Jim Thome, baseball player, 612 home runs, 1991-2012

Jim Thome

⭐ Hall of Fame 2018

Born: 8/27/1970 in Peoria, IL, USA

MLB Debut: 1991-09-04 | Final Game: 2012-10-03

Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 6'4" | Weight: 250 lbs

Full name: James Howard Thome

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Biography

Jim Thome, born in 1970, was a prominent position player in Major League Baseball whose career spanned from 1991 to 2012. Over the course of 2,543 games, Thome established himself as one of the most powerful hitters of his era, amassing 2,328 hits and an impressive total of 612 home runs. His remarkable offensive production also included 1,699 RBIs and a career batting average of .276. Thome demonstrated not only power but also patience at the plate, contributing to his reputation as a formidable slugger during a period marked by offensive prowess and home run records. A five-time All-Star, Thome was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018, solidifying his legacy in the sport. His career was characterized by a distinctive left-handed swing and an ability to hit for both power and average, which made him a key figure in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Known for his sportsmanship and dedication, Thome left an indelible mark on the game, becoming a beloved figure among fans and players alike. His contributions to the teams he played for, including the Cleveland Indians and the Philadelphia Phillies, remain a significant part of baseball history.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
2543 8422 1583 2328 451 26 612 1699 19 1747 2548 0.276 0.402 0.554 0.956 51631.4

Career AVG .276 vs. league average .264 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .402 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — +20.8% above league average.

Career SLG .554 vs. league average .416 across their career seasons — +33.1% above league average.

Career OPS 0.956 vs. league average 0.749 across their career seasons — +27.6% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1991 CLE AL 27 98 7 25 4 2 1 9 1 5 16 0.255 .255 (avg) .323 (-8%) .384 (-5%) .708 (-6%) -114.0
1992 CLE AL 40 117 8 24 3 1 2 12 2 10 34 0.205 .255 (-20%) .322 (-15%) .377 (-21%) .699 (-18%) -359.6
1993 CLE AL 47 154 28 41 11 0 7 22 2 29 36 0.266 .265 (avg) .332 (+16%) .403 (+18%) .735 (+17%) 517.7
1994 CLE AL 98 321 58 86 20 1 20 52 3 46 84 0.268 .269 (-1%) .338 (+6%) .424 (+23%) .763 (+16%) 1000.0
1995 CLE AL 137 452 92 142 29 3 25 73 4 97 113 0.314 .266 (+18%) .337 (+30%) .417 (+34%) .755 (+32%) 3398.0
1996 CLE AL 151 505 122 157 28 5 38 116 2 123 141 0.311 .269 (+15%) .340 (+32%) .426 (+43%) .767 (+38%) 4715.4
1997 CLE AL 147 496 104 142 25 0 40 102 1 120 146 0.286 .266 (+7%) .336 (+25%) .419 (+38%) .756 (+32%) 3817.7
1998 CLE AL 123 440 89 129 34 2 30 85 1 89 141 0.293 .266 (+10%) .335 (+23%) .420 (+39%) .755 (+32%) 3096.9
1999 CLE AL 146 494 101 137 27 2 33 108 0 127 171 0.277 .271 (+2%) .344 (+24%) .433 (+25%) .778 (+24%) 3076.2
2000 CLE AL 158 557 106 150 33 1 37 106 1 118 171 0.269 .270 (avg) .344 (+15%) .437 (+22%) .782 (+19%) 2610.0
2001 CLE AL 156 526 101 153 26 1 49 124 0 111 185 0.291 .263 (+10%) .332 (+25%) .426 (+46%) .758 (+37%) 4523.8
2002 CLE AL 147 480 101 146 19 2 52 118 1 122 139 0.304 .261 (+16%) .331 (+34%) .416 (+63%) .747 (+50%) 5519.9
2003 PHI NL 159 578 111 154 30 3 47 131 0 111 182 0.266 .264 (+1%) .332 (+16%) .422 (+36%) .754 (+27%) 3534.4
2004 PHI NL 143 508 97 139 28 1 42 105 0 104 144 0.274 .266 (+3%) .335 (+18%) .427 (+36%) .762 (+28%) 3245.9
2005 PHI NL 59 193 26 40 7 0 7 30 0 45 59 0.207 .264 (-22%) .330 (+9%) .418 (-16%) .749 (-5%) -24.1
2006 CHW AL 143 490 108 141 26 0 42 109 0 107 147 0.288 .269 (+7%) .336 (+24%) .431 (+38%) .768 (+32%) 3673.8
2007 CHW AL 130 432 79 119 19 0 35 96 0 95 134 0.275 .268 (+3%) .335 (+22%) .422 (+33%) .758 (+28%) 2869.0
2008 CHW AL 149 503 93 123 28 0 34 90 1 91 147 0.245 .263 (-7%) .333 (+9%) .416 (+21%) .749 (+15%) 1777.7
2009 CHW AL 107 345 55 86 15 0 23 74 0 69 116 0.249 .262 (-5%) .332 (+12%) .417 (+18%) .750 (+15%) 1177.7
2009 LAD NL 17 17 0 4 0 0 0 3 0 0 7 0.235 — — — — 1177.7
2010 MIN AL 108 276 48 78 16 2 25 59 0 60 82 0.283 .257 (+10%) .325 (+27%) .402 (+56%) .728 (+43%) 2415.2
2011 MIN AL 71 206 21 50 12 0 12 40 0 35 69 0.243 .255 (-5%) .320 (+10%) .399 (+19%) .719 (+15%) 605.4
2011 CLE AL 22 71 11 21 4 0 3 10 0 11 23 0.296 .255 (+16%) .320 (+22%) .399 (+20%) .719 (+21%) 605.4
2012 PHI NL 30 62 9 15 2 0 5 15 0 8 21 0.242 .254 (-5%) .318 (+6%) .405 (+27%) .724 (+18%) 195.7
2012 BAL AL 28 101 8 26 5 0 3 10 0 14 40 0.257 .254 (+1%) .318 (+9%) .405 (-2%) .724 (+3%) 195.7

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
71 232 35 49 2 1 17 37 30 73 0.211

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2012 ALDS1 BAL 3 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.083
2012 ALWC BAL 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.333
2010 ALDS2 MIN 3 10 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 3 0.100
2009 NLCS LAN 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.000
2009 NLDS1 LAN 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000
2008 ALDS2 CHA 4 16 1 2 1 0 0 1 1 3 0.125
2001 ALDS1 CLE 5 19 2 3 0 0 1 1 2 8 0.158
1999 ALDS1 CLE 5 17 7 6 0 0 4 10 4 5 0.353
1998 ALCS CLE 6 23 4 7 0 0 4 8 1 8 0.304
1998 ALDS1 CLE 4 15 2 2 0 0 2 2 2 5 0.133
1997 ALCS CLE 6 14 3 1 0 0 0 0 5 4 0.071
1997 ALDS1 CLE 4 15 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 5 0.200
1997 WS CLE 7 28 8 8 0 1 2 4 5 7 0.286
1996 ALDS1 CLE 4 10 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 5 0.300
1995 ALCS CLE 5 15 2 4 0 0 2 5 2 3 0.267
1995 ALDS1 CLE 3 13 1 2 0 0 1 3 1 6 0.154
1995 WS CLE 6 19 1 4 1 0 1 2 2 5 0.211

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1106 1090 9165 709 64 913
3B 493 471 285 856 73 77

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1991 CLE 3B 27 27 12 60 8 6
1992 CLE 3B 40 37 21 61 11 3
1993 CLE 3B 47 45 29 86 6 10
1994 CLE 3B 94 90 62 173 15 12
1995 CLE 3B 134 128 75 214 16 22
1996 CLE 3B 150 144 86 262 17 24
1997 CLE 1B 145 140 1233 95 10 123
1998 CLE 1B 117 114 998 85 10 97
1999 CLE 1B 111 109 930 83 6 93
2000 CLE 1B 107 106 834 91 5 101
2001 CLE 1B 148 144 1177 78 10 105
2002 CLE 1B 128 128 1063 75 10 118
2003 PHI 1B 156 155 1372 86 5 132
2004 PHI 1B 134 134 1091 84 7 103
2005 PHI 1B 52 52 405 30 0 36
2006 CHA 1B 3 3 21 0 0 1
2007 CHA 1B 1 1 6 0 0 0
2011 CLE 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
2012 PHI 1B 4 4 35 2 1 4

Career Games by Position

Position Games
First Base 1106
Third Base 492
Designated Hitter 818

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
2011 Player of the Week Week of 2011-08-21
2010 Player of the Week Week of 2010-07-05
2009 Player of the Week Week of 2009-07-18
2006 TSN Comeback Player of the Year
2004 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
2004 MLB Players Choice Man of the Year
2004 Player of the Month June
2004 Player of the Week Week of 2004-06-19
2003 Player of the Month September
2003 Player of the Week Week of 2003-08-16
2002 Player of the Week Week of 2002-04-14
2002 Roberto Clemente Award
2001 MLB Players Choice Man of the Year
2001 Player of the Month July
2001 Player of the Week Week of 2001-06-02
2001 Player of the Week Week of 2001-07-21
2001 TSN All-Star 1B
1996 Silver Slugger 3B
1996 TSN All-Star 3B
1995 TSN All-Star 3B

Featured In Rankings

#11
Top 20 First Basemen in History of MLB Baseball
Ranked 11 of 20
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Salary History

Year Team League Salary
2012 PHI NL $1,250,000
2011 MIN AL $3,000,000
2010 MIN AL $1,500,000
2009 CHA AL $13,000,000
2008 CHA AL $15,666,666
2007 CHA AL $14,833,333
2006 CHA AL $14,166,667
2005 PHI NL $13,166,667
2004 PHI NL $12,166,667
2003 PHI NL $11,166,667
2002 CLE AL $8,000,000
2001 CLE AL $7,875,000
2000 CLE AL $8,175,000
1999 CLE AL $8,225,000
1998 CLE AL $4,800,000
1997 CLE AL $2,625,000
1996 CLE AL $1,600,000
1995 CLE AL $825,000
1994 CLE AL $325,000
1993 CLE AL $135,000
1992 CLE AL $110,000
1991 CLE AL $100,000
Total Career Earnings $142,711,667

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
Illinois Central College East Peoria IL 1989

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
2010 Most Valuable Player AL 18th 2.0 392 0
2006 Most Valuable Player AL 12th 17.0 392 0
2004 Most Valuable Player NL 19th 7.0 448 0
2003 Most Valuable Player NL 4th 203.0 448 0
2002 Most Valuable Player AL 7th 69.0 392 0
2001 Most Valuable Player AL 7th 107.0 392 0
1998 Most Valuable Player AL 21th 1.0 392 0
1997 Most Valuable Player AL 6th 89.0 392 0
1996 Most Valuable Player AL 15th 9.0 392 0