When I think of Jim Thome, I picture a lefty slugger, taking up most of the batter’s box, with the biggest barreled bat I’ve ever seen. It seemed like Thome’s bat covered every part of the strike zone and he couldn’t possibly miss the ball. Maybe I picture this because Jim Thome destroyed my Detroit Tigers over his career. Thome was a .295 hitter against the boys from Motown… remember, Thome was a career .276 average. Of his 612 career home runs, 66 were hit against Detroit. Big Jim drove in 153 runs, drew 176 walks, and had a 1.074 OPS against the Tigers…in 218 games!
In his playing days, I often found Thome an irritating Tiger killer. However, I’ve come to appreciate him in his retirement. Whenever he’s on MLB Network, I find Thome genuine, interesting, and intelligent. He seems like a nice guy who would be easy to talk to…and not give you a superstar attitude. That’s why I’m very pleased Thome is being inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer. It’s refreshing to see the hard working, non-cheating, nice guy get their just do.
Thome’s hey-day was with the Cleveland Indians from the mid-1990s until the early 2000s. His best season was in 2002 when he hit .304 with 52 homers and 118 RBI. He led the American League in walks (122), slugging (.677), and OPS (1.122). The next season, Thome was in Philadelphia, where he led the league in home runs for the only time in his career. When his stay with the Phillies ended in 2005, Thome bounced around with four different teams the last six years of his career. The highlight of those seasons was in 2006, when Thome hit .288 with 42 homers and 108 RBI for the White Sox. Starting in 2006, Thome battled age and nagging injuries, he was primarily a DH for the rest of his career.
| Split | G | GS | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 Totals | 58 | 39 | 186 | 163 | 17 | 41 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 25 | 22 | 61 | .252 | .344 | .442 | .786 | 6 |
At first glance, Jim Thome’s final APBA card looks like a DH card. When you see (S) Firstbaseman (2), you usually think DH. Not surprisingly, Thome has solid power numbers (5-6-1). For the season, Thome hit .252. I project this card will produce a .244 average. APBA decided to give Thome an extra 8 (on 22) instead of a 22-7. Personally, I think they should have gone with the 22-7 so the card would produce a .250 average. As was the case throughout his career, Thome had a good eye and knew how to draw a walk. Demonstrating that, this card has four 14s. Of course, Thome always swung hard and had his fair share of strikeouts. With ten 13s, this card demonstrates that as well. It’s got so many 13s, some of them ended up in strange places, like 32 and 52. Plus, this card has a run of three 13s on 62, 63 and 64. There’s nothing like striking out 28% of the time.
In the minor leagues, Charlie Manuel helped make Jim Thome into a Hall of Fame Slugger. 
Among other things, he suggested Thome point his bat toward the stands like Roy Hobbs in The Natural. He thought it might relax Thome. It worked, and Thome became one of the most feared sluggers of his generation. Even though Jim Thome only led the league in homers once, he was consistent. In his 22 seasons, he averaged 39 home runs a year. He worked hard at his craft and did things the right way. For it, he’ll take his place among baseball’s immortals.
