[EmpireWF]

Jim Thome joined the 500 home run club on Sunday...by hitting a walk off home run against the Angels in the ninth inning. It's believed, Thome is the first player in MLB history to hit a walkoff as his 500th career dinger.

Just saw highlights, amazing. After the win and celebration (with his family), Thome was carried around the field by Jermaine Dye and Bobby Jenks.

The game was tied 7-7 in the ninth when Jim Thome hit the walk off two run homer.

Sunday was also Jim Thome bobble head day. LOL

[ThePundit]

Even though Thome hit 500, I don't think he's a Hall-Of-Famer. What about everybody else?

[Lefty Noob]

Originally Posted by ThePundit

Even though Thome hit 500, I don't think he's a Hall-Of-Famer. What about everybody else?

Mike Greenberg was talking about this on ESPN 2 this morning. He made the point that sooner or later, members of the 500 home run club are going to stop being Hall of Fame locks. I agree with that, and I think that line gets drawn at Thome. Can you honestly look at his career and say he was ever, consistantly, even one of the 10 best players in baseball? So what if his numbers compare to Duke Snider, Reggie Jackson and Mike Schmidt. They also compare to Fred McGriff and Jose Canseco, and those guys have been dubbed unworthy of the Hall. No, Thome's no Hall of Famer in my book.

[legend]

I jsut wrote this half an hour before reading this post.


Now that Jim Thome has become a member of the 500 home run club, with his game-winning walk-off homer against the Angels on September 23rd, the question arise whether or not he is Hall of Fame worthy. Thome became the 23rd player to reach 500 home runs, and if he returns to the White Sox next year he has an excellent chance of moving much farther up the all-time list. Thome needs just 49 homers to make the leap from where he is now on this inventory all the way up to twelfth, as that would put him ahead of Mike Schmidt. Let’s look at Thome’s numbers and see if he should be inducted into the Hall of Fame when he finally hangs up his spikes.

Thome has never won an MVP Award in either league, finishing no higher than fourth in the voting for that prestigious honor. He has won a home run crown, leading the National League in long balls in 2003, when he hit 47 for the Phillies. Thome possesses no runs batted in titles, but he has led his league in at some point in such categories as walks, slugging percentage, runs created, and at-bat per home run ratio. He also has led the league in strikeouts three times, and stands at number three career-wise in that category. Jim has a total of 1,387 runs batted in, good for 68th on the career roster and he is the tenth best among active players. His career average is at .281, and he has enjoyed three seasons of hitting over .300. However, he has not yet achieved two thousand base hits, as he is 87 short of that mark as of this writing. Those who say that he is not a Hall of Famer will point to this, and the fact that he has played in an era of poor pitching and several players posting gaudy offensive numbers.

Thome could easily counter that his stats are plenty good, especially if put up against other first baseman in Cooperstown. Thome has numbers comparable to such stalwarts already enshrined as Willie Stargell, Johnny Mize, Tony Perez, and Orlando Cepeda. The naysayers could then argue that of the men in the Hall of Fame that played most of their games at first and eclipsed the 500 home run level, Thome has by far the fewest runs batted in. Ernie Banks, Jimmie Foxx, Eddie Murray, Willie McCovey, and Harmon Killebrew all hit at least 500 dingers, with McCovey’s 1,555 runs batted in the fewest in that group.

Thome has never won a Gold Glove, but has been a five-time All-Star and has won a Silver Slugger Award. He has put together nine seasons of having at least 102 runs batted in and has gone over the forty home run mark six different times for a season. He clobbered 52 for the Indians in 2002, his career benchmark. Although he has been in Major League Baseball for seventeen seasons, he did not play in at least half of the games in four of them, three at the beginning of his time in the sport and his lost injury-riddled 2005 campaign with the Phillies. This means that he has played in 2,000 games, which is still good for 210th on the all-time list.

Once he becomes eligible for Hall of Fame consideration, Thome will present the baseball writers with a hard choice, but I think that he will ultimately be voted into Cooperstown. He still has a live bat, and he could probably play for at least two more seasons. This would get him into some rarefied company as far as home runs are concerned, which will make it all but impossible for those with the say to ignore. Thome has never been mentioned in any steroid related scandals, and he has been the recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award, given to a player that has excelled on the field and been a positive force in his community. This could and most likely will tip the voters in his favor some day.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by EmpireWF

Jim Thome joined the 500 home run club on Sunday...by hitting a walk off home run against the Angels in the ninth inning. It's believed, Thome is the first player in MLB history to hit a walkoff as his 500th career dinger.

Just saw highlights, amazing. After the win and celebration (with his family), Thome was carried around the field by Jermaine Dye and Bobby Jenks.

The game was tied 7-7 in the ninth when Jim Thome hit the walk off two run homer.

Sunday was also Jim Thome bobble head day. LOL

wow..though he was in the 350 -425 range...

So is he now a HOF shoe in?...

[EmpireWF]

A shoe in? I don't think so. He will catch some flack for the era he played in, which was the juiced ball/steroid era. I don't think 500 dingers can be a guaranteed ticket into the HOF anymore.

[ThePundit]

I really think that the writers have to stop looking at numbers. Just ask yourself, was this guy a GREAT player?

That's what the HOF is supposed to be for.

Was Jim Thome a GREAT player? No.

[EmpireWF]

Thome was a great player, but he was never one of the best in the game at any one point.

[legend]

There's only so much a guy can do. He's paid to drive in runs and hit homers. He has nine 100 RBI seasons. If Ortiz were to have three more one hundred RBI seasons after this one, would he be a Hall of Famer?

[EmpireWF]

Ortiz is a good debate because he's a DH. That's a whole different argument.

[Lefty Noob]

Originally Posted by ThePundit

I really think that the writers have to stop looking at numbers. Just ask yourself, was this guy a GREAT player?

That's what the HOF is supposed to be for.

Was Jim Thome a GREAT player? No.

I agree with Pundit on this one. Thome does not deserve to be spoken of in the same breath as guys like Mike Schmidt or Duke Snider.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by legend

There's only so much a guy can do. He's paid to drive in runs and hit homers. He has nine 100 RBI seasons. If Ortiz were to have three more one hundred RBI seasons after this one, would he be a Hall of Famer?

I am with you...measured against his peers and his era...he still has the numbers...I say in...

[Lefty Noob]

Originally Posted by Gotham Dark Knight

I am with you...measured against his peers and his era...he still has the numbers...I say in...

People get too hung up on numbers. They're going to be inflated across the board in this era. Does than mean everyone gets in?

[ThePundit]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

People get too hung up on numbers. They're going to be inflated across the board in this era. Does than mean everyone gets in?

You're totally correct. This is not a knock on Thome. He's been a very, very good slugger....But the Hall of Fame is for the GREAT PLAYER....

What is great, you ask?

Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson, Stan Musial, Ted Williams, George Brett, Tom Seaver, Tony Gwynn, Nolan Ryan, Carlton Fisk, Robin Yount....

Is Jim Thome in this group? No.