Orioles right-hander Dylan Bundy is arguably the top pitching prospect in baseball and has advanced to Double-A as a 19-year-old after beginning the season at low Single-A. Jim Thome was on hand for the 2011 first-round pick’s Double-A debut earlier this week, sitting behind home plate while on the disabled list for a herniated disk…
Jim Thome is on the disabled list with a herniated disk in his neck and the 41-year-old designated hitter has been told that he’s at least 30 days from being cleared for baseball activities. That means a mid-September return is now the best-case scenario and not playing again this season is a very real possibility.…
The Orioles defeated the Mariners tonight to draw within a half game of one of the American League’s Wild Card spots. In what most consider to be a shocking season, the second-place Orioles trail the Yankees by 5 1/2 games following New York’s loss to the Tigers. Here are some links pertaining to the division…
“We are not making a change at manager,” Red Sox principal owner John Henry told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford via email. Henry wrote that managers often get too much credit and also too little credit for what happens on the field.
WEEI’s Alex Speier tweeted a quote from Red Sox GM Ben Cherington that echoed Henry’s sentiment, though Cherington stopped short of saying how long Valentine’s Boston tenure would last (Twitter links).
Orioles DH Jim Thome was told to refrain from baseball activities for 30 days, reports MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli. With an early September return questionable at best, he may be more interested in coming back for another season, according to Ghiroli (Twitter links).
An Orioles team official told Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com that the team doesn’t have interest in Derek Lowe, who was recently DFA’ed by the Indians (Twitter link). Cleveland is said to be exploring trade options for Lowe.
I don’t get it; there really should have been a ceremony. Alex Rodriguez became just the fifth player in major league history to strike out 2,000 times when he went down swinging against Felix Hernandez in the sixth inning tonight. Rodriguez clearly looked the video board after the strikeout, obviously expecting at least some sort…
I don’t get it; there really should have been a ceremony. Alex Rodriguez became just the fifth player in major league history to strike out 2,000 times when he went down swinging against Felix Hernandez in the sixth inning tonight. Rodriguez clearly looked the video board after the strikeout, obviously expecting at least some sort…
Four days before the first scheduled, full-squad workout at the Carpenter Complex, Ryan Howard lightly jogged around the orange cones that provided a half-circle around the infield diamond.
Jim Thome rejoined the Philadelphia Phillies less than a month after Howard underwent surgery to repair a torn left Achilles’ tendon. Although he hasn’t played a game at first base since 2007 — playing in only four games at the position since his first tour with the Phils in 2005 — Thome is attempting to return to the position in an effort to help the Phils get by without Howard.
Full story on Delaware County Times
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jim Thome wants his second stint in Philadelphia to come with the World Series title he missed the first time around.
Thome agreed to a $1.25 million, one-year contract with the Phillies on Saturday, returning to the franchise for a second time.
The 41-year-old Thome hit .256 with 15 home runs and 50 RBI in a combined 93 games with the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians last season. He batted .350 with runners in scoring position and .424 over his final 11 games of the season.
“Every player sees the way the Phillies have done things,” Thome said. “They’ve set the bar very, very high.”
Thome played for Philadelphia from 2003-05 and has remained close with Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, his hitting coach for several years in Cleveland.
“Everyone knows my relationship with Jimmy,” Manuel said. “But he’s not here because of that. He’s here to contribute to our team in a positive way, both on and off the field.”
Thome hit .260 with 96 home runs and 266 RBIs in his first stint with the Phillies.
“I think the Phillies have set the bar very high in baseball,” Thome said. “This is as good a place in baseball right now to be in.”
Thome has a .277 career average with 604 homers and 1,674 RBIs. He is one of just eight players to hit more than 600 homers.
Thome was once considered the Phillies’ franchise player when he signed as a free agent in the winter of 2002.
With his down-home charm and mammoth homers, Thome was an instant hit in Philadelphia. He led the NL in homers in 2003 with 47 and hit 42 the next season. In the final game at Veterans Stadium in 2003, Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt raised Thome’s hand at home plate in a symbolic passing of the torch.
On June 14, 2004, Thome hit career homer No. 400 in Philadelphia.
Back and elbow injuries limited him to 59 games in 2005, when he slumped to .207 with seven homers and 30 RBIs in 193 at-bats. Ryan Howard’s emergence made it easier to consider moving Thome.
Howard is recovering from surgery on his left Achilles. Thome, expected to add some left-handed pop off the bench, could be called on to play first base. Thome said he’ll be preparing this offseason. Aside from a symbolic appearance at third base for the Indians in his finale at Progressive Field this season, Thome has not played defensively since 2007.
Thome had been taking his career year by year. When Amaro and the Phillies called early in the free agency period, Thome jumped at the reunion.
“When a team like the Phillies called, that’s a great opportunity to be in,” he said. “There was history here. I think to me, it was a good decision.”
Thome went to the World Series in 1995 and 1997 but the Indians came up short both times. He left after the 2002 season and signed a six-year, $85 million deal with the Phillies. Thome helped usher in the Phillies’ move to Citizens Bank Park in 2004 and their rise to NL East contenders.
He was traded before the Phillies started their current run of five straight NL East titles. The Phillies won the World Series in 2008 and were eliminated this season by eventual champion St. Louis in the NL division series.
Winning a World Series is the lone void over Thome’s stellar career. He believes a return to the perennial NL power can help win him a ring.
“When they win, they create a lot of very good things,” Thome said.
© 2011 The Associated Press
The skinny third baseman who grew into a feared slugger, bolted as a free agent and always wondered what it would be like to come back, is about to find out.
Jim Thome is back in Cleveland, and this time, back with the Cleveland Indians.
One of eight major leaguers to hit 600 home runs, Thome has rounded his career to his first baseball home.
Thome waived a no-trade clause and accepted a deal from Minnesota on Thursday night to go back to the Indians, who are falling out of contention in the AL Central and desperate to bolster a lineup that’s lost its pop. Thome could be play Friday night for the start of a three-game series with Kansas City.
“Jim Thome is a Hall of Fame-caliber player and person,” Indians general manager Chris Antonetti said. “He has meant so much to this organization both on and off the field and it is an honor to bring him back in an Indians uniform where he created so many great memories.
“Having his bat and presence in the middle of the lineup certainly improves our team.”
The Indians, who trail the first-place Detroit Tigers by 6½ games, acquired Thome for a player to be named on or before Oct. 15. The Twins already have a “narrow list,” Antonetti said.
The teams had until 1 p.m. Friday to make a deal for Thome, who could have blocked the trade but decided to go back to where it all began — and where it will likely end before an induction in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Thome spent 12 seasons with Cleveland from 1991-2002, hitting a team-record 334 homers and helping the Indians get to two World Series. He hit 52 in his final season before signing as a free agent with Philadelphia, a decision that angered many Indians fans who will have to welcome him back.
“He’s excited,” Antonetti said. “He’s fired up to come back and join the team. I am hopeful and confident that fans will embrace him wearing an Indians uniform again. He’s not only an exceptional player but a person as well. Even if he wasn’t a person that hit 600 home runs, he’s just a great person.”
Earlier this month, the five-time All-Star joined Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa as the only major leaguers to reach the 600-homer mark.
The Indians have been in contention all season but have lost six of their past seven games amid a rash of injuries. Thome’s arrival will soften the loss of designated hitter Travis Hafner, who is on the disabled list and may need season-ending foot surgery.
The Indians put a claim in for Thome on Wednesday, two days after the Twins waived him. Once the Indians were awarded Thome, the clubs had 48 hours to work out a trade.
“There’s no question it’s a bittersweet deal,” Twins GM Bill Smith said. “But there’s also no question this is the right thing to do for Jim Thome. He is all the superlative things that we knew we were getting when he came here two years ago. At this point in his Hall-of-Fame career, this is the right thing for him.”
Antonetti doesn’t expect Thome to play every game.
“We will have to manage his playing time,” Antonetti said. “He’s certainly not an everyday player at this point. We’ll work with Jim on this. We’d like to have him out there to impact the team as often as we can. Every game for the team is meaningful. We are trying to win as many games as possible and we’ll see where that takes us.”
Thome’s bat once helped Cleveland twice get close to its first Series title since 1948, and now the Indians hope it still has a little magic.
“What If?” team president Mark Shapiro tweeted, using the team’s 2011 motto. “Jim Thome came home.”
After finishing 25 games out in 2010, the Indians weren’t expected to contend this season, but have been at or near the top of their division since April. However, as August drains to its final days, the Indians have slipped back in the standings and are in danger of the race going on without them.
The Twins are 16 games behind, which is why they decided to part with Thome, who has also played for the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.
On his most recent visit to Cleveland, the Peoria, Ill., native said he would relish a chance to finish his career in Cleveland. Thome’s return will probably give the Indians an immediate attendance boost, and may help some of the fans who couldn’t forgive him for leaving despite saying his Indians jersey would have to be torn off for him to go anywhere else.
“It’s a chance for him to go back where he started,” Smith said, “a place where he should be as revered in Cleveland as he is in Philadelphia and Chicago and Minnesota. “I’m sure it will be a special moment when he goes back on the field wearing an Indians jersey.”
Thome, along with fellow All-Stars Sandy Alomar Jr., Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, Manny Ramirez and Carlos Baerga formed the core of the Indians’ teams that dominated their division in the ’90s and went to the World Series in 1995 and 1997 — losing both times.
Thome’s big swing, a blend of quickness, power and follow-through, and his aw-shucks attitude, made him one of Cleveland’s most popular players. That changed, though, following the ’02 season.
As a free agent, Thome turned down a generous, long-term contract from the Indians — who even offered to build a statue in his honor — for a chance to win in Philadelphia. At the time, he felt the Phillies were closer to a title than the Indians, who were in the early stages of a massive rebuilding project.
This season with the Twins, Thome batted .243 with 12 homers and 40 RBIs.
None of that matters now.
Thome has a new start — in an old, familiar place.
Copyright 2011 Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) — As erratic as the Detroit Tigers have looked at times this season, when Justin Verlander takes the mound, they seem like World Series contenders.
Verlander allowed one run over 7 2-3 innings to become baseball’s first 18-game winner, and the first-place Tigers breezed to an easy 7-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night. Verlander labored through a 29-pitch first inning but settled down after that, allowing seven hits in another impressive outing.
“Every win’s important for us right now,” the Detroit ace said.
Detroit extended its lead in the AL Central to three games over the Cleveland Indians, who lost in 14 innings early Wednesday morning.
The Tigers had lost two in a row coming into the game, and their last eight wins had been by one run, but there wasn’t much to sweat out on this night – especially with Verlander on the mound.
“He’s a tough cookie. That’s why he’s about to win the Cy Young,” Minnesota outfielder Ben Revere said. “When he’s going like that, with that lineup, you don’t have a chance. You have to figure on scoring five or six runs to beat them – tonight, it would have been eight – and that’s not going to happen against him.”
Verlander (18-5) struck out eight to surpass 200 on the year, walked one and lowered his ERA to 2.31.
“That sort of stuff’s for the end of the season to look back at,” Verlander said. “Not right now. Right now it’s a time to focus on my next start – or get ready tomorrow for us to go out there and win another baseball game.”
Miguel Cabrera drove in three runs for the Tigers, and Ramon Santiago hit his third home run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth.
Nick Blackburn (7-10) allowed five runs and 11 hits in 4 2-3 innings.
Minnesota slugger Jim Thome was out of the starting lineup Tuesday, one night after hitting two home runs to reach 600 for his career. He did pinch-hit with two outs in the ninth, drawing a standing ovation from the Detroit crowd. That reception then morphed almost seamlessly into a celebration when Thome struck out to end the game.
Thome’s teammates had little success against Verlander. The Twins put two men on in the first, but Justin Morneau hit a popup and Jason Kubel struck out to end the threat.
Verlander’s 200th strikeout of the season came in the sixth, when Morneau watched a breaking ball drop toward the outside corner, then slowly walked back to the dugout looking like he was about to roll his eyes.
“He pitched great,” Cabrera said. “Every time he goes out there, you can see he always goes seven innings.”
Verlander struck out two more Twins to start the seventh and another two in the eighth, getting former MVP Joe Mauer swinging on a breaking ball that dropped wickedly as it reached the plate. Morneau finally managed an RBI single that inning, chasing Verlander from the game. The tall right-hander received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd before he even left the mound, and he acknowledged the fans on his way to the dugout with a wave of his left hand.
Cabrera opened the scoring with a two-run single in the third, and the Tigers added three more runs in the fifth on RBI singles by Victor Martinez, Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta.
Avila and Austin Jackson both reached base four times for the Tigers. Brennan Boesch scored three runs.
Santiago led off the bottom of the sixth with a homer that made it 6-0, and Cabrera, who extended his hitting streak to 14 games, added an RBI single.
NOTES: Verlander threw 121 pitches. … Minnesota SS Tsuyoshi Nishioka turned a slick double play in the eighth, fielding Boesch’s grounder up the middle, sweeping his right leg across second base as he ran by, then throwing to first. … Detroit’s Delmon Young and Cabrera were thrown out at second in back-to-back at-bats in the sixth, trying to stretch singles into doubles. … Minnesota OF Denard Span, who has been recovering from a concussion, did not play. … The teams play Wednesday night in the rubber game of the three-game series. Detroit’s Brad Penny (8-9) takes the mound against Minnesota’s Carl Pavano (6-9). … The Tigers are 9-2 against the Twins this season.
© 2011 The Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) — Minnesota Twins slugger Jim Thome become the eighth player to hit 600 home runs, connecting twice against the Detroit Tigers on Monday night.
The 40-year-old Thome hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning for No. 599, then added a three-run shot in the seventh. The milestone came on a 2-1 pitch from Daniel Schlereth.
Both homers were hit to the opposite field. When No. 600 cleared the fence in left, Thome raised his right fist as he went around first base, and the crowd in Detroit came to its feet to applaud him.
Thome became the second-fastest hitter to reach the milestone, hitting his 600th homer in at-bat No. 8,137. Babe Ruth needed only 6,921 at-bats.
His 65 home runs against Detroit are his most against any team.
© 2011 The Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jim Thome’s pursuit of 600 career home runs has been a rather quiet quest.
Fighting injuries during a frustrating season for the Minnesota Twins, the 40-year-old Thome hasn’t received nearly the amount of national publicity that his predecessors who reached the milestone did. Even Derek Jeter’s accomplishment of 3,000 hits dwarfed the attention that Thome has been getting, naturally, since he plays for the New York Yankees.
But Thome is close to joining an exclusive club. With 598 home runs over his powerful 20-year career, Thome is on the verge of becoming only the eighth player in professional baseball history to hit 600. And there are all kinds of people around the game who couldn’t be happier for him.
“This guy deserves everything he gets,” said Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, who first managed Thome in the minor leagues and then again with the Cleveland Indians. “When you say, ‘Nice guy,’ yeah, Thome’s a nice guy. But at the same time, he’s also been a great hitter. I think they’re going to look at him as someone who’s just totally genuine and played the game in his own way – and that was good for baseball. They’ll look at him for who he is as a person and the things that he accomplished. I mean, 600 home runs is a tremendous feat.”
Barry Bonds. Hank Aaron. Babe Ruth. Willie Mays. Ken Griffey Jr. Alex Rodriguez. Sammy Sosa. Thome is next on the all-time list, and unlike several of the other higher-profile sluggers of his era, he’s viewed as clean. No admission or suspicion of steroid use for him. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound native of Peoria, Ill., is just a down-home guy with a bundle of natural athletic ability, from a family with a father and brothers who are just as big.
“I’ve been blessed,” said Thome, speaking in his clear, drawn-out, careful voice and giving one of those aw-shucks shoulder shrugs he often does.
He’s been asked about his sterling reputation over the years more times than he can remember, realizing the skepticism toward home run totals of his time is a perception the public will probably never forget.
“I think there’s still some sour feelings around, just in general. Let’s face it. There were guys who did that. But my thing was not every guy did it. You can’t punish everybody,” Thome said, adding: “You make decisions in your life, and I guess you have to live with those decisions. But, again, not every guy did it, and that’s the unfortunate thing: Certain guys are paying that price for that time.”
Since signing with the Twins before last season, Thome has been a popular figure at Target Field – both in the clubhouse and for the paying customers in the seats. He hit 25 home runs last year in just 276 at-bats, many of them moon shots that sailed high into the Minneapolis air and caused players, coaches, fans and everyone else to shake their head in amusement and astonishment.
This season has been more of a struggle. He’s been bothered by injuries to his toe, oblique and quadriceps, and he has struck out 54 times in 169 at-bats entering Tuesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox. Thome has nine home runs this year.
But the anticipation is still there for anybody at the ballpark, each time he walks out of the on-deck circle.
“It’s an exciting thing to step to home plate and have the fans want you to hit a homer,” Thome said. “It’s pretty cool. Now I will say this: There is a little bit of pressure with that. And it’s up to you to try to relax and know that if you come here every day and you try to approach the game the same and you do your work and you’re diligent every day with your program and how you prepare for the game, then all that stuff hopefully in the end will be there.”
The Twins sure could use an emotional lift like this. Thome’s 598th, hit last week on the road against the Los Angeles Angels, was one of those no-doubters that brought the dugout to life despite a 7-1 defeat that night.
“We’re all looking forward to him hitting this next one, and then the anticipation will be unbelievable,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “So that’s something that we’ve been watching and enjoying.”
Gardenhire added: “Every time he walks up there and starts taking a swing, you know the ball can fly.”
Thome has been careful not to put too much emphasis on the milestone itself.
“You don’t ever want to fall into that trap,” he said. “Obviously every day is about winning the ballgame, and if you do something in that game, if it’s to hit a home run or to get close to a milestone, then it’s all worth it. But I don’t want to ever think of it as, ‘Oh, today I’ve got to come to the park and hit a homer.’”
He’s come a long way since Manuel taught him in the minors to open up his stance and harness his natural power. Now he’s trying to gather as many of his home run balls as he can, asking the team to invite the lucky ones to trade the memorabilia for a postgame visit, autographs and perhaps other rewards for their willingness to add to his collection of more than 100 balls.
“What a cool thing to do, if you can play long enough,” Thome said. “You’ve got to hit home runs to do it. Who knows? One day my kids might go through ‘em, and there might be a story behind each ball.”
© 2011 The Associated Press
1901 – 1st golf championship is played
1933 – Lou Gehrig & Joe McCarthy thrown out of game, McCarthy suspended 3 games but Gehrig isn’t, so he continues his streak at 1,249 games
1952 – Braves Warren Spahn ties NL record of Jim Whitney with 18 strikeouts against the Cubs in 15-inning, 3-1 loss
1963 – NY Met Duke Snider hits his 400th HR
1965 – Cincinnati Red Jim Maloney no-hits NY Mets but loses in 11, 1-0
1969 – Oakland A’s Reggie Jackson gets 10 RBIs to beat Red Sox 21-7
1974 – Angels’ Nolan Ryan strikes out 19 Red Sox in 12 innings
1979 – NY Giants Willie McCovey 513th HR is an NL lefty record
1989 – Nolan Ryan becomes 2nd pitcher to defeat all 26 teams
2004 – Jim Thome (Philadelphia Phillies) became the 37th player in major league history to reach 400 career home runs.
2005 – Asafa Powell of Jamaica sets a new Men’s 100 meters world record of 9.77 at the Athens Olympic Stadium
2009 – Phil Jackson (Los Angeles Lakers) recorded his 10th NBA title as coach
