Jim Thome

James Howard Thome, born August 27, 1970, is an American former Major League Baseball player who spent 22 seasons in the big leagues (1991–2012) as a first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter. He ranks eighth all-time with 612 home runs, a testament to his prolific power. Over his career, he collected 2,328 hits, drove in 1,699 runs, and batted .276. Thome earned five All-Star selections and a Silver Slugger Award in 1996.

Raised in Peoria, Illinois, in a large, blue-collar family of athletes, Thome attended Illinois Central College before being drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 1989 draft. He debuted in 1991 and became a key part of a core that led Cleveland to five straight playoff appearances in the 1990s, including World Series trips in 1995 and 1997. After more than a decade with the Indians, he left as a free agent after 2002 to join the Philadelphia Phillies for three seasons.

Traded to the Chicago White Sox before 2006, he won the American League Comeback Player of the Year Award that year and joined the 500 home run club during his three-year stint there. By then, back pain limited him to designated hitter duties. Following stops with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins, he made brief returns to Cleveland and Philadelphia before finishing his playing career with the Baltimore Orioles. After retiring, he took an executive role with the White Sox.

Thome’s hallmark was power hitting. He hit at least 30 home runs in 12 different seasons, topping 40 in six of those. His career high came in 2002 with 52 homers, and in 2003 he led the National League with 47. His keen eye at the plate produced 12 seasons with at least 90 walks, resulting in a .402 on-base percentage.

His .956 on-base plus slugging (OPS) ranks 19th all-time. In 2011, he became just the eighth MLB player to reach 600 home runs. He holds the record for career walk-off home runs with 13. A signature of his was his unusual batting stance—holding the bat out with his right hand and pointing it toward right field before the pitch, a move he first saw in The Natural.

Known for his consistently upbeat attitude and gregarious personality, Thome was also an active philanthropist, earning two Marvin Miller Man of the Year Awards, a Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, and a Roberto Clemente Award for his community work. In 2018, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot.

Thome was born in Peoria, Illinois, on August 27, 1970, the youngest of five children. His family was deeply involved in sports: his grandmother was hired at a local Caterpillar plant solely to play on the company softball team; his father built bulldozers for Caterpillar and played slow-pitch softball; his aunt Caroline Thome Hart is in the Women’s Softball Hall of Fame; and his older brothers, Chuck III and Randy, played baseball at Limestone High School.

Thome learned baseball from his father on a tennis court and also played basketball in what he called the “ghetto” of Peoria, where he was the only white kid but earned respect from his peers. As a youth, he sneaked into the Cubs’ clubhouse at Wrigley Field trying to get an autograph from his favorite player, Dave Kingman, but failed; though he got signatures from other players, the experience made him generous with autographs during his career.

Like his brothers, Thome attended Limestone High School, earning all-state honors in basketball and as a baseball shortstop. He also played American Legion Baseball for Bartonville Limestone Post 979. Despite hoping to attract scouts, he weighed only 175 pounds at 6 feet tall—well below the average MLB player’s 195 pounds in 1993—so he drew little interest. After graduating in 1988 and going undrafted, he enrolled at Illinois Central College, where he continued both sports. After one season, the Cleveland Indians drafted him as an “afterthought” in the 13th round (333rd overall) of the 1989 draft.

In 1989, Thome was assigned to the Gulf Coast League Indians, a Cleveland affiliate. He finished the year with a .237 average, no home runs, and 22 RBIs in 55 games. After that rookie season, he met hitting coach Charlie Manuel, who later became his manager and mentor. Unlike most Indians staff, Manuel saw potential in Thome and worked with him extensively, especially on his hip motion while swinging. Thome later said Manuel saw something in him that he didn’t. Manuel suggested Thome point his bat toward center field before the pitch to relax, like Roy Hobbs in The Natural. The work paid off: in 1990, Thome hit .340 with 16 home runs and 50 RBIs in 67 games across Rookie and Class A levels. In 1991, he spent most of the season between Double-A and Triple-A, combining for a .319 average, seven homers, and 73 RBIs in 125 games.

Thome made his MLB debut on September 4, 1991, as a third baseman against the Minnesota Twins.