Researching Jim Thome

Thome grew up in Peoria, Illinois, as part of a large blue-collar family of athletes, who predominantly played baseball and basketball. After attending Illinois Central College, he was drafted by the Indians in the 1989 draft, and made his big league debut in 1991. Early in his career, Thome played third base, before eventually becoming a first baseman. With the Indians, he was part of a core of players that led the franchise to two World Series appearances in three years during the mid-1990s. Thome spent over a decade with the Tribe, before leaving via free agency after the 2002 season, to join the Philadelphia Phillies, with whom he spent the following three seasons. Traded to the Chicago White Sox before the 2006 season, he won the American League (AL) Comeback Player of the Year Award that year and joined the 500 home run club during his three-season tenure with the ChiSox. By this point in his career, back pain limited Thome to being a designated hitter. After stints with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins, he made brief returns to Cleveland and Philadelphia, before ending his career with the Baltimore Orioles. Upon retiring, Thome accepted an executive position with the White Sox.

Throughout his career, Thome's strength was power hitting. In 12 different seasons, he hit at least 30 home runs, topping 40 home runs in six of those seasons. He hit a career-high 52 homers in 2002, and in 2003 he led the National League in home runs with 47. Due in part to his ability to draw walks, with 12 seasons of at least 90 bases on balls, he finished his career with a .402 on-base percentage. Thome's career on-base plus slugging (OPS) of .956 ranks 19th all-time. In 2011, he became only the eighth MLB player to hit 600 home runs. As of 2020, Thome is the career leader in walk-off home runs with 13. One of his trademarks was his unique batting stance, in which he held the bat out with his right hand and pointed it at right field before the pitcher threw, something he first saw in The Natural. Thome was known for his consistently positive attitude and "gregarious" personality. An active philanthropist during his playing career, he was honored with two Marvin Miller Man of the Year Awards and a Lou Gehrig Memorial Award for his community involvement. In 2018, Thome was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.