[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 77 (Wednesday, June 12, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1016]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1016]]
 HONORING MARCUS THAMES, THE LOUISVILLE SLUGGER, MISSISSIPPI'S LATEST 
                             SPORTS LEGEND

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                           HON. RONNIE SHOWS

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 11, 2002

  Mr. SHOWS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share with my colleagues the 
exploits of baseball's, and Mississippi's, newest hero, Marcus Thames, 
rookie outfielder for the New York Yankees.
  Yes, Mr. Speaker, we Mississippians can speak kindly about New York, 
as long as it is really about another Mississippian!
  On Monday, June 10, Marcus Thames of Louisville, Mississippi, made 
his Major League Baseball debut against the defending World Champion 
Arizona Diamondbacks. And whom should he face on the pitchers' mound? 
None other than Cy Young Award winner, World Series MVP and future Hall 
of Famer Randy Johnson, that's who! All 6 feet, 10 inches of him!
  Did Marcus Thames, this proud Mississippian, crumble under the 
pressure of the moment? Did he let the sound of almost 50,000 cheering 
fans get to him? No, of course not, he's from Mississippi. Marcus 
Thames slugged the first big league pitch he ever saw over the fence 
for a home run!
  This graduate of East Central Community College in Decatur, 
Mississippi, is the 82nd player in baseball history to go deep in his 
first career at-bat, and the 32nd to do it on the first pitch of his 
career.
  But Marcus Thames won't let stardom go to his head. Like all good 
Mississippi boys, the first thing he did after the big game was to call 
his mama, Veterine, back home in Mississippi.
  Mr. Speaker, I salute Marcus Thames, baseball's newest hero from 
Louisville, Mississippi. The good people of Louisville and East Central 
Mississippi already know about him, and no doubt all Americans will 
become very familiar with the newest Louisville Slugger for years to 
come.

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