Thome in The Hall!

When Jim Thome first showed up on the Indians roster, I felt it. I knew that no matter what he did with his career, he would always be one of my all-time favorites. He was likeable. He was a Triber. And, in very short order, he showed he was also a player.

Over his years in Cleveland, I loved watching him on TV when the Indians were on where I could see them. Throughout his career, he remained one of the “good guys.” I don’t mean in playability. He was way more than “good” in that regard. But, he was the guy who came to work and put in the effort when several other players were growing big heads, fighting drug use accusations and causing many fans to turn away from America’s pastime.

When he left Cleveland, many fans turned their anger toward Thome. Sure, he played a part in his $89mil contract with the Phillies, but I was angry with the Cleveland office who had once again turned the Tribe into the farm team to the rest of the league. The Indians continued their notoriety for dumping star players and perpetually existing in a state of “starting over” after having a great season.

From the beginning, I maintained he was one of the most underrated and unappreciated players in the league. He hit 300, 400, 500 homers and it went largely unreported, unnoticed. When he cracked 600, people finally started paying attention and heaping accolades on the “good guy of baseball” that were long, long overdue.

When talk of the Hall started before his retirement, I was convinced that he would probably never make it simply because he was so underrated. Fortunately, he had put is head down and gone to work throughout his career. As it turns out, a lot of folks in the BBWAA knew this work deserved to be recognized and rewarded. Thome entered the Hall with 89.9 percent of the vote, placing him between two other former Tribers: Roberto Alomar and Frank Robinson.

Mighty fine company.

Note: This post was supposed to go out on Thursday after the HOF announcement. I was in Orlando on business and forgot to push publish. D'oh!

#PackADailyCircus - Thome or not, here I come

Hey, everyone! I will be running through the draft later tonight. I was going to do it on Sunday, but after our shopping weekend, my wife and I spent the evening in her classroom getting it ready for the upcoming school year. She is truly one of the most creative and organized people I know. Her students are in for a treat, as usual!

Tonight, I will bust open yesterday's pack and then later tonight, I will bust open today's pack. Try to keep up and watch me for the changes...

Wow, small pack... 2013 Topps Series 2 with 5 whole cards. Let's see how we do:

Brian Duensing - Twins - Free Agent
Paul Maholm - Braves - Free Agent
Devin Mesoraco - Reds - NachosGrandes (Wahoo!!)
Wilin Rosario - Rockies - ProwlingCats (Wahoo!!)
Domonic Brown - Phillies - Dawgbones (Wahoo!!)

Hey! We started off slow, but finished out the pack with three hits in a row! Congrats, managers!

Before I go, I know I haven't said anything about Jim Thome and the statue unveiling in Cleveland. Part of that comes from being away without a real keyboard in hand (I only took my iPhone on our mini-vaca). Part of it is just letting the whole thing soak in. Thome is one of my all-time favorite players. When I was in Cleveland a few years ago, we got to see the place where the statue was scheduled to stand. I do not know if it is actually standing in the same spot or not. I knew then it would be something special. There are plenty of people who have said positive and negative things about Thome, his leaving, his return, his leaving again, and his final return. I was so glad the Indians let him retire as a Triber. When he goes into the Hall of Fame, I hope he is wearing an Indians uniform. It's weird to look back to the very early 90's and remember seeing him first come on the field. I remember the first card I got of his - Upper Deck rookie card, two bats on his shoulder and a ball tossed in the air. Even then, I knew there something about him that I had hoped: He would be great - on and off the field. And, he was, is. It's been fun watching Thome go from a young kid to a solid player and then maturing (in age) through end of his career. I don't know what he has in store for the next phase of his life, but I tip my Wahoo Cap to Mr. Thome. You were a what all ballplayers should aspire to be.

Below, a card I received from Kimaloo (blogger, artist) in 2008. It is truly one of my most prized cards:

Walking off a leader

As many of you know, I am a huge Jim Thome fan.  The other day, as my family was making our way back across the United States after our vacation in da 'Burgh, Thome knocked in an all-time leading 14th walk-off homer!  To boot, Papelbon had put a $5000 bounty on a walk-off for the game as an incentive to get his teammates going.  Thome answered the call!  He now leads the majors in walk-off homers. Way to go, Mr. Thome!

The photo comes from my trip to The Jake during a (thankfully) brief afternoon thundershower.

2003 Post, Upper Deck, EA Sports, RealOne CDs

Remember when Topps cards appeared on the bottom of Hostess boxes or were included in boxes of cereal?  Well, in 2003, Post teamed up with Upper Deck, RealOne Networks, America Online, and EA Sports to bring collectors a look into the "21st Century Collection."  What did these new-fangled collections come on? CD-ROM, of course!

I recently found a stash of the discs in a pile of other ancient games and CD's, and realized I never completed the set.  Heck, I'm not sure until today I even ever opened a single disc.  I did not have AL Central in my stash, so I found a seller on eBay, bid and bought it. 

There were six discs in all, one for each division.  According to the promo video that plays, if you collected all six discs you could order a real set of cards from UD.  More on that in a moment.

Surprisingly, the CDs still play on a Windows 7 machine, though there are some weird glitches. If you plan to pick these up, I suggest you run them in the Windows XP Mode download from Microsoft.  The install puts RealOne on your computer if you don't already have RealPlayer.  Not sure what it does if you *do* have RealPlayer already.

The promotion was officially called "Three Ways to Score" and featured the title screen below.  One could run a demo of EA Sports MVP 2003 Home Run game where you face off against another player (human or computer) and you have to hit enough home runs to accumulate 5,280 feet (a mile).  I played as Jim Thome against the computer as Sammy Sosa. Let's just say I have to practice on timing.

The other options from the title screen are to watch "Huge Home Runs" - a video collection featuring homers from the teams featured on the particular disc.  You could also view you virtual trading cards.  You may recall my post about CyberAction collectible trading cards.  These were the the-modern day version.  We'll see those in a bit.

Right now, check out the screenshot from the "Huge Home Runs" video of the Indians.  The video can be played full screen, but by today's standards, the quality doesn't even rival YouTube low quality. It's a bit rough to watch outside of the default size (my guess about 320x240 maybe).  You can't see it in my screenshot, but the bottom half of the layout has icons of the teams to choose from.  When you pick one for the first time, the program copies the videos to your computer.

The last option on the title screen is to view your collection.  This actually two parts to it: the virtual cards and a checklist system for UD's MVP series for 2002.  Why?  I have no idea.  The cool thing, though, about the checklist: you get a front and back view of each card.

Next, we get to the virtual cards.  First, we see a checklist of the cards available on THIS disc.  You have to insert the right CD to view the right cards.  That is sooo 2003...  So is telling people to click on the HIGHLIGHTED names.  Because, you know, we were so dumb in '03 we didn't understand hyperlinks and all that fancy web-page stuff.

The cards themselves are actually kinda cool, for digital cards that is.  Again, the resolution of today's computers make reading these a bit rough.  However, you get the general idea:

I will have to see if I can find the actual card that goes along with Thome's virtual one.  I don't think I ever knew they had physical counterparts.  That's actually a very clever idea, Upper Deck.

Since I am only missing #'s 3 and 5, I may hit the 'Bay and snag them up - or a full set, probably cheaper.

Jim Thome Baseball Game

Evidently, in 1997, Jim Thome was asked to put his name and likeness on a dice/board baseball game.  I had never seen nor heard of this beast until I saw a recent post on OldTimeFamilyBaseball.com.  From there, I just had to look around. Sure enough, there are several on eBay...  I may have to add this to my Christmas wish list, just for kicks.

For those who enjoy "airburshing," you can see this game is NOT licensed by the MLB in any form or fashion.  Sure, he may be wearing an Indians uniform in these images, but you're not supposed to know he is...  Based on the work done, it probably would have been cheaper to get the rights than pay the person to airbrush the images.  Then again, I know several of you could whip that out pretty quickly.

Crying FOUL!

Announced today, the Indians have decided NOT to exercise Grady Sizemore's option, while choosing to keep Fausto Carmona.  What seems to be the bane of Tribe fans who are voicing their opinion overwhelming supports the Sizemore decision.  What many fans are crying FOUL over is the decision to keep Carmona.  Why bother keep Carmona?

Well, with his 7-15 record and abysmal 5.15 ERA, that is the multimillion dollar question.  My take on this?  They kept him, hoping for a just-above-par performance next season in order to facilitate a trade.  Basically, I think the Indians are hoping he can improve enough before the 2012 trade deadline and work out a deal with some sucker.  Of course, once Carmona does get traded off, he will become the darling of the MLB, as how things seem to turn out for many of the Indians players lately.

Okay, maybe "darling" is stretching it a bit.

What of Sizemore?  I think he should retire from the MLB.  Seriously. Take the injuries and head off to a career as a semi-pro player using his "what I used to be" history and help some club boost their numbers. 

Of course, I may be in the minority here, but I see Hafner doing the same thing.  The Indians cannot simply go one coddling players that used to be killer and who are now just injury-prone has-beens.

What of Thome?  Well, evidently he has filed for free agency (along with several other Tribers).  While I would love for Thome to get a World Series ring, I think his incredible (though mostly ignored) career should go out on top with this 600+ home runs.

Getting back to the original topic: What do you think?  Was keeping Carmona and ditching Sizemore the right thing to do?

Thome Hits 1st Triber Homer since 2002!!

The pitch comes in right where Jim Thome likes it. His swing already lining up to send the ball flying.  Sure enough, when he connected on the pitch shown above, the ball headed out for the stands!  It's so good to see Thome sporting the red, white and blue of the Indians again!  Wahoo!

Welcome Back, Thome!

The Indians picked up Thome from the Twins for a player to be named later.  At this point, I don't care who the Indians have to give up, Thome is a VERY welcome member of the Indians lineup.  For me, it is very similar to the Lofton situation several years ago.  Bring in a leader, an all-around good guy, a future HOFer.  This is most likely Thome's last season, and he will finish where he started.  Lofton was a little different when he came back (he did not start in Cleveland, but was most prolific there) compared to what Thome is facing.

I think that Thome will become the regular DH for the rest of the season as long as he stays healthy.  And, with Thome in the clubhouse, I see the Indians' chances for post season play greatly improved.  Now, dreaming the way I like to dream: the Indians go all the way and Thome walks away from his MLB career with more than 600 homers and a World Series ring.  Hey, I can dream...

In any case, the fact that Thome is coming home brings even more spirit to Indians fans everywhere!

Thome, Twins and Tribe

 I know many, many Indians fans might disagree with me, but I hope Thome reaches his 600 home run mark while playing in Cleveland!  So far, it's not looking good.  He had 1 base-on-balls and 1 strikeout.  There is nothing that would be cooler in this particular situation than to have one of the Tribe's former finest belt his way into the record books while at The Jake! (Yes, I still call it the Jake. Always will.)

And then there were two... Thome hits HR 598!

Photo: AP/C. Carlson 


Earlier tonight, er last night, Jim Thome hit HR 598, bringing him just 2 knocks away from joining the 600 Club.  Of course, most people don't know this.  In fact, many folks, even baseball fans, have no idea.  Why not?  Because Thome is a nice guy who doesn't do drugs.  He was even voted Sports Illustrated "Nicest guy in baseball."  CONGRATS, Mr. Thome!  I can't wait to see the next two!

Plain Dealer tells a tale of Thome

Thanks to Timothy H, I was directed to an article published in today's Plain Dealer (in Cleveland, OH) regarding my favorite current player, Jim Thome.  After a little digging, I found it online:


http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2010/09/former_cleveland_indians_star.html

I appreciate leads like this one from fellow Tribe fans, especially those who know I also like to keep up with what's going on with the "Thomenator." :-)

Mr. Thome, meet Mr. Robinson

On Tuesday, Jim Thome hit his 586th home run, a towering moon shot in Target Field, tying the great HOFer Frank Robinson in the all-time home run category. I don't know where Thome got his second wind, but I am so glad he was picked up by a team that saw his "youthful" potential. Talk about an eruption!

Thome blasts longest ball at Target, hits flag pole, closes in on Robinson

On Monday, Jim Thome became the first player to hit a home run further than 430 feet at Target Field.  While that is quite impressive, nothing is more so than the fact that he HIT THE FLAG POLE!  Now, if this were a video game, he get at least 1000 points for that puppy!  Oh, and all of THAT weren't enough, he is now (or was when I posted this) just one home run shy of Frank Robinson in all-time homers!

Remember, this is the guy who wasn't sure he'd play this season.  This is the guy who took a PAY CUT to play the game because he loves to play baseball.  This is the guy who is cleanly making his way into the Hall of Fame.  Way to go!

Thome passes McGwire

Yeah, that's right, on Saturday, Jim Thome (Twins) hit TWO home runs to become the ninth all-time home run leader ahead of Mark McGwire.  Now, with 584 homers, he is just he is just two round-trippers shy of the great (former Tribe player/manager, I might add) Frank Robinson!  Wahoo!! Way to go Jim Thome!!  Congratulations!

Thome just five away from McGwire, A-Rod gets 300 steals

Jim Thome hit a 2-run homer against the Tribe last night, pulling him to within five homeruns of tying Mark McGwire.  Oh, I know, I should be breaking down the Indians loss and lamenting the days of yore when we had a winning season.  But, there are plenty of Indians bloggers and writers already doing that (and, admittedly, I have done it many times myself), but watching Jim Thome climb the all-time home run list is very exciting to me.  And the main reason?  Because almost none of the sport writers and broadcaster seem to notice.  Rather than the sosa/McGwire duke-out of years ago, Thome has slowly, surely been chipping away at the home run leaderboard.  Without drugs.  Without a lot of fanfare. He's just a guy who gets to play baseball and get paid for it.  He is a Hall of Famer in the making.

Also, in case you missed it, Alex Rodriguez grabbed his 300th steal:

There are only two other players to have 600+ home runs and 300+ steals: Willie Mays and Barry Bonds.  Congrats to A-Rod!

Respect or Ridiculous?

On Wednesday, July 21, 2010, Jim Thome faced the team that launched his career.  What did the Tribe do?  They walked Thome ALL FOUR TIMES.  Now, as usual, I am a day (or two) late to the party, but my question is more of baseball in general, I suppose.  When a team walks a former superstar of their team, does that show respect or is it ridiculous. 

I see it as absurd.  Sure, it theoretically shows respect that you think the guy will light you up if you pitch to him.  Sure, you admit total ineptitude to the point that you KNOW the player with the bat is going to send the ball beyond the outfield walls.  But, come on.  This is baseball.  This is a player who is climbing his way up the all-time charts in multiple categories.  This is a guy who is aging, and let's honest a relatively easy out as long as you don't let him get you.

Now, I've seen articles saying that the writer would have walked Thome, too, given the next three batters to follow him.  Okay, I get it. I understand strategy.  I also understand that the Tribe is basically having its collective butt handed to the team this season.  And, that is my point.  Why NOT pitch to Thome?  What's the worst that would happen? He hits a homer and you lose. Oh, wait, even with walking Thome four times, the Indians managed to do that anyway.  Yeah, they lost 6-0.

If I had been in charge, we would have pitched to Thome out of respect for who he was with the team and who he is as a player.  Then again, that could be why I am not the one in charge.

Thome passes Killebrew, gets special message

I know I am late to the party on this one, but kudos to Thome for his dual homers (and a freakin triple if you can believe it!) on July 3, 2010.  With those homers, he took solo place of the 10th spot in all-time home runs, passing Harmon Killebrew.  After the feat, the Twins HOFer relayed a special video message to Thome and the fans.  In the video, Killebrew told Thome he was proud and what an upstanding guy Thome is, and what he means to the sport.  I can't even imagine what Jim Thome was thinking as he watched that. 

I don't know how many years Thome has left in him, but over his career, he has steadily, surely, strongly been soldifying his place in the baseball Hall of Fame. 

Better late than never - News Thome

Ah yes, I reached for the play on words and will most likely go down swinging.  It's in my genes.  That's not why we're here today, though.  While I was vacationing in Atlanta, Jim Thome added a couple more milestones to his ever-increasing number of them!

On June 19, 2010, he stood at the plate for the Twins and belted a homerun that pushed him above Palmiero with his 570th career homer.  That puts him in 11th place for all-time homers!  To top it off, his RBI tied him with Roger Hornsby (1,584 ribbies)! 

It is no secret that Thome is one of all-time favorite players and has been since he first walked onto the field in a Tribe uniform back in 1991.  He is one of those guys that has never received a lot of fanfare from the press, but is beloved by fans from every team for which he has played.  He is one of those workhorse players that shows up, does his job, gives back to his community and loves to play the game. 

CONGRATS (albeit belated) to Jim Thome!