Jim Thome

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James Howard Thome (born August 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball corner defender and designated hitter who competed in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 22 seasons (1991–2012).

During the 1990s and early 2000s, he played for six different clubs, most notably the Cleveland Indians.

Thome's career saw 612 home runs, his eighth-most all time, as well as 2,328 hits, 1,699 runs batted in (RBI) and a.276 batting average.

He was a member of five All-Star teams and earned a Silver Slugger Award in 1996. Thome grew up in Peoria, Illinois, as part of a large blue-collar family of athletes, who mainly played baseball and basketball.

He was drafted by the Indians in the 1989 draft and made his first appearance in 1991 while attending Illinois Central College.

Thome played third base before he became a first baseman early in his career.

Early life

Thome was born in Peoria, Illinois, on August 27, 1970, and is the youngest of five children. Many of Jim's relatives played sports; Jim's grandmother was hired at a local Caterpillar plant solely to play for the company's softball team; his uncle, Caroline Thome Hart, is in the Women's Softball Hall of Fame; and his two older brothers, Chuck III and Randy, played baseball at Limestone High School. Thome learned to play baseball from his father on a tennis court and also played basketball in Peoria's "ghetto," noting that he was the only white kid there but that he earned the respect of his fellow athletes. Thome sneaked into the Cubs' clubhouse at Wrigley Field on a hot day in his youth, in an unsuccessful effort to gain an autograph from his favorite player, Dave Kingman. Despite being signed by several other players, Thome's playing career led him to be generous with autographs for fans.

Thome, like his older brothers, attended Limestone High School, where he earned all-state recognition in basketball and as a baseball shortstop. He played American Legion Baseball for Bartonville Limestone Post 979 in his hometown, as well. Despite being excited to attract scouts' attention, at 175 pounds (79 kg), the average Major League Baseball (MLB) player weighed 195 pounds (88 kg) in 1993. Thome graduated in 1988 and after not being drafted, he enrolled at Illinois Central College, where he continued his baseball and basketball careers. He was drafted by MLB's Cleveland Indians as a "afterthought" in the 13th round of the 1989 MLB draft, after one season.

Personal life

Lila Grace and Landon, Thome's husband, Andrea, and his partner, Andrea, have two children. He has also set aside funds to send his ten nieces and nephews through college. He lives in Burr Ridge, Illinois, during the offseason. Brandon's uncle, Brandon, was paralyzed in an accident, and Thome obliged him by hitting two runs in the next game, according to ESPN's SportsCenter. Thome is also a philanthropist and he has aided the people around the teams for which he played. In appreciation of his community service, he was given the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award in 2001 and 2004, as well as the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 2004. In 2013, just 15 miles (24 kilometers) from his hometown, he and his wife promised to donate $100,000 to relief efforts. Children's Home + Aid, which aims to assist underprivileged children mainly with finding shelter (e.g., foster care, adoption, etc.), is one of Thome's philanthropic efforts. Aside from a tradition his mother started years ago, there are also an annual benefit to raise money for the Children's Hospital of Illinois. In addition, the Thomes are trying to "stay connected with at least one or two organisations in each of Thome's cities."

In his honor, a new youth baseball field in Cleveland was named the 'Jim Thome All-Star Complex' in his honor.

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Professional career

Thome was drafted by the Gulf Coast Indians, a minor league affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, for the 1989 season. He finished the year with a.237 batting average, no home runs, and 22 runs batted in (RBIs). Charlie Manuel, who later became his boss and mentor, became his "hitting guru" in his rookie season. Manuel saw potential in Thome and worked hard with him, particularly on his hip mobility while swinging the bat, unlike most Indians. "[Manuel] saw something in me that I didn't," Thome later reported. Manuel suggested to Thome that he point his bat out to center field before the pitch to allow him to relax like Roy Hobbs did when batting in the baseball film The Natural. Thome's hard work paid off in 1990, when he hit.340 and totaled 16 home runs and 50 RBIs in both the Rookie and Class A minor leagues. Thome split time between Double-A and Triple-A in 1991, when he hit.319 with 7 home runs and 73 RBIs.

Thome made his MLB debut against the Minnesota Twins on September 4, 1991 as a third baseman. He had two hits in four at bats (2-for-4). On October 4, he scored his first home run of his career. Injuries' 1992 season was short, during which he appeared for both the Indians and their Triple-A affiliate, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, in which he appeared for both the Indians and their Triple-A affiliate, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. He hit.236 with 4 home runs and 26 RBIs in 52 games across the minor and major leagues this year. He spent a.332 batting average and 102 RBIs in 1993, the Indians' new Triple-A affiliate, backed by 25 home runs. His success earned him a late-season promotion to the major league, where he batted.266 with 7 home runs and 22 RBIs in 47 games.

The Indians were legitimate contenders" for the division championship during the 1994 season after seven seasons of losing, "a new ballpark, and a few offseason acquisitions, as well as rising young stars. Carlos Baerga, Kenny Lofton, Sandy Alomar Jr., Thome, and Eddie Murray were among the team's main offensive players. For the first time in his career, Thome spent the entire 1994 season with Cleveland, playing in 98 games while hitting.268 with 20 home runs and 52 RBIs. The Indians controlled the wild card position in the American League (AL) and were just one game behind the Chicago White Sox in the standings for the AL Central Division lead before the 1994 players' strike ended the season's remaining games. Thome's first home run game against Detroit Tigers pitcher John Doherty was his first home run game in his career during the strike.

The Indians' triumph led to a playoff appearance in 1995. Thome was one of the team's best-ever players at the plate, hitting.314 with 25 home runs and 73 RBIs, and the Indians finished with a 100-44 record to win the AL Central, but lost the 1995 World Series to the Atlanta Braves in six games. With one home run and two RBIs, Thome was ranked at 211 in the World Series. Sportswriters forecast that Thome will be recalled in the batting order and bat in the sixth position in the Indians' 1996 season (he had played anywhere from the fifth to the eighth positions in his first two seasons). Thome made 38 home runs during the 1996 season, including one at Cleveland's Jacobs Field, the first home run at a Cleveland baseball park.

After purchasing third baseman Matt Williams from the San Francisco Giants, the Indians upgraded Thome, originally a third baseman, to first base in the 1997 season. Thome was instrumental in the Indians' new franchise single-season record for home runs (220), earning 40 percent of them. Thome also had an AL-high 120 walks to go along with 102 RBIs. Cleveland returned to the World Series, but they lost to the Florida Marlins in seven games; Thome hit.286 with two home runs and four RBIs in the World Series.

The next three seasons for either Thome or the Indians were not as successful as the previous three. Thome played his 24th home run of the season in July 1998 while assisting the Indians in breaking the Yankees' 10-game winning streak. Despite Thome's early career (two All-Star Games and appearances in two of the previous three World Series), he was only "faintly popular" nationally, and wasn't well known outside of Cleveland or Peoria, according to an article in Sports Illustrated in July 1998. "You can't really say he's underrated," Jeromy Burnitz, his former teammate, said, "because everyone thinks him one of the top hitters in the American League, but he's surrounded by so many talented players, it's difficult to stand out."

Thome lost a bone in his right hand in August and spent several weeks on the disabled list, missing 35 games. With a.293 batting average, he finished the year with 30 home runs and 85 RBIs. In Game 3 of the AL Championship Series against the New York Yankees, he hit two home runs off Andy Pettitte en route to a 6–1 victory. The Cleveland Browns then lost the game to the Yankees.

Thome was expected to bat in the cleanup slot of the batting order as he went into Cleveland's 1999 season. Thome defeated Yankees pitcher Orlando Hernández in May 1999, which helped Cleveland beat Cleveland 7–1. His batting average dropped to.277, but his home run and RBI totals increased to 33 and 108, respectively. Thome ran off a game-tying two-run home run off of Derek Lowe, who sprung Cleveland's loss of the Boston Red Sox by a score of 3–2. Cleveland, on the other hand, lost the five-game series after leading two games-to-none.

Thome reached.269 with 37 home runs and 106 RBIs in the 2000 season. He made his 20th home run of the year against the Chicago White Sox on June 21, marking his eighth straight season in which he hit 20 or more home runs. Thome led the Indians to an 8–4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on September 29, despite being in the midst of a tight fight for the AL Wild Card position. Thome was quoted as saying, "This squad has been fighting all year," Thome said after the game, so there was nothing new." We're here, and we're going to play another day tomorrow. Despite finishing with a record of 90-72, the Indians failed to qualify for the playoffs. He finished second in the AL with 49 home runs in 2001 for the 2001 Indians' season. In addition, Thome had 124 RBI and 111 walks. Despite this, he led the league with 185 strikeouts. The Indians defeated the Indians by two runs together in another division championship, thanks to him and Juan González, who combined for 140 RBIs. Despite these figures, the Indians could face the Seattle Mariners in five games in the AL Division Series for the first time.

Thome spent his best season with Cleveland in 2002, leading the AL in walks (72%) and on-base plus slugging (OPS) (1.122), while batting.304 (16th in AL) with a.445 on-base percentage (second in AL) ranking. He also hit a career-high 52 home runs (2nd in AL) and collected 118 RBI (seventh in AL). Thome is the 21st major league player to join the Cleveland Indians' single-season record, with the 52 home runs making him the 21st major league player to join the 50 home run team.

The scoreboard would often have the word "GOME RUN" to mark this achievement during Jim Thome's time with the Cleveland Indians, when he would reach a home run. At the time, he was also known as the "TOMENATOR" because of his nickname.

Thome, a free agent, signed a six-year, $85 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies on December 6, 2002, feeling the Phillies were closer to winning a championship than the Indians. Thome's salary increased from $8 million a year to $11 million a year with the Phillies. In his first stint with the Indians, Thome scored a franchise-record 334 runs.

In his first season with the Phillies, Thome achieved 47 home runs, finishing one behind Mike Schmidt's single-season team record of 48 in 1980 and tied for fifth place in 2003. On June 14, 2004, Thome's 400th home run in his career, beating Al Kaline for 37th on the all-time home run list. He had 42 home runs in 2004. Thome received the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 2004, which is given to players who best embody Gehrig's character and ethics on and off the track.

Thome missed a significant portion of the 2005 season due to sickness; he had only a.207 batting average with 7 home runs and 30 RBIs going into the All-Star break. In August, he underwent season-ending surgery on his right elbow, while Ryan Howard, the Yankee of the Year winner, was named. On November 25, 2005, the Philadelphia Phillies sold Thome and cash to the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Aaron Rowand and minor league pitching prospects Gio González and Daniel Haigwood. Despite the fact that Howard made Thome more available to the team, another determinant in his move to the White Sox was his family – Thome's mother, the "go-to-woman" in his family and his biggest fan, died a year earlier, and he was worried about his father. Since Philadelphia was able to trade him, Thome waived the no-trade clause in his deal for the team's welfare, and said that if possible, they traded him to either the Chicago White Sox or Cubs so he could be near his father.

In April 2006, Thome became Chicago's regular designated hitter and flourished in his first season. In the month of April (10), he set the team's record for most home runs, beating Frank Thomas' previous record by a single one. In each of Chicago's first 17 games, he set a new franchise record by scoring in each of his first 17 games. Thome hit 42 home runs, 109 runs, and finished in 288, although he struck out in 30% of his plate appearances, the highest percentage in the AL. Thome returned to Cleveland on May 1, 2006 to face the Indians in his first game as a visitor at Jacobs Field, and received an uncannily welcoming reception.

Thome joined the 500 home run club on September 16, 2007, beating Los Angeles Angels pitcher Dustin Moseley with a walk-off home run. Thome was the third major leaguer to reach the milestone and the third in the 2007 MLB season (the others were Frank Thomas and Alex Rodriguez), as well as the first to do it with a walk-off home run. Several family members, as well as his father, were on hand to witness the triumph, which occurred at a game in which the White Sox gave fans free Thome bobbleheads. As he rounded the bases, Thome honored his late mother by pointing upward in honor of his late mother.

Thome's home run on June 4, 2008, the ninth-longest home run in U.S. Cellular Field history, beating Kansas City Royals pitcher Luke Hochevar in a 6–4 White Sox victory. In the AL Central Tiebreaker game, he struck a solo home run, which made the difference between the White Sox and the Minnesota Twins 1–0. During Chicago's 2009 season, Thome's hitting 23 home runs in 107 games, including his 550th home run on June 1. He hit a grand slam and a three-run home run in 2009, the first-game career-high seven RBIs. He had passed Reggie Jackson for 11th place on the all-time home run list with 564 home runs by the end of the season.

The White Sox traded Thome to the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 31, 2009, as part of financial planning for minor league infielder Justin Fuller. Thome decided against trading because he believed the Dodgers should win the World Series, but Thome's only appearances with the Dodgers were as a pinch hitter due to persistent foot pains that limited his mobility. In Los Angeles, Thome and former Cleveland teammate Manny Ramirez were reunited. When with the Dodgers (4-for-17), he hit.235 with no home runs and three RBIs. Thome left for free agency after the season, eventually joining the Minnesota Twins.

Thome made his first home run with the Twins on April 8, during the Twins' season-opening road trip. On April 12, 2010, the Twins opened Target Field, their new home stadium. This was the third time in Thome's career that his team had opened a new stadium – the 1994 Cleveland Indians, when they opened Jacobs Field – and the 2004 Philadelphia Phillies, when they opened Citizens Bank Park. On July 3, Thome hit two home runs, defeating fellow Twin Harmon Killebrew for tenth on the all-time home run list. The game was called off and the Twins played a pre-recorded message from Killebrew congratulating Thome for the achievement, during which Killebrew said he was proud Thome did it as a Twins fan. In the 10th inning against the White Sox, Thome struck the first walk-off in Target Field on August 17, a 445-run home run. It was his 12th walk-off home run of his career, tying him for the most all time (a record he later broken). Thome tied for two home runs in a single game on September 4 and then leapt Mark McGwire for his ninth position on the career home run list. In the top of the 12th inning in Cleveland, Thome surpassed Frank Robinson's home run total on September 11, when he reached his 587th home run in his career. Thome said that playing with the Twins made him feel resurgent coming to the end of the season. He finished the 2010 season with a.283 average, 25 home runs, and 59 RBIs. Thome had his best slugging percentage since 2002.

In January 2011, Thome agreed to a one-year, $3 million contract with incentives to continue playing for the Twins. Thome ran the longest home run ever at Target Field on July 17, a 490-foot (150 m) home run into the upper deck in right-center field. On August 15, he reached his 599th and 600th home runs (in a row) at Comerica Park in Detroit, making him the eighth player to reach the home run total.

Thome waived his non-trade guarantee on August 26, 2011 to return to his first team, the Cleveland Indians, in exchange for future considerations for the Twins. Minnesota received $20,000 for him, according to Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer, who was described as "silly" and "nothing" by the club's Aaron Gleeman; Thome's ticket and jersey sales alone, not acquiring Thome funded the funds necessary to buy him. Cleveland held a ceremony on September 23 to commemorate Thome and revealed plans to erect a statue depicting him in Heritage Park. He made a home run in the game that landed near the proposed location for his statue. Thome was active in 22 games with mainly placing fifth in the batting order, with 3 home runs and 10 RBI, and was rated as a top batsman in 2011. Thome was second in all active major leaguers in career home runs (604); behind Alex Rodriguez) and RBI (1,674; Rodriguez), and fifth in career slugging percentage (.556; behind Albert Pujols, Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, and Howard). Thome was the Indians' all-time leader in home runs (337), walks (1,008), and strikeouts (1,400).

Thome has signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract that brought him to Philadelphia after the 2011 season. In his news conference, he branded returning to Philadelphia a "no-brainer." Despite not having played defensively since 2007, he also said that due to Ryan Howard's Achilles tendon injury, he'd "spend the offseason planning himself to play first base one or twice a week." On April 8, 2012, Thome's first game at first base since 2007, during which he opened a 3–6–3 double play.

Thome's lower back suffered with stiffness in his lower back during the Phillies' game against the Chicago Cubs on April 28, and later in May, he was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained lower back. He was only batting.100 at the time. In early June, Thome returned to the team and was ready for interleague action against the Baltimore Orioles as the DH. Thome led the nine-game interleague road trip with four home runs and 14 RBIs.

Thome was the fourth major league player to reach 100 home runs with three different franchises on June 17, joining Reggie Jackson, Darrell Evans, and Rodriguez. Thome defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 7–6 after hitting a pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning off of Jake McGee. This was Thome's 609th home run, tying for seventh all-time in home runs, while also establishing a new record for the most walk-off home runs (13) in the modern era. On June 30, Thome's last game as a Phillie was a humiliating afternoon loss to the Miami Marlins. The team announced that Thome had been sent to Baltimore to serve as their designated hitter after the game (which coincided with Howard's return from the disabled list).

Thome was a key factor in the decision to buy him, according to the Orioles, who cited his time with a playoff-bound team as the primary reason for the decision. Matt Wieters, the Orioles' catcher, said of Thome.

Thome played for the Orioles for his first home run of all time against the Indians at Progressive Field on July 20, his 610th home run of all time. Thome was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a herniated disk on August 6, and he remained on the DL until September 21. In his first game back, he was able to score in extra innings against the Boston Red Sox, resulting in the game-winning RBI. "There are a lot [of] memories" after beating the Indians in a game where he reached his 611th home run, according to Thome. I've had a great memory of being on that route and then emerging as an outsider critic against them. It's always home when you come home. It's even more difficult to get the W's. That's, I think, the biggest thing. The bottom line is that I have been here a long time." While in the dugout, Orioles teammates expressed their displeasure with Thome's dedication to talking about the game. "I talk the game," Thome remarked. I enjoy talking to these guys while watching games in the dugout. 'Hey, what's this pitcher like?'

or 'What about the game?'

What about all the Indians teams you were on?' "I did it to Eddie Murray when he was in his 40s." The Orioles made the playoffs, but they lost in five games to the Yankees during the AL Division Series. In the playoffs, Thome batt's career hit.133 with no home runs or RBIs.

Post-playing career

Thome joined the White Sox organization as a special assistant to the general manager on July 2, 2013. Thome aspires to be a manager in the future, an ambition that White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf utterly endorses; Reinsdorf wrote, "He can be a batting coach." He'd be a great batting coach, but someday he'll be a boss." Thome said in March 2014 that he is not officially retired; although he "loves" his front office work with the White Sox, he'll "have to answer" a call about him playing again. However, he officially resigned as a member of the Cleveland Indians on August 2, 2014, on August 2, 2014. Thome also serves as an analyst for MLB Network in lieu of his White Sox duties.

Thome was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on January 24, 2018. On July 29, 2018, he was officially inducted alongside Trevor Hoffman, Vladimir Guerrero, and Chipper Jones. He was the first individual to be admitted as an Indian without the use of Chief Wahoo on his plaque since the mascot's inception in 1947. On August 18, 2018, the Indians retired Thome's number 25.

Thome was named as the new president of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association on February 23, 2022, after Brooks Robinson.

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