Hall-of-Famers Playing Today: Jim Thome

Jim Thome may be nearing the end of a Hall-of-Fame career.

Thome only has 2,125 career hits, so he will never reach the 3,000 hit milestone, but he still is a potential Hall-of-Famer in my estimation.

Thome has never had more than 154 hits in a season, but he has walked 1,616 times in his career. He is 46th in lifetime on base percentage, but is sixth among active players with his .405 OBP. His 1,616 walks is 10th all-time and he needs 62 more walks to pass Frank Thomas.

Thome is currently tied with Reggie Jackson for 12th on the all-time home run list with both players having 563 homers.

The next player on the list is Rafael Palmeiro with 569 and then Harmon Killebrew with 573. If he passes both of them, he will be 10th on the list by the end of the season.

Assuming he plays next season, he should pass Mark McGwire with 583 and Frank Robinson with 586 moving him into eighth place on the list. He still needs 37 homers to reach 600 homers and 47 homers to pass Sammy Sosa becoming seventh on the list.

The only players ahead of him then would be Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez (who presently has 10 more homers than Thome with 573).

I don’t see how a Hall-of-Fame voter could not vote for Thome, especially after he becomes a member of the 600 home run club.

Thome is now 39th on the all-time RBI list with 1,559 runs batted in. If he drives in 100 more runs before retiring, he would move to 27th on the list.

If he does drive in those 100 runs, he will have passed Hall-of-Famers Jake Beckley, Al Kaline, Harmon Killebrew, Rogers Hornsby, Mike Schmidt, George Brett, Nap Lajoie, Goose Goslin, Ernie Banks, and Tony Perez. That would place him 27th on the all-time list.

He also would pass non Hall-of-Famers Andre Dawson and Harold Baines.

His .558 slugging percentage is 20th on the all-time list. Current players ahead of him are Albert Pujols, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Vladimir Guerrero, and Todd Helton.

He is ahead of famous Hall-of-Famers Willie Mays,  Mickey Mantle and Hank Aaron.

Another category that he is listed near the top is on base plus slugging with a .9630 OPS making him 19th on that list. Alex Rodriguez is barely ahead of him with a .9638 mark.

Some Hall-of-Famers behind him on the list are Willie Mays (29th), Hack Wilson (31st), and Hank Aaron (38th).

Thome's .278 lifetime batting average is not going to get him into the Hall-of-Fame, but his .405 lifetime OBP makes up for his average.

He is a first ballot Hall-of-Famer, after checking his lifetime stats.

Thome was born in Peoria, Illinois on Aug. 27, 1970...making him 39-years-old next week.

Baseball-reference.com compares his lifetime stats to five Hall-of-Famers and five others who will merit serious consideration for the Hall-of-Fame in the next few years.

If he never plays another game Jim Thome is a Hall-of-Famer to me, but if he plays at least one more season, he should be a sure bet to enter the Hall-of-Fame, when he becomes eligible.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/thomeji01.shtml