International Harvest

Milwaukee reaps the benefit of a trip abroad

IN 2011, Eric Thames made his major league debut for the Blue Jays. By '14 he wasn't just out of the majors, he was out of the U.S., having signed with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization. After three years and 124 home runs in the KBO, Thames has been a mashing success in his return to MLB: The Brewers' first baseman-outfielder was hitting .306 with 13 homers at week's end. He's not the first player to wash out domestically, succeed abroad, then come back stronger.

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]

PLAYER	FIRST SHOT	TEAM	NEXT MOVE	GRAND RETURN	TEAMS	HIGH POINT
Cecil Fielder 1B-DH, MLB	1985	Blue Jays	Japan	1990	Tigers, Yankees, Angels, Indians	Three-time All-Star
Doug Flutie QB, NFL	1986	Bears	Canada	1998	Bills, Chargers, Patriots	1998 Pro Bowl
Anthony Mason F, NBA	1989--'90	Nets	Turkey, Venezuela	1991--'92	Knicks, Hornets Heat, Bucks	2001 All-Star
Cameron Wake DE, NFL	2005	Giants	Canada	2009	Dolphins	Five-time Pro Bowler
Alexander Radulov RW, NHL	2006--'07	Predators	Russia	2016--'17	Canadiens	2nd on team in scoring