12/21/24
August 16, 2011
Jim Thome Hits 600th Home Run: Minnesota Twins slugger Jim Thome hit his 600th home run Monday, becoming the eighth player to reach the milestone after Sammy Sosa (609), Alex Rodriguez (626), Ken Griffey (630), Willie Mays (660), Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and SF Outfielder (762). The homer was hit off Detroit Tigers reliever Daniel Schlereth in the seventh inning and followed Thome's 599th homer in the same game. "Thome has not been linked to steroid use and is by all accounts one of the nicest guys ever to lace spikes," writes Jorge L. Ortiz of USA Today. "Only 16 players have compiled career OPS marks higher than Thome's .960, and among the ones eligible for enshrinement into Cooperstown, only Larry Walker and Mark McGwire have failed to get voted into the Hall."
I think he hit the other 200 against the Twins.
Quick Thome-related story: I was at Citizens Bank Park in Philly earlier this summer for a game between the Phillies and Marlins. I was wearing a Twins jersey, as I do to most baseball games I go to. While waiting for the gates to open, another fan asked me if I thought it was safe to be wearing a Twins jersey (or any non-Philly jersey) to a Phillies game. I said, "Nothing to worry about. All I have to do is say, 'Jim Thome is on our team.' Everybody here still likes him." Everyone within earshot smiled at the mention of his name and agreed with me.
Thome is also the star of the coolest Twins commercial ever. The song was awesome in a cheesy sort of way. Cuddyer's spit-take is also a thing of beauty.
So good for Big Jim. I hope that after he gets a chance for the home team to salute him, he gets traded to a contender so he can get one last chance at a ring.
posted by TheQatarian at 12:26 PM on August 16, 2011
thanks for sharing that commercial, being in Texas I had not seen that one. Very Minnesotan!
posted by dviking at 12:52 PM on August 16, 2011
Sammy Sosa (609), Alex Rodriguez (626), Ken Griffey (630), Willie Mays (660), Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and SF Outfielder Jon Dowd (762)
Fixed that for you.
posted by grum@work at 02:46 PM on August 16, 2011
Thome has not yet been linked to steroid use and is by all accounts one of the nicest guys ever to lace spikes.
According to the witch hunt, everyone's guilty until proven innocent.
posted by grum@work at 02:50 PM on August 16, 2011
Which reminds me that Larry Walker should be a Hall of Famer, though I might be biased on that one, eh?
And Thome has to get in. Unless we refuse to put anyone in who played the bulk of their career from 1995 - 2009 (caveat - smaller speedy guys who don't hit homers not included). Which is a terrible idea.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 05:14 PM on August 16, 2011
That was the quietest assault on the 600 HR number from any player before him. I barely heard he was close. Not a lot of fanfare leading up it. Sort of like OH by the way some guy just hit his 600 HR. A guy a lot of people never heard of.
posted by Atheist at 05:59 PM on August 16, 2011
A guy a lot of people never heard of.
Anyone who has been a baseball fan for the last 20 years knows who Jim Thome is. He was one of the most consistent power hitters in the most HR friendly era. The back end of his career fizzled when he became a bench player, but few people with an OPS of over .900 for 10 straight seasons go unnoticed.
He's a first ballot hall-of-famer, especially given how universally well-liked he is. Those knee-high socks were iconic.
posted by dfleming at 08:10 PM on August 16, 2011
Not a lot of fanfare leading up it
Indeed - compare to the recent Jeter-o-Rama
posted by rumple at 08:15 PM on August 16, 2011
He's the Ron Paul of baseball.
posted by phaedon at 08:20 PM on August 16, 2011
I think part of the reason there was little fanfare for 600 is that he didn't sit on 599 very long (or at all, actually). Had he come into tonight's game with 599, we might have been watching for 600 more closely, but he hit 599 and 600 in consecutive swings.
posted by TheQatarian at 12:51 AM on August 17, 2011
Right, but I didn't even realize he was this close... typically when a guy nears even 500 there's blurbs about it for a week or two beforehand; this, I didn't even know Thome was on the cusp of 600 at all. Paul Konerko is 8 from 400 right now, but no one else is close to a milestone this year.
Thome is probably a Hall-of-Famer. I say probably because apparently we're devaluing 500HR (much less 600), simply because old sportswriters hate to think the players are better now. Me, I still say 500 should be an automatic ticket in, much less 600.
That said, I can imagine the "anti" argument: Thome was- like McGwire- a one-dimensional player, all power and not much else. Unlike McGwire, he actually reached 600 HR and did so without the sniff of PED- which I think is meaningless, but the writers obviously still value. I think he'll make it in, no question, but his lack of black ink marks (never an MVP, wasn't a league leader of any good categories very much) may mean he might not be a first balloter... although that too is one of those meaningless distinctions sportswriters make, hence even obvious cases like Ripken or Henderson not getting 100% of the vote.
posted by hincandenza at 06:26 AM on August 17, 2011
I remember going to watch a Reds-Phillies rain make-up game when Ken Griffey Jr. was sitting on 499. He didn't get the start and never got a plate appearance, but we got something just as nice when Thome hit his 400th. They've been linked in my mind ever since.
I think there's some truth in saying Thome helped change the Phillies culture of losing. Of course, his more measurable impact on the Phillies is the part he played in getting Charlie Manual in to manage the team. For Phillies fans, I think Thome is kind of like an old friend or relative that's no longer with you, but who's influence on the day-to-day is clearly visible.
posted by cl at 09:40 AM on August 17, 2011
Thome was- like McGwire- a one-dimensional player, all power and not much else.
Not really. He had an OBP over .385 for 11/12 years between 1995-2006; this was, in part, because Thome had a pretty good eye for a slugger and walked over 100 times in 9 of those seasons. By comparison, McGwire walked that much 5 times in his whole career.
That OBP helped contribute to him scoring over 100 runs 9 times in that stretch (never less than 89.) McGwire scored 100 runs 3 times in his career. He was on base enough to be driven in outside of his own home runs, something that sets him apart from a lot of other sluggers, I think. His career OBP of .403 knocks people like Ichiro, who were better average hitters, out of the water (.371.)
He didn't run well (although avoided GDPs very well), struck out a bunch and was a subpar fielder at both 3B and 1B. Those are negatives for sure, and by the end of his career, he was a full-time DH. Those might be reasons to discount him, but I don't think they're enough.
His career WAR sits between Johnny Bench and Derek Jeter, both of whom are first-ballot HOFers (Jeter, presumptive.) Thome also played a position for most of his career (1B) that dragged his WAR down, whereas Jeter and Bench both played relatively scarce positions. If Thome had've been a Yankee his whole career, he'd have probably been a no brainer, but Cleveland wasn't exactly a hot spot for half of Thome's career, and I think his reputation reflects that a little.
posted by dfleming at 11:19 AM on August 17, 2011
Playing for a small market team like the Twins will be cause for little fanfare by itself, but add in a year when the team isn't in contention, and it's pretty easy to see why Thome's chase of 600 wasn't given much ink.
I remember dreading each time he came to the plate as a White Sox hitter when he played against the Twins, but I also remember never hating the guy.
I think he gets in the hall, would be surprised if it's on the 1st ballot.
posted by dviking at 11:20 AM on August 17, 2011
I think Jim Thome is like a more popular version of Rafael Palmeiro.
He's been a consistent performer for his entire career, but he's never been one of the elite players in MLB.
He's lacking in "black ink" (leading the league in an important stat) and "gray ink" (top 10 in an important stat). His counting numbers for these are below that of an average HOF.
His career WAR sits between Johnny Bench and Derek Jeter, both of whom are first-ballot HOFers (Jeter, presumptive.) Thome also played a position for most of his career (1B) that dragged his WAR down, whereas Jeter and Bench both played relatively scarce positions.
You've got the cause and effect thing backwards there.
There is already a positional adjustment made in WAR. Thome's WAR isn't higher because he played at a position that generally has more offense.
I fully agree that if Thome had played in a more "famous" city (like Boston, NY, Chicago, Los Angeles, St. Louis) for most of his career, he would have been hyped far more than he was now.
That said, he's going to the HOF, and because of his nice-guy attitude and the desire for every old sportswriter to tag him as "doing it the right way", he'll get in on the 1st ballot*.
* It really does depend on the prior years before his first opportunity on the ballot (2017 if he retires this year). There is going to be an INSANE log jam of qualified candidates (PED-boosted or not) starting in 2012.
Hold overs:
Jack Morris, Barry Larkin, Tim Raines, Lee Smith, Jeff Bagwell, Edgar Martinez, Mark McGwire, Alan Trammell, Juan Gonzalez, Rafael Palmeiro, Larry Walker, Don Mattingly
2012 newbies: Bernie Williams
2013 newbies: Kenny Lofton, David Wells, Craig Biggio, Curt Schilling, Sammy Sosa, Mike Piazza, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens
2014 newbies: Mike Mussina, Jeff Kent, Tom Glavine, Frank Thomas, Greg Maddux
2015 newbies: Carlos Delgado, Gary Sheffield, John Smoltz, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson
2016 newbies: Jim Edmonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Trevor Hoffman, Andy Pettitte, Jamie Moyer, Billy Wagner
2017 newbies: Jim Thome?, Manny Ramirez?, Jorge Posada?
A lot of qualified players are going to be around when Jim's turn comes up. He might be a "1st ballot" sort of guy, but there just might not be any room for him.
(my choices for HOF 1st-ballot induction in bold)
posted by grum@work at 12:04 PM on August 17, 2011
Fitting that he did it against the Tigers, since he's hit like 400 of those 600 vs them...