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Jim Thome

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Jim Thome
Chicago White Sox – No. 25
Designated hitter
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
debut
September 4, 1991, for the Cleveland Indians
Career statistics
(through April 28, 2008)
Batting average.281
Home runs513
Runs batted in1,416
Teams
Career highlights and awards

James Howard "Jim" Thome (Template:PronEng, born August 27, 1970 in Template:City-state) is a Major League Baseball designated hitter for the Chicago White Sox.


MLB career

Cleveland Indians

Thome originally played for the Cleveland Indians, joining the team for the first time in 1991 as a third baseman. In 1997, when the Indians traded for Matt Williams, Thome shifted over to first base.

At the plate, Thome began to come into his own by 1995, when he hit 25 home runs and 73 runs batted in with a .314 batting average. Thome then hit 38 home runs in 1996 and 40 in 1997. Thome soon became a prolific home run hitter, once hitting a 511-foot (156-meter) shot at Jacobs Field, the longest home run ever recorded at a Cleveland ballpark. He hit 49 home runs with the Indians in 2001, followed by a career-high 52 homers in 2002.

He has been nicknamed "The Thomenator" and the "Pride of Peoria". Wildly beloved by Indians fans, a Cleveland Plain Dealer fan poll in 2003 named Thome the most popular athlete in Cleveland sports history. Some of Thome's trademarks are his high socks, that he helped make popular again in the mid-'90s, at a time when players wore their pant cuffs down around their ankles, and his batting stance in which he holds the bat out with his right hand and points it at right field before the pitcher comes set.

Philadelphia Phillies

After the 2002 season, Thome was up for free agency. He pursued a contract with the Chicago Cubs, whom he had followed since childhood, but despite Thome's offer to accept a less competitive contract, the organization declined.[citation needed] Instead, Thome accepted a six-year offer from the Philadelphia Phillies. Thome hit 47 home runs in his first season with the Phillies to finish one behind Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt's single-season team record of 48 in 1980.

On June 14, 2004, Thome hit his 400th career home run before a home crowd at the brand new Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, surpassing Al Kaline for 37th on the all-time home run list. He ended the 2004 season with 42 homers, giving him 423 for his career, which placed him 35th on the career list.

Thome in 2005

Injuries caught up with Thome during the first half of the 2005 season, where he hit only .207 with seven home runs and 30 RBI going into the All-Star break. He had season-ending surgery in August. Ryan Howard proved to be a very successful replacement at first base in the 2005 season, leading all National League rookies in home runs and winning the NL Rookie of the Year award.

The emergence of Howard made Thome expendable to the Phillies. On November 23, 2005, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox along with $22.0 million. The White Sox sent CF Aaron Rowand and minor league pitching prospects Gio Gonzalez and Daniel Haigwood to Philadelphia in return.

Chicago White Sox

Thome flourished in his first season in Chicago. He became the Chicago White Sox's regular designated hitter in April 2006. That month he set the team record for most home runs in the month of April (10), beating Frank Thomas's record by one. He also set a major league record by scoring in each of the White Sox first 17 games. The modern and AL record for consecutive games with a run scored is 18 held by Red Rolfe (1939) and Kenny Lofton (2000). For the season, Thome hit 42 homers, batted in 109 runs, and hit .288. He also struck out 30.0% of the time, the highest percentage in the American League.[1] As a result of his impressive season, Thome was named the American League's Comeback Player of the Year for 2006.

On April 15, 2007, Thome was one of three White Sox players (also two coaches) who wore jersey number 42 in recognition of the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's Major League debut in the White Sox vs. Indians game in Cleveland. Thome pinch-hit for Brian Anderson in the ninth inning and hit an infield single. Alex Cintron, also wearing 42, pinch ran for Thome but did not score. The Indians won 2-1.

On September 16, 2007 Thome hit his 500th career home run off Los Angeles Angels pitcher Dustin Moseley. The home run was a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, which gave the White Sox a 9-7 victory.[1] Thome became the 23rd major leaguer to reach the milestone and the third in the 2007 season (the others were Frank Thomas and Alex Rodriguez).[1]

25 members of Thome's family and friends were in attendance to witness his milestone, including his father and wife. The game in which Thome hit the home run was also the Jim Thome bobblehead giveaway day at U.S. Cellular Field. Thome rounded the bases pointing upward in homage to his late mother, who passed away from breast cancer in January 2005.

Career summary

In his career to date (thru Sept. 16, 2007), Thome has a .562 slugging percentage, and a .409 on-base percentage. He is considered one of the most "complete" power hitters of his decade, due to his ability to create extra base hits, maintain a solid batting average for a power hitter (his career batting average is .281), and ability to get on base.

Thome has been named Player of the Month three times: July 2001, September 2003 and June 2004. He is one of only six players to be named Player of the Month in each league (Vladimir Guerrero, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, Gaylord Perry and Dave Winfield are the others).

Jim Thome has the fourth-lowest career AB/HR (at bats per home run) average in major-league history. His 13.68 (about 1 HR every 14 times he comes to bat) is eclipsed only by Mark McGwire (10.61), Babe Ruth (11.76), and Barry Bonds (12.90). Stretching behind Thome, all with averages greater than 14, are such hall-of-famers as Ralph Kiner, Harmon Killebrew, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Jimmie Foxx, and Mike Schmidt, in that order.

Baseball and personal life

On Mother's Day, May 14, 2006, Thome was one of more than 50 hitters who brandished a pink bat to benefit the Breast Cancer Foundation.

Off the field, Thome is putting all 10 of his nieces and nephews through college. It was reported on ESPN's SportsCenter that shortly after his nephew, Brandon, was paralyzed in a tragic accident, he asked Jim to hit a home run for him; not only did Thome fulfill the request but he hit two homers in the game. In a 2007 poll of 464 Major League Baseball players, he was voted the 2nd most friendly player in a tie with Mike Sweeney.

After hitting a home run, the scoreboard will often display "THOME RUN" to distinguish his home runs from other players' home runs.

On September 16, 2007, on "Jim Thome Bobblehead Day" at U.S. Cellular Field, Thome hit his 500th career home run, becoming the 23rd player in baseball history to accomplish the feat. His 500th career home run was a walk off winner, he is the only player to accomplish that feat.

Jim Thome currently lives in Hinsdale, Illinois.

On November 16, 2007, Thome and his wife, Andrea, welcomed their second child, son Landon. They have a daughter, Lila Grace.[2]

During the 2007-2008 off season, Thome and his father drove his 500th home run ball he hit to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Sports Illustrated, September 24, 2007, p. 22
  2. ^ Brown, David. Sox entertain kids at holiday party, December 12, 2007.

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