For Eric Thames, fame in Korea intruded on everything - even his love life

CHICAGO - Eric Thames wasn't exactly a deity when he turned into Korean baseball's most famous slugger.

Still, the level of adoration over his baseball feats often crossed the line of intrusion - even in the area of his love life.

Thames, now slugging baseballs for the Milwaukee Brewers, was nicknamed "God" by the Korean baseball fans, and was unable to even leave his apartment without admirers running toward him for pictures and his autograph.

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It got so crazy one night that Thames was outside a restaurant engaged in a passionate kiss with his date, only for a fan to tap him on his shoulder.

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“I’m like, Dude, what are you doing?’' Thames says. “It’s like “Man Law.’ You don’t do that.  Let the guy score. Maybe another time, you know.’ Even the girl I was with, an American girl, says, “What in the world just happened?’ It was crazy.

“I’m a guy who likes to be myself a lot, just reading, listening to music, playing video games or watching TV, but over there, it didn’t matter where I was, what time it was, or anything. Someone would always recognize you."

His scraggly beard will make it tougher to blend in stateside, but his Q rating in the USA never figures to rival the recognition factor in Korea.

Thames parlayed his baseball exploits there into a $16.5 million contract, a deal that figures to buy him a bit of peace and quiet, too.

“It was a blessing for the fans to love you and embrace you like that, but it was always a curse because you never had any privacy.’’

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