 2: So I think just using it the right way. But yeah, sometimes the iPads.

00:13:46
Speaker 3: I've wanted to put a couple in the traps for.

00:13:51
Speaker 2: Marcus.

00:13:51
Speaker 1: You're still in this game for a good reason. Best of luck to you in the new position with the Kansas City Royals. Best of luck to the Royals. I'm moving forward into the twenty twenty six season. Thanks for being with us. We appreciate your time.

00:14:02
Speaker 2: Thank you God for having it.

00:14:04
Speaker 7: You know, I felt like I was one of the best defenders ever out there in center field, and I said, you know, I'm very confident in my defensive ability and put me up against anyone, and I want to see if that could translate into coaching and knowing what I know now is I'm very good at it, and uh, you know, I'm the one that you would want in front of your players coaching them up if I'm being honest, and which I am. So here's what I would love to do. I would love to maximize my potential and I don't want to commit to one organization necessarily. I want to see how many organizations out there would love to have me around for like five days at a time. Ideally, I would love to show up to spring training and get stuff locked in where I'm showing up five days at a time and treat me as if I'm employed by you guys, because I'm going to give it my all for the five days that I'm there, and I know in that amount of time, I can go through everything with the outfitters and get them routines, throwing program, the way we go about drill's batting practice. All this stuff is so crucial and so overlooked in so many ways. And the way I went about these things or why I had the product on the field throughout my whole career, and I know other guys can achieve much more if if we do the little things right on them backfields and spring training when no one's watching and setting the precedent early on so and then throughout the season. You know, if I need to go visit Double A or your Triple A or whoever, you know, just one of those things, I will go work. I will go work for days at a time whatever is needed during the season. This past year I did three days and that was perfect. And I just want to be viewed as like a get right coach.

00:15:41
Speaker 1: I love that. First of all, good for Kevin Kiermeyer put himself out there. I can appreciate that a lot. The guy doesn't need to work and he wants to continue to be in this game that we all love so much. AJ I'll start with you, how many guys out there want what Kevin Kiermeyer seems to want? Maybe you know outfield guys that want to.

00:15:56
Speaker 6: Work on their agent, a free agent coaching job where you just bounce and do whatever you want.

00:16:00
Speaker 4: Sign me up. No, we're commercial.

00:16:04
Speaker 2: We're a commercial right now, right, we're commercial?

00:16:07
Speaker 4: Right? What the fuck is he talking about?

00:16:09
Speaker 6: Like I want to go to spring training and then what what the fuck are we talking about?

00:16:13
Speaker 2: Like?

00:16:13
Speaker 6: Yeah, I want to go from spring training and spring training. Yeah, sure, show me your secrets, and then show me your secrets, and then show me your secrets and then one day maybe I'll be a coach on one team and I can use all these secrets to help this Like what are we talking about?

00:16:28
Speaker 2: It doesn't work.

00:16:29
Speaker 6: We can just be like, hey, I want to go to this spring training for five I want to go to Arizona for two weeks and spend three teams. And I'm gonna go to Florida for three days for two weeks. You know, I'll meet with four or five teams, and then I like, what the sorry, what the fuck are we talking about.