By Yours Truly
http://throneberryfields.com/2017/11/22/thome-should-join-jones-as-a-first-ballot-hall-of-famer/Among the Hall of Fame ballot rookies not named Chipper Jones, there's another man who shakes
out as belonging on next July's podium with Jones as a first ballot Hall of Famer.
And one thing you notice about Jim Thome’s statistics is that, sure, he struck out a lot, averaging
162 strikeouts per 162 games lifetime. That’s a punchout per game, ladies and gentlemen. But he
also a) walked a bunch (he led his league three times) and b) he only averaged hitting into eleven
double plays per 162 games lifetime. He also averaged 111 walks per 162, eleven of which were
intentional.
If you ponder that that many walks comes close to evening out the strikeouts, you’re talking about
a guy who knew what he was doing at the plate and did it for deadly production. Thome averaged
only ten less doubles per 162 games than he did home runs, and his career average per 162 games
was 39 bombs.
Except for one injury-shortened season in Philadelphia, Thome pretty much wrapped up his Hall of
Fame case by the time he was 37 and in his final of three full seasons with the White Sox. He had
a couple more respectable seasons left in him but was pretty much done by the time he had a couple
of return engagements in Cleveland and Philadelphia and a cameo appearance with the Orioles.
If you think of Thome as the DH type, think of this, too: Yes, he spent about a third of his total career
as a DH, but he also shook out as the tenth best first baseman of all time, above the career wins
above a replacement standard for first basemen—just like Frank Thomas did, and Thomas spent more
of his career as a DH. Thome is actually eighth all-time in WAR for first basemen, right behind Thomas
and right ahead of the actually unfairly-tainted Rafael Palmeiro.
Thome’s career 147 OPS+ happens to be tied for number 30 all time—with Martinez and Hall of Famers
Mike Schmidt, Willie McCovey, and Willie Stargell—among hitters who had seven thousand or more
plate appearances.
Some might take issue with Thome’s paucity of black and gray ink; he has only a little black ink (he
led his league in OPS, OPS+, home runs, and slugging once each, in addition to those three walks
championships) and a bit more gray ink (top ten finishes, including ten seasons as one of his league’s
top ten sluggers). But Thome meets 57 of the Bill James Hall of Fame batting standards (the average
Hall of Famer: 50) and scores 156 on the James Hall of Fame batting monitor. (The average Hall of
Famer: 100.)
He wasn’t a great defensive player, either at third where he played early in his career or at first. But
Thome was also considered not just an overwhelming plate talent but one of the nicest men in the
business. He was accommodating, kind, and patient with autograph seekers; he and his wife often
dressed as Santa and the Mrs. for children around Christmas; a 2007 poll showed Thome tied with
Sean Casey as the game’s second nicest man.
That doesn’t get you into the Hall of Fame by itself, of course; if it did, Dale Murphy (whose Hall
case was wrecked by injuries when he should have had about two or three more solid seasons)
would have been there long ago. But it sure doesn’t hurt a man’s chances if he has it.
About the only time Thome angered any fans was when he left Cleveland for free agency after once
having said they’d have to rip the uniform off his back to get him to leave, such fans having forgotten
for the moment that the Indians were about to hit the rebuild button and were going to look a horror
for awhile with or without Thome in the lineup.
Thome got to play in two World Series with the great mid-to-late 90s Indians teams and has a respectable
jacket for them: three bombs, six steaks, and a .352 on-base percentage. His overall postseason record
doesn’t have that impressive a slash line but hitting 17 bombs with 37 steaks is a career season for lesser
players. By far his best postseason set was the 1999 division series in which he hit four out, drove in ten,
and piled up a 1.535 OPS.
And to think it took me this long before I mentioned Thome hit 612 home runs without once being suspected
of actual or alleged performance-enhancing substances. Did I also mention he’s number 26 on the all-time
steak list?
Basically, it would be a shock if Thome doesn’t make it first ballot and join Chipper Jones at the podium next
July. But if we’ve learned nothing else, we’ve learned that Hall of Fame voting isn’t bereft of shock value.
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