Jim Thome Headed BACK to Cleveland

After a frenzied day of "who got put on waivers" and "who didn't"...one waiver wire pick up stuck.

That's right, if you believe the folks on Twitter (and, really, why wouldn't you?), Jim Thome is leaving the Minnesota Twins and heading BACK to the Cleveland Indians.

There's no word yet as to who is heading north.

In 12 years with the Tribe (from 1991 through 2002), Thome hit a team-record 334. In his final year, the future Hall of Famer hit a single-season team record 52 homers.

On August 15, the 40-year-old slugger became the eighth man in history to hit 600 homers.

Jim Thome Quietly Reaches Milestone

Shhhh.  You hear that?

That's the silence surrounding Jim Thome's 600th home run.

You see, Monday night, Thome did what plenty of others attempting to reach major milestones couldn't. 

He didn't milk his pending accomplishment.

Long story short, he took four months of the season to get within two home runs of 600, then, nearly two weeks later...knocked out homers 599 and 600 in the same game.

Well.  Done.

In all honesty, Thome has been a great guy for this site.  Allow me to explain.

Or for some of you...re-hash the tale.

Nearly two years I wrote the following and a powder keg was ignited.

There you have it...Thome is very good, not great. Hall of Famer? Perhaps…but not on the first couple of ballots.

To this day (and especially after dude's most recent achievement), Google directing people (mostly those who look for information on "Jim Thome and steroids" or "Jim Thome and the Hall of Fame") in droves to a little post where I suggested that the man might not make it into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot.

My reason was simple.

His home run total, while incredible, will not be as eye popping five years after Thome's retirement. Basically, we’ve got a guy who smacked the Hell out of the ball, but was never the most dominant, much less feared, player of his era. And because of that, he'll get lost in the mix.

Since then, he's hit 102 more home runs and is one of eight players to have reached the 600 home run mark.  And, while I still believe it (to an extent)...I'll gladly eat my words.

I'm ready to take the heat.

So, to the chimps over at Baseball Think Factory...bring it on. I can take it.

Now...watch Jim Thome dressed up as Paul Bunyan!

Jim Thome is Paul Bunyan...or is it the Other Way Around?

You're going to see plenty of “at first glance, one might confuse Jim Thome with Paul Bunyan” posts circulating around the ole interwebs thanks to the Minnesota Twins new commercial.

But let’s not kid ourselves…there’s really no comparison.

One is, according to a quick Google search “a larger-than-life folk hero who embodies frontier vitality…a symbol of might, the willingness to work hard and the resolve to overcome all obstacles” and the other dresses up in a Jim Thome shirt and walks his ox through the bowels of Target Field.

See what I did there?

Enjoy this 30-second slice of pure genius courtesy of The St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Jim Thome Signs with the Twins

Remember the other day, when I posted all that nonsense about Jim Thome possibly landing with the Texas Rangers?

Forget it.

According to Kelly Thesier of MLB.com, the 40-year-old slugger will get $3 million in guaranteed money from teh Minnesota Twins...plus incentives based on playing time

Last season, Thome hit .283 with 25 home runs and 59 RBI in 340 plate appearances for Minnesota.  His career total of 589 home runs ranks him eighth all-time.

Is Texas Looking to Add Jim Thome?

Let's say you're the Texas Rangers and (A) you've lost the World Series and (B) you've lost the pitcher that helped get you there...what do you do?

Simple.

You re-load.

First, you bring in Brandon Webb, the 2006 National League Cy Young award winner.

Next comes a thirdbaseman in the form of Adrian Beltre who is coming off his eighth season of 20 or more home runs in the last eleven years.

And lastly...you add future Hall of Fame slugger Jim Thome.

It's true. Thome, who turns 41 in August...might just be the one to provide Texas with the left-handed power they're looking for according to The Dallas Morning News.

According to two baseball sources, the team has interest in free-agent designated hitter Jim Thome.  The left-handed hitting Thome, who enjoyed a big year for Minnesota last season, would split the DH chores with Michael Young.  Young would be a part-time DH and fill in at all four infield positions.

Last season, Thome hit .283 with 25 home runs and 59 RBI in 340 plate appearances for the Minnesota Twins.  His career total of 589 home runs ranks him eighth all-time.

If/when he finds work for 2011...he'll be looking to become the fifth player to surpass the 600 home run mark in the last ten years.

Jim Thome Surpasses Frank Robinson

Alright, karma...you win.

A couple of years ago, I wrote the following about Minnesota Twins slugger Jim Thome:

Thome is very good, not great. Hall of Famer? Perhaps…but not on the first couple of ballots.

Then...I followed it up with this gem:

His home run total, while incredible, will not be as eye popping five years after Thome's retirement. Basically, we’ve got a guy who smacked the Hell out of the ball, but was never the most dominant, much less feared, player of his era. And because of that, he'll get lost in the mix.

Since I ignited the first Thome powder keg (and trust me...plenty of you were upset), dude has hit 89 more home runs and is sitting at 587 for his career. That's right, the guy is now alone in eighth place all-time, having just surpassed Hall of Famer Frank Robinson.

The only players with more bombs that aren't in the Hall are Barry Bonds (762), Ken Griffey Jr. (630), Sammy Sosa (609) and Alex Rodriguez (605) and that's only because they are either still playing, just retired or aren't eligible to be enshrined yet.

And yes...I know I conveniently just side-stepped the steroid discussion.

But getting back to Thome.

The Peoria, Illinois native crushed a Justin Germano pitch in the twelfth inning Saturday to give his Twins a 1-0 victory over his former team, the Cleveland Indians.

And in case you were wondering, it was only Thome's 19th home run against the Tribe (a team that he hit a club-record 334 for) and first against the righty Germano.

Jim Thome Ties Frank Robinson

A day after his moonshot (didja see this one, yet?) seemingly changed my mind on his status as a first ballot Hall of Famer...Jim Thome went yard.

Again.

With this, his 586th career blast, the 40 year-old Thome tied Hall of Famer Frank Robinson for 8th place on the all-time list.

After Alex Rodriguez hit his 600th home run, I asked you all...who would be the next to the milestone. And what was your answer?

41% of you said Albert Pujols.

After watching what the Twins designated hitter has been up to lately...care to reconsider?

Jim Thome is in The News...Welcome to The Hall (Again)!

Every time Jim Thome is in the news...The Hall of Very Good sees some traffic. Apparently a guy hitting monster bombs (more on that later) makes people bang the Googles to the tune of "jim thome steroids".

I've detailed the rise in web traffic HERE and I ask you to skim it quickly before continuing.

In the meantime, the rest of you can watch (or listen) this video.



Alright...are you back?

Now that Thome is a home run shy of Frank Robinson on the all-time list and, at 40 years-old, seeing a resurgence in Minnesota, I'm ready to put him in the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.

I know, I know...I've said this in the past:

His home run total, while incredible, will not be as eye popping five years after Thome's retirement. Basically, we’ve got a guy who smacked the Hell out of the ball, but was never the most dominant, much less feared, player of his era.And because of that, he'll get lost in the mix.

And, while I still believe it (to an extent)...I'll gladly eat my words. I'm ready to take the heat.

So, to the chimps over at Baseball Think Factory...bring it on. I can take it.

Oh...did you see his home run Monday night? Christ.

Albert Pujols Favored to Reach 600 Next

After Alex Rodriguez went deep last week and became just the seventh player in Major League history to accumulate 600 or more home runs, I had to ask...who will be the next player to do it?

Future Hall of Famers Jim Thome (579 career bombs) and Manny Ramirez (554) are both within shouting distance of the milestone...but at 39 and 38 years old respectively, their best years are behind them.

While it would be hard to root against Thome because he's 21 long balls away from 600...does he have enough in the tank to do it? He's hit just 15 this year and I'm not so sure he'll continue to get the at bats next season.

Ramirez, on the other hand...well, he looks to be close to done.

At just 30 years old, Washington's Adam Dunn (347) has done nothing but crush the ball since he entered the league. In each of his last nine seasons, Dunn has hit at least 25 or more home runs. From 2004-2008, he became just the second player to hit 40 or more home runs in five straight seasons.

The other? George Herman Ruth...who did it in seven straight years. And with 31 so far this season, Dunn looks to have 40 back on his radar after stalling out at 38 last year.

Second generation superstar Prince Fielder has the most home runs of anyone under the age of 30. With 185 home runs at the age of 26, the Milwaukee Brewers first baseman is making a name for himself as one of the National League's premier power hitters.

Not surprisingly, Albert Pujols seems to be the odds on favorite to be the next guy to do everything. Friday night, the 30 year-old hit career homer number 394 and barring sudden injury, will become the second youngest player to reach 400.

Here's how the vote panned out.

41% - Albert Pujols
40% - Jim Thome
6% - No one
5% - Prince Fielder
4% - Manny Ramirez
2% - Adam Dunn

So what do you think? Who has the edge...who did I miss? More importantly...will we see anyone get to 600 again?!?

Curious about A-Rod and his march to the milestone? Here are ten things you might not have known about his 600 home runs.

Jim Thome is in the news...welcome to The Hall!

The Chicago White Sox confuse me.

Seriously...they do.

A couple of days ago, the Chicago sports world was buzzing with whether or not the Southsiders were going to be re-signing future Hall of Famer (I know, I know) Jim Thome.

Yes, the same Jim Thome that, just last August, was offered up to whatever team would bite. And yes, the same Jim Thome that earlier last week, Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said WON'T be part of his master plan of a rotating designated hitter.

So why was it news when the White Sox officially said they weren't bringing Thome back?

I don't know!

All that aside, Thome's one-year steal of a contract ($1.5 milion, plus incentives) with the Twins means good things for The Hall.

Basically, every time Thome is in the news, traffic here rises. His bat combined with that Minnesota lineup means more home runs and more Thome in the news.

I think I have a new hero.

Now for those of you that are stumbling upon this post (welcome!), let me get you up to speed with The Hall's affiliation with Thome.

When The Hall was just in its infancy, I wrote the following and a powder keg was ignited.

There you have it...Thome is very good, not great. Hall of Famer? Perhaps…but not on the first couple of ballots.

To this day, Google is still directing people (mostly those who look for information on "Jim Thome and steroids" or "Jim Thome and the Hall of Fame") to a little post where I suggested that Jim Thome might not make it into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot.

Since then, he's hit 66 more home runs and is sitting at 564 for his career. That's right, the guy is now 12th all-time, but I still stand by my claim...Thome will NOT be a first ballot Hall of Famer.

Why? My reasoning is the same as it was two years ago.

His home run total, while incredible, will not be as eye popping five years after Thome's retirement.

Basically, we’ve got a guy who smacked the Hell out of the ball, but was never the most dominant, much less feared, player of his era. And because of that, he'll get lost in the mix.

Now, add to the fact that his former teammate (and, if you ask me, more Hall-worthy) Roberto Alomar can get the votes to go in on his first try...how can Thome?

Do you agree (like Rob Neyer did last September) or disagree? Let me know!

2009: The Year That Was

About a week and a half ago, we said “adios” to 2009 and whatever “hello” is to 2010.

Many sites across the interwebs filled the end of the year with their “best of” lists…this is another one of those sites. You see, I’d have been a little more timely, but I was, um…being timely by breaking down the 2010 Hall of Fame ballot.

So, with a big “congrats” to the Baseball Hall of Fame’s newest member Andre Dawson and his supporters and an huge thanks that gave The Hall of Very Good, first, its biggest year to date and second, its biggest day (January 6) to date…here are the Top Ten* stories to hit this site in 2009.

10. On the Eve of 300 (June 4). The night before Randy Johnson notched his 300th career victory, I was able to compile the thoughts of three former Major Leagues that faced off against “The Big Unit”.

9. Talkin’ Baseball with Jeff Cirillo (August 28). The “Talkin’ Baseball” is one of my favorite things to do and they’re pretty popular on the site. I had no idea Jeff played in Mexico.

8. Hall of Fame ballot...2010 style! (December 3). A month before the Hall of Fame announcement was made…The Hall broke down the class of 26. Related, and also popular, was The Hall of Fame Class of 2011 (July 21). It seems people love themselves some Hall of Fame previews and talk of Bert Blyleven (more on that later).

7. Talkin’ Baseball with CJ Wilson (June 22). Talking with CJ and following him on Twitter is what pretty led to me starting “Twitter Tuesday”.

6. Jon Adkins signs Minor League deal with Reds (December 1). When good friend of The Hall Jon Adkins inked his deal with the Reds, I was curious what the Louisville GM had to say. Within minutes he responded and I committed it to the site. Shortly after that, one of my favorite sites, MLBTradeRumors.com, picked up the story.

5. Hall of Fame 2010: Kevin Appier (December 15). Mix together a Hall of Fame profile, a tongue-in-cheek Bert Blyleven reference and the chimps over at Baseball Think Factory and you know what you’ve got? A boatload of hits, gang!

4. Talkin’ Baseball with Seth Swirsky (October 25). Before the season started, I picked up a book by Seth Swirsky at the library. After buying, then reading, his other two…I started exchanging emails with the author and memorabilia collector. On what was the 23rd anniversary of (sorry Red Sox fans) Bill Buckner missing a slow roller up the firstbase line, Seth shared the story of how he came to owning that ball.

3. Twitter Tuesday (every Tuesday). “Infield Chatter”, “The Buzz”, “Follow Friday (Tuesday Style)” and now…“The Wisdom of Tommy Lasorda”, Twitter Tuesday has become a staple over at The Hall.

2. Mustache May (the ENTIRE month of May). Mustache May was conceived years ago when some friends and I decided to celebrate the ‘stache by growing one out. This year, it manifested itself with an endorsement from The American Mustache Institute, interviews with Fergie Jenkins (May 12) and Rollie Fingers (May 29) and, ultimately…an appearance on WGN 720 Radio (May 17).

1. Ten Milestones to Watch for This Season (April 6). The most popular post of the year was one that was initially a slideshow that was conceived to drive traffic (and it did) over at Bleacher Report. One appearance in Hot Clicks and on CBSsportsline.com later…a traffic generator was born.

Honorable Mention: Jim Thome now a Dodger...Hall of Fame next? (September 1). A couple years back, I posted that I didn't think Jim Thome was a first ballot Hall of Fame guy and the Baseball Think Factory chimps lost their collective mind. Almost two years later, I basically say it again...and Rob Neyer links to it.

What story (stories) did you enjoy most? Click on “comments” below and go bananas.

*-“Top Ten”…as defined at The Hall of Very Good’s Facebook page as “a combination of stories I enjoyed combined with the stories that had the most traffic”.

Jim Thome now a Dodger...Hall of Fame next?

When news circulated around the interwebs that the Chicago White Sox had sent out a memo stating that a number of their players were available to whoever wanted them...you kinda knew the night would end with a few guys getting dealt.

Such was the case for Jim Thome.

The future Hall of Famer (yes, I said it...more on that later) packed his bags following a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins and headed west to Los Angeles.

According to reports, Dodgers general manager Ned Colleti envisions Thome playing a role similar to the one Matt Stairs filled for the World Series champion Phillies last year.

"We're not brining him over here to play first base," Colleti told ESPN. "We're bring him here to come off the bench and be a great influence in the clubhouse. He's one of the true great guys in the game."

In all honesty, Thome has been a great guy for The Hall of Very Good as well. Allow me to explain.

Nearly two years I wrote the following and a powder keg was ignited.

There you have it...Thome is very good, not great. Hall of
Famer? Perhaps…but not on the first couple of ballots.

To this day, Google is still directing people (mostly those who look for information on "Jim Thome and steroids" or "Jim Thome and the Hall of Fame") to a little post where I suggested that Jim Thome might not make it into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot.

Since then, he's hit 66 more home runs and is sitting at 564 for his career. That's right, the guy is now 12th all-time, but I still stand by my claim...Thome will NOT be a first ballot Hall of Famer.

Why? My reasoning is the same as it was two years ago.

His home run total, while incredible, will not be as eye popping five years after Thome's retirement.

Basically, we’ve got a guy who smacked the Hell out of the ball, but was never the most dominant, much less feared, player of his era. And because of that, he'll get lost in the mix.

Sorry to cue up that broken record, but when the news of Thome heading to Los Angeles to join former Indian teammate and fellow bomber Manny Ramirez leads SportsCenter...I'm compelled to chime in.

Hooray for Saturday!

A lot of kids growing up get excited for the normal made up holidays…Valentine’s Day, Halloween, the last day of school. Me…I always got jazzed up about the day the Hall of Fame announcement was made.

Sure, it doesn’t have some fancy name or some wing at the Hallmark store dedicated to it, but it was, for a couple hours in January…my Christmas.

Well, TECHNICALLY, Christmas was Christmas…but you get the idea.

Then, after six months of thinking about it, we get what amounts to New Years Eve, a relative’s wedding or basically any other “holiday” where someone stands up and makes some clichéd speech about what an honor it is and how they never thought they would make it.

This weekend, we get the pleasure of hearing what I am sure is going to be another in a long line of self indulgent speeches when Rich “Goose” Gossage takes center stage.

Gossage is a guy who went from 33% of the vote to close to 86% in eight years. Somehow he convinced 300 votes that all of a sudden he was good enough to become the next great reliever to be inducted into the Hall. Apparently he wasn’t only a top notch closer…he’s a wizard! Heck, he’s not even the lone “Goose” to be elected into Baseball’s hallowed halls!

In my estimation, he was on the right ballot at the right time.

For some reason, voters don’t seem to want to enshrine Jim Rice or Andre Dawson and they live by some wacky code that SOMEONE needs to be voted in. But in an age of “did he” or “didn’t he”…the Hall wasn’t about to open its doors to the likes of Mark McGwire or Tim Raines. I get it.

Which brings me to what I saw recently on ESPN. Buster Olney and Buck Showalter were given five names of current Major Leaguers and were asked what they thought about their chances.

The names were no-brainers…Mike Mussina, Billy Wagner, Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel and Gary Sheffield. Let’s break ‘em down.

MIKE MUSSINA

To me, “Moose” is an interesting case. On paper, you see a HUGE winning percentage (.637), a brilliant 263 and 150 record and close to 2800 Ks. His career ERA is 3.69 and one could argue that had he not toiled for more than half of his career in Baltimore…he would be as much of a Hall candidate as Tom Glavine. HOWEVER, Glavine had five seasons with more than 20 wins. Mussina, while he’s hit double digits in wins seventeen straight years, has yet to eclipse 20. The Cy Young award has eluded Mussina as well. Unfortunately, six top five finishes and no hardware doesn’t make for the best Hall of Fame case. Showalter, said Mussina is a Hall of Famer…Olney disagreed. I’m with Olney on this one. Outside of wins and consistency, and this sounds stupid to say, Mussina just hasn’t SHOWN me anything spectacular.

BILLY WAGNER

Wagner should eclipse Eckersley on the all-time saves list this season and enter next year’s campaign firmly in fifth place all-time, third on the active list. That being said, he’s still WELL behind Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera and Lee Smith AND is a guy who has never led the league in saves. By comparison, Hoffman has only led the National League twice, but he has nine seasons with more than 40 saves. Rivera has led the American League three times and has six seasons with more than 40 saves. Wagner has two. I’m not saying that Wagner isn’t a premier closer…I’m just saying that if Lee Smith can’t get a sniff at a time when Bruce Sutter, Eckersley and Gossage are…Billy Wagner is going to have a rough time competing for the writer’s affection with the likes of Hoffman and Rivera still out there. As for Olney and Showalter…they split again. Showalter was a “maybe”, while Olney “agrees” with me.

JIM THOME

I’ve made the case for Thome and over the last year…he hasn’t done anything to make me feel otherwise. He’s got 526 home runs and barely 2000 hits. He’s going to have to do PLENTY more to sway me. Again, Olney and I are “no” votes…Showalter, predictably, was a “yes”.

OMAR VIZQUEL

Again, this is a drum I’ve beaten before and is one of those guys that I LOVE to bring into the conversation when it presents itself. Not surprisingly, Olney, Showalter and I agree across the board with “Sheik Omar”. As much as I would hate to see him hang it up…I think Omar needs to ride off into the sunset before he ruins his storied career.

GARY SHEFFIELD

Now…here’s a guy who, in all honesty, deserves his own column. Does he pass the smell test? Not sure…he plays alongside some FANTASTIC players. Matter of fact, he’s been overshadowed by plenty of them, but has put up some amazing numbers. A .294 career average, 2570 hits, 487 home runs and 1600 RBI puts him in a similar league as Willie McCovey, Mike Schmidt, Willie Stargell and Ernie Banks. HOWEVER…that’s where some of the similarities end unfortunately since each of the afore mentioned have bettered Sheff’s three top five MVP finishes by taking home the award at least once. I could go on and on about Sheffield (and I might just do that in the near future), but it is interesting to note that the nine time All-Star only once led the league in a major statistical category…he batted an NL best .330 in 1992. So…what did the ESPN experts think? Olney said “yes” and Showalter, for some reason, disagreed. Me? I agree with Buster…not Buck.

So what about you? I’ll put each up for vote…and you tell me what you think!

Jim Thome? Not so fast.

***Note: I've since revised this thing (slightly) since it was written in September 2007. Please check out a fresher take HERE!***

So we’re living in a juiced ball era (alledgedly)…I can accept that.

By the time the curtain closes on this current season, we’ll have seen Barry Bonds set the new home run record, two players (Sammy Sosa and Kenny Griffey) eclipse 600 and potentially four (Frank Thomas, Alex Rodriguez, Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez) surpass 500.

By my count, we’ll have 24 members of the 500 club and of the Hall eligible, all but one (Mark McGwire) is enshrined and another (Rafael Palmeiro) will be the unfortunate poster child for the steroid era given he tested positive.

Over the next couple of years, more players will hit the 500 mark then every before, but it’ll drop off. It’s kinda like the early 80s when, if you sneezed hard enough, another veteran pitcher hit his 300th victory.

Milestones are milestones, and they’re great, but let me ask this…is the 500 home run mark watered down? More specifically…is someone like Jim Thome a Hall of Famer? Now, by living in the Midwest, I’ve had the conversation with my peers…I’ve heard it talked about on the radio. People LOVE this guy.

I’m not convinced. The guy hit a bunch of bombs in an era when EVERYONE did. Confused by that statement? Let me put it in perspective…Jim Thome has led the league in home runs ONCE. If anything, Thome is the Webster’s Dictionary definition of “consistent”…not dominant. Never once, have I thought of dominant first basemen and come up with the name “Thome”.

Jeff Bagwell…sure. Todd Helton…most definitely. Frank Thomas…without a doubt.

The case for Thome reads like this:

• He is a prolific power hitter that could very well end up in the top 12 on the home run list by the time he retires.
  
• Nine 100+ RBI seasons, six 40+ home run seasons.
  
• Career on base percentage over .400…not too shabby.
  
• While he has no Gold Gloves to show for it, this converted third baseman is VERY overlooked as a fielder. Thome has a career fielding percentage of .994 at first base.

The case against:

• Less than 2000 career hits is VERY underwhelming. Edgar Renteria has more hits than Jim Thome.
  
• No MVP awards, only one top five finish (fourth in 2003).
  
• Third on the all-time strikeout list.
  
• No rings in two World Series appearances...a career .229 post season batting average. Heck...he wasn't even the best player on the Indians during his days in Cleveland.
  
• There will be FAR too many more qualified first time inductees by the time Thome becomes eligible.

There you have it...Thome is very good, not great. Hall of Famer? Perhaps…but not on the first couple of ballots. In short, we’ve got a guy who smacked the Hell out of the ball, but was never the most dominant, much less feared, player of his era. And because of that, he'll get lost in the mix. Also, a fifth of his games played have been as a DH…and ask Harold Baines how that has helped HIS case to get into Cooperstown without having to open up his wallet.

***Note: The "is Jim Thome a first ballot Hall of Famer?" poll garnered the following results...Yes-41% (23 votes), No-59% (33 votes). I guess a number of you agree with me!***