Chicago Tribune
September 17, 2007
Jim Thome keeps his eye on the flight of his 500th career home run ball in the bottom of the ninth on Sunday.
Sluggers generally come with baggage. But not Jim Thome. He carries it.
He can't help himself, really. It's just how he's wired, and wouldn't it be great if more people were that way?
Almost an hour after Thome had driven his 500th home run into the seats in left-center field Sunday at U.S. Cellular Field, Paul Konerko wheeled his own suitcase out of the home clubhouse, heading to the airport for the flight to Kansas City. He was so happy he couldn't stop smiling, almost as if this were October 2005 and the White Sox had just finished off the Los Angeles Angels on their way to the World Series.
"Jim just handled all of this great, like he does everything," Konerko said. "Mentally he was the same every day. His approach was great. He did it the right way. He brought his teammates into it. There are only 23 guys in that (500-homer) club, and I'll bet you that none of the guys who are in it had teammates who were happier for them than we are for Jim."
After Thome drove a 3-2 fastball from the Angels' Dustin Moseley for a ninth-inning homer and a 9-7 victory, players from the last-place Sox poured out of dugout. The mob waiting for Thome at home plate looked like something from the high school playoffs, not the big leagues, an experience Konerko said had happened because all the Sox players felt some ownership of the moment.
"The guys who are the best players aren't usually the best teammates," Konerko said. "But Jim's not like many guys. He's not just a great player, he's a great teammate. He made everyone in here feel like they had hit 500 homers."
A.J. Pierzynski concurred, saying this couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Then he succinctly summed up the secret of Thome's universal appeal.
"He treats people well," Pierzynski said, the veteran catcher. "They give him respect in return."
There's a lot to be said for those two little sentences.
Jim Thome hugs his dad Chuck Thome after his 500th career home run.
Thome is the third player to reach the 500 plateau this season, following Frank Thomas and Alex Rodriguez. Manny Ramirez and Gary Sheffield should get there before the All-Star break next season.
You won't hear much praise about any of those guys as teammates.
How good is Thome's reputation? Good enough that even some of the Angels tipped their caps to him on a day they had failed to hold a 7-1 lead.
"I'm not going to lie to you — that's a good way to do it," said Angels reliever Scot Shields, who gave up a two-run homer to Danny Richar in the eighth. "I've never talked to [Thome]. But from everything I've heard he's a stand-up guy and a great teammate. You're happy to see a guy like that hit 500."
As you knew he would, Thome took time afterward to sprinkle praise for the people who had helped him become the player he is, though any of his coaches will tell you that it was his parents who really planted the seeds. Thome talked about the time he had spent working with his hitting coaches, in particular Charlie Manuel, Milt Thompson and Greg Walker.
"There were so many things Charlie and I worked on [in the Cleveland organization]," Thome said. "He helped me learn to pull the ball, opening up [my stance], squaring back to stay on the ball … countless things. Same thing with [Walker]. Walk reminds me of Charlie in that way. He's very, very positive."
Walker appreciates the compliment, no doubt, but says he rarely if ever has had to get into Thome's head. The big country boy is as level-headed a player as you can find.
Walker says Thome gets down on himself "less than anybody I've been around." It's an especially unusual trait considering he's third all-time with 2,031 strikeouts, behind only Reggie Jackson and Sammy Sosa.
Jim Thome watches the flight of his walk-off two-run home run in the ninth inning.
"With guys who strike out a lot, usually you're dealing with somebody who is going to be up and down," Walker said. "But the first time I was around Jim when he struck out, he said, 'That's OK. Now I've got him. I'm setting him up.' "
Thome, who turned 37 last month, needed 6,809 at-bats to reach 500. The only guys who have gotten there with fewer at-bats were Mark McGwire (5,487), Babe Ruth (5,800) and Harmon Killebrew (6,671).
Statistics don't mean what they used to, not with baseball sorting out its steroids era. McGwire was denied admittance to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot despite 583 homers.
Three other members of the 500-homer club–Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro and Sosa–face similar scrutiny because of suspicion that their totals were enhanced through chemistry.
Thome should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when the time arrives, in part because his reputation is so smudge-free.
"People know that this guy did it the right way," Walker said. "He's competing against some guys who might not have done it the right way. But to say that 500 doesn't mean as much for Jim as it did in the past, that's asinine.
"This might have been the hardest 500 in history because of who he was competing against and in the era he was playing in."
What Walker was saying is that pitchers benefit from steroids too. Thome could have said that, but it wouldn't be his style. He's a Teddy Roosevelt man, walking softly and carrying a big stick, all the way from Peoria to Cooperstown.
progers@tribune.com
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