Hall of Fame Poll: Jim Thome

This is Jim Thome’s first time on the ballot.

Jim had a pretty terrific career. Played 22 seasons. He hit .276/.402/.554 with 612 home runs in 2543 games.

He was on 5 All-Star teams, had MVP votes 9 times (his highest finish was 4th) and won 1 Silver Slugger.

He played 13 seasons for Cleveland, 4 for the Phillies, 4 for the White Sox, 2 for the Twins and 1 each for the Dodgers and Orioles.

His 72.9 bWAR has him 54th among position players. He is 8th in home runs, 26th in RBI and 50th in games played.

He always seemed to be a good guy, I never heard anyone say anything bad about him. He had a bit of a different batting stance, he would point his bat towards right field before the pitch was thrown.

He started his career as a third baseman, was moved to first and DHed for the last few seasons of his career.

Thome has the numbers that should be able to get him into the Hall, he might lose some votes for being a DH for a good part of his career. And there are a number of voters who won’t vote for someone who is on the ballot for the first time.

Matt’s chart:

Similar Players: Frank Thomas (elected BBWAA), Rod Carew (BBWAA), Luke Appling (BBWAA), Tony Gwynn (BBWAA), Graig Nettles, Lou Whitaker.