Thome 600

[Frayed Knot]

Two HRs tonight to become just the eighth player to reach that mark.

I'm sure the TV specials, break-into-programming cut-ins, front-page headlines, and general baseball worshipping is just around the corner for him like #3,000 was for Jeter even though that club has four times the membership.

[G-Fafif]

HBO did record footage of Thome watching its Jeter special.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

CONGRATULATIONS JI

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

M!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: M!

Word up, Thome

[ashie62]

The homerun ain't what it used to be..yawn...

[Frayed Knot]

600 is still impressive.



Also in that game - before it actually - the Twins dealt former overall #1 pick Delmon Young to Detroit, a deal that was unlikely not just because it was between division opponents but also because the Twins were in Detroit tonight to start a series. Young just needed to walk over to the other clubhouse.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'm waiting on Thole 600.

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy DC wrote: I'm waiting on Thole 600.

Bring a couple of sandwiches.

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: 600 is still impressive.

This.

Congrats, big Jim.

Later

[seawolf17]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: CONGRATULATIONS JI

Sadly, because he "toiled in obscurity" in Philadelphia, I conflate Dugout Jim Thome with Real Jim Thome.

However, as such, I now think Real Jim Thome is HILARIOUS.

[Frayed Knot]

MFS62 wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: 600 is still impressive. This. Congrats, big Jim. Later

Also impressive, btw, is 2,263 hits, 1,662 RBIs, 1,710 walks, 1,066 XBHs, and a lifetime OBA of .403

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Mike and Mike on ESPN today, in a rare pause from football minute, suggested that, hey maybe we should have been paying closer attention to this Thome guy!

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

seawolf17 wrote: LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: CONGRATULATIONS JI Sadly, because he "toiled in obscurity" in Philadelphia, I conflate Dugout Jim Thome with Real Jim Thome. However, as such, I now think Real Jim Thome is HILARIOUS.

When I first read Dugout Jim, it was like the writers filled this void in my head that I didn't know existed.



Now, I suspect slightly that it may be less of a caricature than we thought.

[MFS62]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Mike and Mike on ESPN today, in a rare pause from football minute, suggested that, hey maybe we should have been paying closer attention to this Thome guy!

Golic has mentioned often that he roots for the Indians, where Thome was a star. And he usually pays attention to guys his size. I'm surprised he hadn't been paying more attention to him.
Gee, Mike, he's big enough to be a football player.
Later

[Centerfield]

Imagine if he stayed in Philly? He'd have 700 by now.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Or missed a lot of playing time coming off the bench behind Ryan Howard.

[Frayed Knot]

MFS62 wrote: metsguyinmichigan wrote: Mike and Mike on ESPN today, in a rare pause from football minute, suggested that, hey maybe we should have been paying closer attention to this Thome guy! Golic has mentioned often that he roots for the Indians, where Thome was a star. And he usually pays attention to guys his size. I'm surprised he hadn't been paying more attention to him. Gee, Mike, he's big enough to be a football player. Later

Golic plays the part of a quasi-Indians fan on that show in a kind of Drew Carey-esque 'Yeah, I'm from Cleveland' schtick but, in reality, he admits to not being much of a sports fan growing up, something not all that uncommon with future athletes more interested in participating than spectating. Don't even think he was much of a Browns fan despite being from a big football family in northern Ohio and certainly wasn't living and dying with the Indians of the '70s & '80s. By the time Thome was playing there Golic's football career was winding down and his post-retirement broadcasting stuff starting to take off - but on the east coast, not in Ohio.
IOW, his Cleveland roots aren't going to give him anything more than just passing knowledge about Thome which is about the same as his level of knowledge in most things baseball.

[HahnSolo]

Not surprising they didnt mention who gave up #600: Daniel Schlereth, son of their oft-guest, and sometimes fill-in host, Mark Schlereth.

and if I'm not mistaken, this is the second historic HR given up this year by Schlereth. Wasn't he the guy who gave up the first Met grand slam in almost 2 years?

[Vic Sage]

a lifetime OB% over .400 in that many plate appearances should get you into the HOF all by itself. Add 600 HRs and one wonders what goes on in the mind of guys like Craig "i don't think of Thome as a HOFer" Carton. What exactly do they think makes a player great? Batting average? really? still? are we still having to deal with that kind of stupidity? apparently, yes.

[ashie62]

Thome is a credible and safe HOF pick.

[metirish]

Just saw on the Evening News that in May his fellow players voted him the nicest player in MLB, means nothing but Thome does give that nice guy vibe.

[Guest Edgy DC]

If an informal study of a positive intangible quality can point at anybody but Derek Jeter, it means something.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Vic Sage wrote: a lifetime OB% over .400 in that many plate appearances should get you into the HOF all by itself. Add 600 HRs and one wonders what goes on in the mind of guys like Craig "i don't think of Thome as a HOFer" Carton. What exactly do they think makes a player great? Batting average? really? still? are we still having to deal with that kind of stupidity? apparently, yes.

Sadly, a freakin' Yankees uniform.*


*Bold (for emphasis) of Vic's quote is mine.

[Frayed Knot]

The thing about Thome is that I suspect there are very few of those within baseball (fans, writers, contemporaries, etc.) who DON'T think of him as HoF material.
Where the question comes in is from those only sort of conversant in baseball (the mainstream national sports media and others who just drop in and out) for whom Thome isn't famous enough, flashy enough, controversial enough, big city enough, or October hero-ish enough to qualify.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Really, the question isn't whether Thome has earned a Hall of Fame enshrinement. It isn't even whether Craig Carton is a tool.

The question, I think, is what kind of tool Craig Carton is.

[Ceetar]

Edgy DC wrote: Really, the question isn't whether Thome has earned a Hall of Fame enshrinement. It isn't even whether Craig Carton is a tool. The question, I think, is what kind of tool Craig Carton is.

I believe it's whichever tool makes him look best in the toolbox. I'd be a tool that looks like it's useful for everything, but in reality doesn't really do much. I'm drawing a blank on a good tool comparison though.

[MFS62]

Edgy DC wrote: The question, I think, is what kind of tool Craig Carton is.

A hoe.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy DC wrote: The question, I think, is what kind of tool Craig Carton is.

The kind that pretends to be the ultimate authority on all things jock-ish the moment he gets hired by an all-sports station.

btw, 601 last night.

[Ceetar]

Frayed Knot wrote: Edgy DC wrote: The question, I think, is what kind of tool Craig Carton is. The kind that pretends to be the ultimate authority on all things jock-ish the moment he gets hired by an all-sports station. btw, 601 last night.

Ithaca's area code.