Jim Thome Traded To Cleveland

Jim Thome is going home, after finding a home in Minnesota.

The Twins agreed to trade Thome to Cleveland after he cleared waivers on Thursday. The Twins will receive a player to be named later no later than October 15th.

Although Thome’s time in Minnesota was brief, it was memorable. He only hit 37 of his 600 career home runs in a Twins uniform, but in the short period of time he was here, he had some memorable home runs, and a few taters.

All of his home runs seemed to come at important times, and home run 596 just happened to be the longest home run in Target Field history, a 490 foot tater way, WAY up into the upper deck in right center field…which broke his previous Target Field record of 480 feet, which he mashed off the right field flag pole last September. He also hold the record for the longest home run at Progressive Field, his new old home.

And of course, there was career home run #600, which occurred in Detroit last week, a game in which he also hit career homer #599.

Farewell, Jim. Good luck, and I hope you get a ring with the Indians.

Jim Thome Joins Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez And Former Great Sluggers In Exclusive 600 HR Club

It may have been a slow crawl this past few weeks, but Jim Thome has finally joined the exclusive 600 home run club. The veteran slugger becomes just the eighth player in Major League Baseball history to have cleared the fences 600 times. Let’s take a look at the list.

600 Home Run Club
Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660), Ken Griffey, Jr. (630), Alex Rodriguez (626), Sammy Sosa (609) and Thome (600).

No. of Seasons Played by 600 HR Club Members:
Barry Bonds: 23
Hank Aaron: 23
Babe Ruth: 23
Willie Mays: 22
Ken Griffey, Jr.: 22
Alex Rodriguez: 18
Sammy Sosa: 18
Jim Thome: 21

Interesting how so many of the top sluggers played nearly the exact same number of seasons. Though tainted by steroids, Sammy Sosa’s numbers look pretty impressive nonetheless because of how few seasons he played. As for Thome, 2011 could be his final season. If so, the debate will really heat about whether or not Thome should be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. I really can’t see how he wouldn’t get elected into Cooperstown. The home run numbers are just one piece of the puzzle. Thome should come close to or surpass 2,300 hits at the end of this season, and he’s a safe bet to drive in his 1,700th RBI. Throw in his career OPS of .960, his 23rd place ranking on career runs created, and all the playoff teams he starred on, it’s hard for me to envision a guy that’s also great with the media not getting his due in the Hall.

We’ll see. For now, a big congratulations to Thome on the incredible milestone.

VIDEO: Jim Thome Has Hit 600 Home Runs After Monday Night's Blasts

Jim Thome Blasts Home Runs 599 and 600 In Detroit

Thanks to two home runs at Comerica Park on Monday night, Minnesota Twins designated hitter Jim Thome has joined an elite club with 600 career home runs.

Thome entered Monday night's contest stuck at 598 long balls, having hit his last one on August 5 against Anaheim's Dan Haren. He then got number 599 off of Detroit starter Rick Porcello in the top of the eighth inning, following Jason Kubel's leadoff single with a two-run blast to left field to break a 3-3 tie and give the Twins a lead of 5-3.

Then, in the top of the seventh inning with Trevor Plouffe on third base and Justin Morneau on first, Thome unloaded against Tigers' reliever Daniel Schlereth (who, incidentally, is the son of former NFL player and current ESPN NFL analyst Mark Schlereth) for a three-run blast that put the Twins ahead by a score of 9-5.

The action continues in the bottom of the seventh in Detroit, with the Twins leading 9-6.

Congratulations to Jim Thome on this monumental achievement. We will have a full recap of the game here for you at SB Nation Minnesota when the action is complete.

Thome Still Sitting At 598 With One Game Left On Home Stand

As the Twins have dropped further and further in the standings, one of the few bright spots that leaves us looking to tune in has been Jim Thome and his quest for 600 home runs. He last homered on August 4th, giving him 598 for his Hall of Fame career, and there was a decent chance that he might be able to reach that milestone at home.

But as this six game home stand comes to an end, Thome still finds himself at 598. He’ll have one last chance to get there tonight, but the odds are long. The last time Thome had a multiple home run game, it was in May, and he has been slumping as of late, like the rest of the team.

From here, Thome watch moves to Cleveland, as the Twins hit the road again. If he can’t get to 600 at home, it would be fitting, in a way, if he reached the milestone in Cleveland. It was there that Thome started his illustrious career, and it is at Jacobs Progressive Field, where Thome has hit the most home runs of his career, 192, and where he was a key component of the Indians revival as an American League power in the mid and late 1990’s.

Thome Homers Off Of Haren For Number 598

If you were in the Central time zone, you may have missed it, but Jim Thome took one step closer to the 600 home run club on Thursday night in Anaheim against the Angels.

The Minnesota Twins got thumped by Anaheim to the tune of 7-1 on Thursday night, but that 1 was accounted for by Thome, as he went deep off of Angels' starter Dan Haren. Leading off the top of the eighth inning, Thome was down in the count at 1-2. After he fouled one off, Thome got one he liked and blistered it over the wall in center field. The blast was measured at 404 feet, and finally got the Twins on the scoreboard. Unfortunately, that's all the team would get in the loss.

Thome now sits just two long ones away from becoming the eighth member of the 600 home run club. We will continue to track his quest as the Twins return to Target Field to take on one of Thome's former teams, the Chicago White Sox.

Jim Thome's Quiet March To 600 Career Home Runs

As we detailed a couple of weeks ago, Minnesota Twins designated hitter Jim Thome is currently in the midst of the quietest march to 600 home runs that Major League Baseball has ever seen. Though he is poised to become just the eighth member of one of the most exclusive statistical clubs in baseball, Thome is doing this with basically no fanfare, no breathless coverage on ESPN or anywhere else, and no real hoopla whatsoever.

But we here at SB Nation Minnesota (and our good friends at Twinkie Town) want to make sure that Jimmer isn't mashing those proverbial taters in vain, as we're going to keep you detailed right here on his march to 600. With a solo home run to center on Sunday against the Oakland Athletics, Thome now sits at 597 home runs for his career, just three shy of the milestone.

We'll have more on Jim Thome's quest for 600 over the course of the upcoming days as the pursuit continues.