First baseman Jim Thome stands in at the plate in a 1997 Cleveland Indians game. The team signed Thome to a special contract this weekend so he could retire with the team that brought him to the big leagues.

If you can describe the career of Jim Thome in just one word, it’d have to be “SLUGGER.” In a career that lasted 22 seasons, notably for the Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Phillies. But also for the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Baltimore Orioles, Thome is regarded as one of the game’s greatest SLUGGERS.

Career Statistics/Accolades (1991-2012):

.276 BA 2,328 HITS 612 HR 1,699 RBI .402 OBP 1,583 RUNS

  • 5x All-Star
  • Silver Slugger (1996)
  • 2006 AL Comeback Player of the Year
  • 2002 Roberto Clemente Award

Most of his games took place at First Base, as well as spending some time earlier in his career at Third Base and later in his career as a DH. The power was always there for Thome. With a unique batting stance on the left side of the batters’ box, he’d point his bat to Center Field before every pitch. Thome ranks 8th all-time in Home Runs. They also had twelve seasons with 30 or more Home Runs, nine seasons with at least 100 RBIs, Walks, and an OBP over .400. You look at his Statistics/Accolades, you don’t see as many “black-type” or awards such as All-Star appearances, MVPs, or Silver Sluggers, it’s because he played in The Steroid Era. You have to tip your hat to a guy like Thome, who hit a clean 612 Home Runs and 1,699 RBIs in an era in which the guys who weren’t using PEDs had to keep pace with those who were. Don’t get me wrong, he led the league in Strikeouts three times and struck out 2,548 times during his career. However, that came with 1,747 career Walks and having nine seasons of drawing 100 or more Walks.

When it comes to Sluggers, you have a lot of players, especially in today’s game, that can give you 30 Home Runs, but the Batting Average is probably only a little above .200, and they don’t work out nearly the amount of Walks that Thome did. Also, Thome lifetime is a .276 hitter, with well over 2,000 Hits over a twenty-two-year span. He wasn’t necessarily an all-or-nothing swing-for-the-fences power hitter; he could settle for a base hit and a Double when need be. Defensively, earlier in his career, he struggled at Third Base. He moved to First Base, where, for the most part, he held his own, but when you hit over 600 HR, almost 1,700 RBIs, and have a lifetime of .402 OBP, you are in the Hall of Fame.

References:

  1. Jim Thome via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Thome#
  2. Jim Thome Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/thomeji01.shtml