Jim Thome

[William Malone]

James Howard Thome was born on August 27, 1970 in Peoria, Illinois.

The Cleveland Indians drafted him in round 13 of the 1989 MLB Draft. He made his Major League debut for them in 1991. Thome established himself as the starting third baseman in 1994, and blossomed into one of the greatest power hitters of all-time. He moved across the diamond to first base in 1997, and his 337 home runs are the most in franchise history. Cleveland reached the World Series twice during his 12-year tenure with the club, losing to the Atlanta Braves in 1995 and the Florida Marlins in 1997.

Thome signed a massive seven year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2003. He led the National League with 47 home runs that year. His 131 RBI were third in the league behind Preston Wilson of the Colorado Rockies and Gary Sheffield of the Atlanta Braves. Thome followed that up with 42 home runs and 105 RBI during the 2004 campaign. An elbow injury forced him to miss most of 2005. Ryan Howard replaced Thome at first base, and won NL Rookie of the Year. The emergence of Howard caused Philadelphia to shop Thome in the off-season, and he was traded to the defending champion Chicago White Sox.

He slashed .265/.391/.542 in four years with the White Sox, launching 134 home runs. His 500th career home run came in walk-off fashion against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Thome also hit a solo home run against the Minnesota Twins during the 2008 AL Central Tiebreaker Game, which held up as the game's only run. He was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a waiver deal on August 31, 2009. The Dodgers used Thome exclusively as a pinch hitter. He was 4-for-17 with no extra base hits, and 1-for-3 in the playoffs that fall.

Minnesota signed him to a one year contract on January 26, 2010. He was not an everyday player to begin the season, starting just 27 of their first 75 games. The original plan was to essentially platoon him with left fielder Delmon Young, putting regular designated hitter Jason Kubel in the outfield whenever the Twins faced a right handed pitcher. Young wound up having a career year, and it became hard for Ron Gardenhire to take him out of the lineup. They began playing Michael Cuddyer at third base in mid-June, helping open up some more at-bats for Thome. He became a full fledged starter a month later when Justin Morneau suffered a season ending concussion, which permanently moved Cuddyer to first base.

The timing of Morneau's injury was unfortunate, because the superstar first baseman was in the middle of a career year. But Thome ensured the Twins didn't miss the former MVP too much, slashing .303/.438/.669 in 50 games after the concussion occurred on July 7th against the Toronto Blue Jays. He hit the first walk-off home run in Target Field history on August 17th against the Chicago White Sox, which extended the team's AL Central lead to four games at the time. This lead grew even bigger after Minnesota began September on a 12-2 tear. Thome had a 1.544 OPS during that span, which included a four game home run streak.

He graced the cover of Sports Illustrated on September 27, 2010. Perhaps the infamous cover jinx slowed Thome down in October, as he went 1-for-10 with two walks in the ALDS. Minnesota was swept by the New York Yankees for a second year in a row.

The Twins re-signed Thome to another one year deal in the off-season. His chase for 600 career home runs turned out to be one of the only exciting storylines in an otherwise disappointing season. Several key players either got hurt or regressed, and the Twins suffered their first 90+ loss season since 2000. Thome himself was played on the disabled list twice; once in mid-April for an oblique injury, and again in early-June with a quad injury.

Home run number 599 came off Rick Porcello of the Detroit Tigers on August 15, 2011. Home run number 600 came an inning later against Tigers reliever Daniel Schlereth. At the time, he was the eighth player in Major League to reach the 600 home runs plateau. As of 2025, he is the only player to hit home runs 599 and 600 in back-to-back plate appearances.

Minnesota traded Thome to Cleveland for cash shortly after he hit his 600th home run, allowing him to return to the city where he had his best years at the age of 40. Thome had another homecoming in 2012 when he signed a one year deal with the Phillies. They traded him to the Baltimore Orioles in June, and that was the final stop of his big league career.

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