Table of Content
In Game 1 of the AL Division Series, Thome hit a game-tying two-run home run off of Derek Lowe that sprung Cleveland's defeat of the Boston Red Sox by a score of 3–2. However, after leading two-games-to-none, Cleveland lost the five-game series. Before their 1997 season, the Indians moved Thome, originally a third baseman, to first base after acquiring third baseman Matt Williams from the San Francisco Giants. That year, Thome helped the Indians set a new franchise single-season record for home runs , contributing 40 of them.
Thome became Chicago's regular designated hitter in April 2006 and flourished in his first season in Chicago. He set the team record for most home runs in the month of April , overtaking Frank Thomas's previous record by one. He also set a major league record by scoring in each of Chicago's first 17 games.
Baseball and personal life
In the game, he hit a home run that landed near the proposed location for his statue. While with Cleveland in 2011, Thome played in 22 games, predominantly hitting fifth in the batting order, and he posted a .296 batting average, with 3 home runs, and 10 RBI. Thome was the Indians' all-time leader in home runs , walks , and strikeouts . Thome made his MLB debut on September 4, 1991, as a third baseman against the Minnesota Twins.
In 2019, a renovated youth baseball field in Cleveland was named the 'Jim Thome All-Star Complex' in his honor. On December 6, 2002, Thome, who was a free agent, signed a six-year, $85 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies – he thought the Phillies were closer to winning a championship than the Indians. With the Phillies, Thome's salary rose from $8 million per year to $11 million per year. Thome hit a franchise record 334 home runs in his first stint with the Indians. During his stint with the Cleveland Indians, when Jim Thome would hit a home run, the scoreboard would often display "THOME RUN" to mark this accomplishment. Build your custom FanSided Daily email newsletter with news and analysis on Philadelphia Phillies and all your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and more.
Thome becomes first Phillie in 20 years to hit 40 HRs
He reunited with former Cleveland teammate Manny Ramirez in Los Angeles. Jim hit .235 with no home runs and three RBIs while with the Dodgers (4-for-17). After the season, he filed for free agency, eventually signing with the Minnesota Twins. Philadelphia Phillies' Jim Thome waves to the crowd before a baseball game against the New York Mets, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, in Philadelphia. He deposited his 400th shot into the visitors' bullpen in July, then joined the coveted 3,000-hit club in mid-September of the same season.
Six days later, Thome hit a pinch-hit walk-off home run in the ninth inning off of Jake McGee to beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 7–6. This was Thome's 609th home run, tying Sammy Sosa for seventh all-time in home runs while also setting the new record for most walk-off home runs in the modern era. Thome's last game as a Phillie was an afternoon loss to the Miami Marlins on June 30. After the game (which coincided with Howard's return from the disabled list), the team announced that Thome had been traded to Baltimore to serve as their designated hitter. On August 26, 2011, Thome waived his contractual no-trade clause to return to his first team, the Cleveland Indians, in exchange for future considerations for the Twins. On September 23, Cleveland held a ceremony to honor Thome, and revealed plans to erect a statue depicting him in Heritage Park.
Jim Thome clocks his 600th home run
Thome would hit 212 more home runs in his career through 2012, before his summer 2018 induction into Cooperstown. And, on the 14-year anniversary of his 400th blast, the team honored him with a pregame ceremony. The bad weather was well worth it for Phillies fans; at the time, there were some nerves as to whether the game would become official.
Sign up for the free Baseball Reference newsletter and get scores, news and notes in your inbox every day. And moved up to 11th on the all time home run list with 564 home runs. Which proved to be the difference as the White Sox defeated the Minnesota Twins 1–0.
In 2004, he won the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, which is given to players who best exemplify Gehrig’s character and integrity both on and off the field. He attended Limestone High School where he achieved all-state honors in basketball and as a baseball shortstop. Jim graduated in 1988 and, after not being drafted, he enrolled at Illinois Central College where he continued his baseball and basketball careers.
Preceding the Indians' 1996 season, sportswriters predicted that Thome would be moved up in the batting order and bat in the sixth position . During the 1996 season, Thome hit 38 home runs, once hitting a 511-foot homer at Cleveland's Jacobs Field, the longest home run ever at a Cleveland ballpark. Jim Thome is an American former professional baseball corner infielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball for 22 seasons from 1991 to 2012. Jim played for six different teams, most notably the Cleveland Indians, during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Traded to the Chicago White Sox before the 2006 season, he won the American League 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.
On July 20, Thome hit his first home run with the Orioles, his 610th of all time moving him past Sosa for seventh place all-time, against the Indians at Progressive Field. On August 6, Thome was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a herniated disk; he remained on the DL until September 21. In his first game back, he drove in the game-winning RBI in extra innings against the Boston Red Sox. Thome hit his first home run with the Twins on April 8, during the Twins' season-opening road trip. The Twins opened Target Field, their new home stadium, on April 12, 2010.
For the season, Thome hit 42 home runs, drove in 109 runs, and hit .288, though he struck out in 30% of his plate appearances, the highest percentage in the AL. On May 1, 2006, Thome returned to Cleveland to play against the Indians in his first game as a visitor at Jacobs Field, and received an unenthusiastic reception. During the 2000 season, Thome hit .269 with 37 home runs and 106 RBIs. On June 21, he hit his 20th home run of the year against the Chicago White Sox, marking the seventh consecutive season in which he hit 20 or more home runs.
No comments:
Post a Comment