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!
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