In early April, Cubs pinch-hitter Tommy La Stella found himself on first base at Miller Park. It was there he struck up a conversation with Brewers first baseman Eric Thames, who was just beginning his return to Major League Baseball after a star turn in Korea.
“I heard his story and I said basically it was really cool he went over there and found his swing and came back here and was making it work,” La Stella told me Wednesday.
Rather than just saying, “Thanks dude,” Thames recommended a couple books that helped him along his unconventional path to the majors.