In the final installment of a six-part series, we take a look at 10 Hall of Fame moments in the career of Jim Thome, the greatest walk-off home run specialist in Major League History.
The native of Peoria, Illinois is best known for his 12 years with the Cleveland Indians but is also a popular figure in Philadelphia (he was the predecessor to Ryan Howard at first base from 2003-05). He’s highly regarded on the South Side of Chicago; he spent nearly four full years with the White Sox from 2006-09.
Thome also had a cup of coffee with the Los Angeles Dodgers and spent a productive year and half with the Minnesota Twins (2010-11) before brief reunion tours in Cleveland and Philadelphia. He spent the last half of the 2012 season with the Baltimore Orioles and retired at the age of 42 following the season.
A big man listed on Baseball Reference at 6’4″ and 250 pounds, Thome blasted 612 home runs during his 22-year MLB career and, unlike so many contemporary sluggers in the 1990’s and 2000’s, there was nary a whisper that he was a user of Performance Enhancing Drugs. It’s why I dubbed my piece about his career Jim Thome: Natural Hall of Fame Slugger.
Cooperstown Cred: Jim Thome
- Career: 612 HR, 1,699 RBI, 147 park-adjusted OPS+
- 612 career home runs (8th most all-time)
- 13.8 career at bats per home run (4th best all-time) (min 5,000 plate appearances)
- 1,747 career walks (7th most all-time)
- 72.9 career WAR (Wins Above Replacement) (9th best ever for 1st basemen)
- 5-time All-Star
- 6 times in top 15 for MVP voting
(cover photo: si.com)
When compiling the top 10 list for James Edward Thome, it was hard to whittle it down to 10 iconic moments. When you hit 612 regular season home runs (plus another 17 in post-season ball), picking 10 isn’t easy. OK, I cheated a little bit. Two of the “moments” were two-home run games so we’ll have 12 to show on our list.
I’m sure that if you’re fan of any of the teams that Thome played for, that there are dozens of other moments etched in your memory that aren’t here. Please share if you feel I missed a big one.
Let’s begin.
#10. October 4, 1991: Indians v Yankees
Jim Thome made his major league debut in September 1991, eight days after turning 21 years of age. The ’91 Indians were not good, the cellar-dwellers in the American League East. On October 4, 1991, in an otherwise meaningless game, the second to last of the season, the Indians were down 2-1 in the 9th inning at Yankee Stadium.
With two outs and a runner on first base, Thome blasted a 1-0 offering from Steve Farr into the the empty upper deck to give the Tribe a 3-2 lead, which they would hold. It took 95 plate appearances for Thome to hit the first of his 612 MLB home runs but he delivered it in style and with meaning, handing the Tribe their, ahem, 57th and final victory of the season.
#9. August 4, 2000: Angels v Indians
In a wild game against the Anaheim Angels, the Indians were down 10-9 in the bottom of the 9th inning. After a walk by Troy Percival, Thome launched a two-run walk-off blast off a 2-2 slider to give the Indians a 11-10 victory.
Thome owns the MLB record with 13 walk-off home runs. Interestingly, this was not the first time he victimized Percival in walk-off fashion. On April 10, 1998, the Indians slugger blasted a three-run tater off the Angels’ closer in the 10th inning to deliver a 8-5 win to the Tribe.
#8. July 17th, 2009: Orioles v White Sox
In the middle of his fourth season as the Chicago White Sox designated hitter, Thome hit two home runs (including a grand slam) with a career high 7 runs batted in. That represented a career high in RBI and the 45th of 50 multi-home run games (including the post-season). You can put ’em on the board!!!!! Yes!!!!!
#7. July 3, 1999: Royals v Indians
One could argue that this was the highlight of Jim Thome’s career (MLB.com’s Joe Posnanski picked it as his #1 moment) or you could argue that it doesn’t belong on the list at all because of the lack of game significance. It was a regular season game, the second in a double header against the Kansas City Royals.
In the bottom of the 2nd, against the Royals’ Don Wengert, Thome launched a 511 foot blast to center field that bounced onto Eagle Ave and was considered the longest home run in the 6-year history of Jacobs Field.
#6. September 16, 2007: Angels v White Sox
The 2007 season was a lost campaign for the Chicago White Sox. Two years removed from a World Series championship, the Chisox entered this otherwise meaningless contest with the Los Angeles Angels with a 63-85 record.
The word “otherwise” is used, needless to say, because the game provided the home fans with a key moment in the history of their slugging DH. In the bottom of the 9th, with former Angel Darin Erstad at 1st base, 37-year old Jim Thome hit the 500th HR of his career, a two-run walk-off blast that gave the Sox a 9-7 win over the Angels.
The future Hall of Famer would go on to hit home runs 501 through 507 in the next 10 games to finish the season with that number.
#5. October 13, 1998: ALCS Game 6 (Indians v Yankees)
In Game 6 of the 1998 ALCS at Yankee Stadium, the Indians fell behind 6-0 by the middle of the 3rd inning. This was a must-win game for the Tribe since they were down 3 games to 2 in the series.
In the top of the 5th, the Indians started chipping away against starter David Cone, loading the bases with no outs. Cone walked David Justice on 5 pitches to walk in a run.
Next, after a strikeout of Manny Ramirez, Thome launched an upper-deck grand slam to put the Indians back into the game, down 6-5. It was a big blow in a losing effort, however, as the Bronx Bombers went on to win 9-5 to clinch the pennant.
#4. August 5, 2011: Twins v Tigers
In 2011, Jim Thome was in the middle of his 2nd season with a really bad Minnesota Twins team, one that finished the campaign with a 63-99 record. Twins fans didn’t have a whole lot to get excited about in 2011 other than the pursuit of 600 home runs by their part-time designated hitter.
It had been a slow slog for Thome in his chase for #600. From July 5th to August 13th (a span of 27 games), the 40-year old slugger had managed just 3 home runs with a lowly .768 OPS.
After missing opportunities to make history in a five-game homestand in Minnesota and a two-game set in Cleveland, Thome broke out at Comierca Park in Detroit. He hit his 599th home run of the year (a two-run shot) off Tigers’ starter Rick Porcello to break a 3-3 tie in the top of the 6th.
Then, with the Twins clinging to a 6-5 lead in the 7th, Thome hit his 600th career home run with a 3-run opposite field blast off lefty reliever Daniel Schlereth. Thome only played 5 more games in a Twins’ uniform before being sent back to his original team, the Cleveland Indians.
#3. September 30, 2008: A.L. Central Tie-Breaker (Twins v White Sox)
At the end of the 2008 season, the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins were tied with identical 88-74 records. By virtue of the coin flip, the White Sox had the honor to host the A.L. Central tie-breaker game at U.S. Cellular Field.
September 30 was a Tuesday. The Chisox had already been forced to play an extra game at the end of the regular season on Monday (against the Detroit Tigers to make up for a rainout) just to make it into the tie-breaker. Chicago easily beat Detroit in that game (by a 8-2 score).
The tiebreaker game featured two inexperienced starting pitchers, Twins 26-year old rookie right-hander Nick Blackburn against the White Sox’ second year lefty, 23-year old John Danks.
The game is known as the “blackout” game because the fans were all encouraged to wear White Sox black to show their solidarity with the team. Through 6 1/2 innings, the two young starters had done their best John Smoltz-Jack Morris impressions, dueling to a scoreless tie.
In the bottom of the 7th, however, Jim Thome pummeled a 2-2 pitch from Blackburn and broke the 0-0 tie with a solo home run to straight-away center field. Behind the blast from their 38-year old DH, the White Sox won the game by the score of 1-0 and advanced to the ALDS.
#2. October 15, 1995: ALCS Game 5 (Mariners v Indians)
The 1995 Cleveland Indians, who went 100-44 in the strike-shortened season, were the best team in the Major Leagues based on regular season won-loss record. They had just pummeled the Boston Red Sox easily with a three-game sweep in the A.L. Division Series.
The Tribe were favored in the ALCS but were facing a team that seemed to have destiny behind them. The Seattle Mariners had stormed from behind to win the A.L. West and had just dispatched the New York Yankees in a thrilling five-game series.
Both teams were filled with stars. The Mariners had Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson, along with likely soon-to-be-inducted Edgar Martinez. The Indians had Hall of Famers Thome and Eddie Murray, along with Dave Winfield (who did not play in the post-season).
The series was tied at 2 games apiece heading into Game 5 at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. In the bottom of the 6th, the Indians were trailing 2-1 when Murray hit a one-out double. The next batter was Thome, who hit a two-run HR down the right field line off Chris Bosio to give the Indians a one-run lead. The 3-2 score held until the end of the game.
The Indians took a 3-2 series lead and clinched their first pennant since 1954 two nights later in Seattle.
#1. October 26, 1995: World Series Game 5 (Braves v Indians)
The Indians were in their first Fall Classic in 31 years. Their opponent, the Atlanta Braves, were in their third in the previous 5. Even though Cleveland had a superior regular season record (100-44 compared to 90-54), the Braves boasted a trio of future Hall of Fame starters in Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.
While Atlanta had the ace starters, the Tribe had the greatest lineup in the major leagues. anchored by Thome, Murray and an outfield of Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton and Manny Ramirez.
This was a true heavyweight World Series matchup. Behind Maddux and Glavine, the Braves won the first two games in Atlanta. The Indians prevailed in Game 3 on a walk-off 11th inning RBI single by Murray. After the Braves took Game 4 and a 3-1 series lead, Game 5 became a must-win for the Indians. The pitching matchup was a classic, featuring Maddux and playoff-tested Orel Hershiser (the 1988 World Series MVP with the Dodgers).
Belle gave the Indians a 2-0 lead with a first inning tater off Maddux. By the end of 5 innings, the Braves had clawed back to tie the score at 2. In the bottom of the 6th, Carlos Baerga hit a one-out double. After an intentional walk to Belle and a flyout by Murray, Thome gave the Indians a 3-2 lead with a RBI single off Maddux. The Indians slugger would later add a solo home run in the 8th off Brad Clontz, providing a crucial insurance run in the Indians’ 5-4 victory that kept the series alive.
Although the Braves would go on to win Game 6 and their first title since 1957 when the franchise was in Milwaukee, the 1995 post-season was the break-out party for the Indians 25-year old third baseman. Thome’s counterpart on the hot corner was Chipper Jones, a 23-year old rookie in ’95. It’s fitting that the two most notable offensive players of these two great teams of the ’90’s would enter Cooperstown together.
Well, that’s 10 great games and 12 memorable home runs in the career of Jim Thome. Still, since this is the final installment of Cooperstown Cred‘s six-part series about the top moments of the Hall of Fame Class of 2018, I think it’s appropriate to allow for an encore.
So, for extra credit, we will share with you the first and last walk-off home runs of Jim Thome’s 22-year career.
Encore #1. June 15, 1994: Blue Jays v. Indians
Jim Thome hit his first career walk-off home run (in the 13th inning), the first of his 13 game-ending HR, the most in MLB history. The win gave the Tribe a sweep of the defending World Series champion Blue Jays.
Encore #2: June 23, 2012: Rays v Phillies
This pinch-hit, game-winning shot off Tampa Bay’s Jake McGee was the 13th walk-off tater of Thome’s career. The blast also tied Thome with Sammy Sosa for 7th on the all-time home run list with 609.
Until this final walk-off moment, Thome was in a 6-way tie with 5 other players with 12 game-ending homers: Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle and Frank Robinson. Pretty nice company, eh? Call it Cooperstown company for the newly minted Hall of Famer. Congratulations, Jim!
Thanks for reading.
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