Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — These days, there is a lot of talk about being “intentional,” i.e., being fully present in the moment that you’re experiencing right now and fully taking it in, enjoying it while taking nothing for granted. I imagine that as Trayce Thompson rounded the bases after his three-run home run on August 12th in Kansas City, he was having much that same feeling. Indeed, the Trayce Thompson story is one of the better subplots that the 2022 Dodgers season has offered up.
Thompson’s performance on Friday night, one triple shy of the cycle, is becoming more and more commonplace for the Dodger outfielder. Since joining the Dodgers, he’s been quite the revelation. As of this writing, he’s hitting .300 with an OPS of .951. That includes 5 home runs and 20 RBI. All this in only a little over 100 at-bats. That’s a lot of production from somebody that the Dodgers picked up from the last-place Tigers for basically a handful of loose change and two Wheaties box tops.
Early success with the Dodgers
Looking at Thompson’s resume is like reading the travelogue of some college kid’s whacked-out cross-country trip. Stops in Bristol, Great Falls, Charlotte, Birmingham, Toledo, El Paso, and Reno fill his itinerary, and that’s not to mention the previous big league shots he got with the White Sox, A’s, Cubs, and Padres. But all of that has brought him back to the place where he had his most sustained success in the major leagues: your Los Angeles Dodgers.
It makes sense that things would start to click again for Thompson in LA. In 2016, it really looked like he would be a part of the Dodgers’ future. After making his MLB debut the year before with the White Sox, Thompson started the season on the Dodgers’ Opening Day Roster and would get quite a bit of playing time in the first few months of the season. And, Trayce would produce for the team, especially in the early going.
In April and May, he had a batting average of .266 and an OPS of .847. But as the summer came on, injuries did as well. He aggravated a back injury that July. An X-ray a few weeks later revealed two fractured vertebrae, an injury that brought his season to an end. He was DFA the next spring, and the long roller coaster ride began.
“I had to dig deep…”
There had to have been times that the now 31-year-old Thompson had felt like giving up during those years. And, it must have been especially frustrating for him given his family lineage. Son of Mychal Thompson, the former first overall pick of the NBA draft and member of the Showtime Lakers. Younger brother of Klay, member of the champion Golden State Warriors and one of the game’s elite shooters. And then there was Trayce, washed-up minor leaguer. Even in the most loving of families, which the Thompsons seem to be, it had to sting a little.
But give Trayce credit, he stuck with it, even when things looked bleak. “I just lived out of one big suitcase,” he told the LA Times recently. “Learned to be efficient with my packing.”
And while making all those stops, he kept his eye on the prize: a return to a big-league roster. “I had to dig deep,” he said to the Times. “I didn’t want to finish my career thinking that I didn’t leave it all out there.”
And, though it might have wavered at times, the confidence never left him. “I always knew I was capable,” he said in the same interview, “so I always saw a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Hard-earned second chance in blue
I have to be the first to admit, when the Dodgers announced the signing of Thompson on June 20th of this year, I sort of shrugged. It would help, I thought, defensively in the outfield as that was just about the time that Mookie Betts went down with that injury after colliding with Cody Bellinger on a fly ball. And Dodger fans all remember the pain of watching poor Eddie Alvarez trying to learn to play outfield on the fly. I knew that Thompson would stabilize that situation, but beyond that, I had little expectation.
And, when he struck out on three pitches in his first at-bat in Cincinnati on June 21 of this year, it seemed like my assessment was correct. I haven’t been happier to be wrong about something in a good long while. Thompson has just been great. Especially in the time that he was filling in for the injured Chris Taylor in left. Playing nearly every day, he put up good numbers in the back of the batting order, setting the table for the Big Three at the top. Since joining the team, the Dodgers are 33-8. Now of course, that’s not all Trayce Thompson, but he’s been a big part of it.
“Having Trayce comfortable, knowing his surroundings, I think that gave him the best chance to perform from the get-go,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s a guy you can’t bet against.”
Just enjoy it, Trayce
Back to my point about being intentional. I recently read an article about “intentional eating,” the idea of which was to really experience a meal and not just let the food enter our bodies without thought or enjoyment. One of the suggestions in that article was to put down our forks after every bite and not to pick them up again until we’re ready for the next one. In the meantime, we should savor the food in our mouths, letting the flavors fully reach our palates. Then, after we got every last bit of enjoyment out of our food, we should pick up our forks and start the whole wonderful process again.
So I say this to Trayce Thompson. Put down your fork. Savor every bite. You’ve earned this meal. Enjoy it.
