Jim Thome

Jack Lambert

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Congrats to Jim Thome for HR #600!! :) A true class act for the game of baseball, and a great guy.
 

Deadlift

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white lightning,

I was watching MNF on ESPN. After Thome hit his 599th HR, it was mentioned on the screen that ESPN2 was going to cover his next at-bat live. I didn't turn it to ESPN2, but they probably did do what they said they would.

This is an excellent accomplishment for Thome, and it hasn't been 'hidden' in my opinion.
 

JReb1

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Congrats to Jim Thome on getting his 600th HR! Thome has long been one of my favorite MLB players!
 

Freethinker

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:clap2: :thumbsup: :biggrin:

Great job Jim! What a mountain of a man and an all time great slugger.
 

Colonel_Reb

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Way to go, Jim!
 

white is right

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Jim Thome is soooooooo under the radar. Just contrast his pursuit of the rarer 600 home run milestone to Jeter's pursuit of 3000 hits. HBO did a special on Jeter going for the milestone and until Thome was on the doorstep of 600 not even ESPN hyped his pursuit. By the way if anybody wants to buy a Jim Thome rookie card on Ebay they go for about 2 bucks. It could be a nice stocking stuffer for a child or a hardcore baseball fan in your family...
 

Don Wassall

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Jim Thome is soooooooo under the radar. Just contrast his pursuit of the rarer 600 home run milestone to Jeter's pursuit of 3000 hits. HBO did a special on Jeter going for the milestone and until Thome was on the doorstep of 600 not even ESPN hyped his pursuit. By the way if anybody wants to buy a Jim Thome rookie card on Ebay they go for about 2 bucks. It could be a nice stocking stuffer for a child or a hardcore baseball fan in your family...

Very true, though Caste defenders would claim Jeter playing in New York is the cause of the difference. That was a factor, but the main factor in the disparate treatment is as obvious as black and white, especially so because all of the recent 600 HR achievers have been juicers. Thome doing it the right way should have been cause for celebration, but when his rookie card goes for $2, it's obvious it's been Jim Who? his entire career as far as the media is concerned.

Thome may be the last to get to 600 for a long time now that the steroids era is over, just as Clemens, Maddux, Glavine and Johnson may be the last 300 game winners for a long time to come.
 
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I've waited a long time for Thome to get his rightful accolades that he's been deprived from by the black-loving media. Finally he got some recognition with #600, but it was fleeting at best. How many players have hit 600 HRs? Very few. 8 to be exact. The half-breed Jeter is the 28th person to get 3,000 hits, yet the media had an orgy over Jeter's accomplishment, while Thome gets a brief day or 2 mention for blasting 600.

Keep in mind that Thome would be #5 on the all time HR list if you took out the roid cheaters:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/HR_career.shtml
1.Barry Bonds 762LHR Log
2.Hank Aaron+ 755RHR Log
3.Babe Ruth+ 714LHR Log
4.Willie Mays+ 660RHR Log
5.Ken Griffey 630LHR Log
6.Alex Rodriguez (35)626RHR Log
7.Sammy Sosa 609RHR Log
8.Jim Thome (40)601LHR Log
Rank Player (age) Home Runs Bats HR Log
 

foreverfree

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Thome... wasn't there a toy company by that name, back in the '80s? :biggrin:

Belated congrats, Jim, from a fan of your former employers the Phightin' Phils!

And I had no idea he was back with the Tribe. [blush]

John
 
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Leonardfan

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I hope he sticks around another couple years. He could at least get past Sosa, Griffey and Mays.
 

Don Wassall

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Jim Thome finishes 2011 with 604 HRs and 1674 RBIs. You make us proud, Jim!

That's a heck of a season. :biggrin:

I hope Thome comes back for 2012; it could be another very long drought before the next White slugger of his magnitude comes around just as Thome came 70 years after Babe Ruth, and just as it appears the 300 game winning pitcher has become a relic of the past.
 

jaxvid

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Adam Dunn's complete collapse this year was a real bummer. He looked like the best shot at being the next white slugger with great career totals. But 2011 was a complete lost year for him. It's hard to see how he can get it back the way he fell off so much.
 

Freethinker

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Adam Dunn's complete collapse this year was a real bummer. He looked like the best shot at being the next white slugger with great career totals. But 2011 was a complete lost year for him. It's hard to see how he can get it back the way he fell off so much.
I wouldn't count the Big Donkey out yet. This is my theory and I have no hard evidence to back this claim. Ozzie Guillen is detrimental to White players. His Latino-ization of the clubhouse certainly can't be a comfortable environment for Whites. Nick Swisher was a very productive player for the Oakland A's before being traded to the White Sox. After a slow start as well as batting leadoff and playing a new position, Swisher quickly fell into Ozzie's "doghouse". He never got out of it. After the Sox handed Swisher over to the Yankees for spare parts, he quickly bounced back. He's had some of his best seasons and is a great presence in the club house.

I see Ozzie's departure to Florida as the most positive development for Dunn. He'll be better next season. As for Whites on the Marlins, beware!
 

Van_Slyke_CF

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I wouldn't count the Big Donkey out yet. This is my theory and I have no hard evidence to back this claim. Ozzie Guillen is detrimental to White players. His Latino-ization of the clubhouse certainly can't be a comfortable environment for Whites. Nick Swisher was a very productive player for the Oakland A's before being traded to the White Sox. After a slow start as well as batting leadoff and playing a new position, Swisher quickly fell into Ozzie's "doghouse". He never got out of it. After the Sox handed Swisher over to the Yankees for spare parts, he quickly bounced back. He's had some of his best seasons and is a great presence in the club house.

I see Ozzie's departure to Florida as the most positive development for Dunn. He'll be better next season. As for Whites on the Marlins, beware!

I agree with you about Swisher. To be fair, though, I think a good bit of Dunn's problems this year originated with the fact that he needs to lose weight and get in better shape. I hope he comes back and has a big year in '12. I was counting on him to get to 500 HRs someday.
 
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Let's hope Thome comes back for at least one more year. He can easily pass the steroid cheating hispanic negro Sosa on the HR list.

Last I read, he said he was 50/50 about coming back and wasn't sure anyone would want him. Sounds like more anti-white discrimination. The guy put up very solid numbers this year and for him to not be able to find a team that wants him is unbelievable. The Indians said they already had a DH and didn't need him next year.
 
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I agree with you about Swisher. To be fair, though, I think a good bit of Dunn's problems this year originated with the fact that he needs to lose weight and get in better shape. I hope he comes back and has a big year in '12. I was counting on him to get to 500 HRs someday.

Dunn was on pace for 700 HRs by age 40 (without any fanfare that negro 'stars' get) before this awful season. Let's really hope he pulls it together. He can still get 600+ if he gets back on track.
 

JReb1

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Thome eager to play again in 2012! :)

Jim Thome tied The Bambino on Monday. Now, he wants to get a little closer to Babe Ruth’s home run total, too.

The 41-year-old slugger became the first ballplayer to address the City Club of Cleveland since Ruth did so on July 17, 1925, and said he still has the passion to play. Whether or not that is with the Indians or another team will be determined when impending free agents become eligible to start negotiations five days after the end of the World Series.

“I’ll keep playing,” said Thome, eighth on the all-time list with 604 career homers. “I just need teams to call me. I can’t go play in the backyard by myself. I don’t know the demand for a 41-year-old DH, but my passion is I want to continue to play.”

Thome said his desire to capture an elusive World Series title is more important to him than setting individual records. He came close with the Indians in 1995 and 1997 before moving on to four other teams in his quest—which brought him back to Cleveland.

He was honored to speak at the club, which has featured guest speakers from all walks of life for 99 years.

“To be honest, I didn’t even know this existed,” Thome said. “But it is a very special and humbling experience.”

Thome spoke from a stage that previously featured names like Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Muhammad Ali.

“Any time you get names like Babe Ruth,” he said, “it is very, very cool.”

Thome said he’s enjoyed watching the World Series and marveled at the Game 3 performance of St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols(notes). He drove in six runs with five hits including three home runs.

“He’s a great player, so special,” Thome said. “He’s one of the best hitters in our era.”

That time frame includes Thome, who hit his first homer for Cleveland in 1991, set a team single-season record of 52 in 2002, and extended his franchise mark after being reacquired from Minnesota on Aug. 25.

“That move caught me off guard and it was really a dream,” Thome said.

Cleveland fell out of contention, but Thome said the young Indians seem primed for success. He would like to be a part of it, but will weigh all offers and decide upon his future this winter.

“In a year or two, this team can do some very special things,” Thome said. “They have put the groundwork in, done things the right way.”

Just in case, Thome is making plans for life after playing. He would like to stay in the game in some capacity.

“The game has given me a lot and I could give a lot back,” he said. “There is going to be a next journey. I don’t know what it is, but it will be exciting.”

Thome enjoyed serving as a mentor to players in September and got a special kick out of a hot streak by journeyman Shelley Duncan(notes), who had six homers and 21 RBIs in September.

“Shelley was one who asked a lot of questions and I tried to help,” Thome said. “I was talking with (hitting coach) Bruce Fields and we agreed that Shelley can be a monster. He has done a lot to improve and it was really special to see what he did.”

Thome said a lot of Cleveland fans have encouraged him to re-sign, but he understands it is not entirely his decision.

“Everybody says you can play forever,” he said. “At age 41, you know you can’t. I have to admit I am enjoying getting up every morning and being with my family right now. We’ll see what’s going to happen.

“It is a process that will align itself.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AvOUDkjmF8Crz1ha.x8e0yYRvLYF?slug=ap-thometalks
 

white lightning

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Jim Thome has been my favorite player for the last decade. I'm so happy that he has eclipsed the 600 homerun mark and is still going strong. He would have more homers if he wasn't a part time player for so many years. At least it might have preserved his body a little as he has alot of back problems like most older athletes. This guy is amazing!
 
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