Jim Thome will make his first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot. The slugger played for the White Sox from 2006-2009.
Jim Thome will make his first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2018. The slugging first baseman played for the Chicago White Sox from 2006-2009. He becomes eligible after waiting the required five years after retirement. During his 22-year career, the left hander hit 612 home runs and drove in 1,699 RBIs. He also had 2,328 hits to go with a .276 career batting average.
In his three full seasons with the White Sox, Thome hit at least 34 home runs. His best season was in 2006 when he hit 42 home runs and drove in 109 RBIs at 35 years old. He made the All-Star team that year, something he did four other times in his career. Currently he is a part of the White Sox Front Office, working as a special assistant to General Manager Rick Hahn.
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Thome hit his 500th career home run at U.S. Cellular Field in 2007. It was in walk-off fashion against the Angels. And his solo home run gave the White Sox a 1-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins to win the tiebreaker game in the American League Central in 2008. Those are two of the moments that really stand out in his tenure with the White Sox.
Thome was a great teammate. Players on the Sox raved about him and how great of a baseball guy he was. He was respected by all his teammates and was definitely a great person.
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Most importantly, he did it the right way. In an era where players accolades constantly come into question because of PEDs and steroids, Thome’s name has never been brought up once. He did things the right way. With hard work and determination he accomplished a lot in his career. It was only a matter of time before he added Hall of Fame Inductee onto his resume and now he’ll have that chance. And there’s no doubt he should go in as a first-ballot.