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USA TODAY Sports is counting down the top 24 candidates on the 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot in advance of the Jan. 24 election results. The countdown is based on balloting by our power rankings panel, which includes five Hall voters.
No. 5: Jim Thome
Thome was one of the most prodigious home run hitters in baseball history, one of nine to amass more than 600 homers, homering in 48 ballparks.
Yet, unlike the eight others in the 600-homer club, he never won an MVP award, and certainly was the least flamboyant with his affable but pint-sized personality.
He reminded folks of Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew with his humility and consistency. He hit at least 20 homers in 16 seasons, 30 homers in 12 seasons, and 40 homers in six seasons, but never won a World Series ring despite playing alongside Manny Ramirez, Albert Belle and Kenny Lofton in Cleveland.
He also is one of the few members of the 600-homer club never linked to performance-enhancing drugs while playing primarily for the Cleveland Indians with stops in Philadelphia, Minnesota, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore and the Chicago White Sox, where he’s a special assistant.
The case for: Why, with no link to performance-enhancing drugs, there’s nothing to keep him out of Cooperstown on his first year on the ballot, hitting 612 home runs with a .956 on-base plus slugging percentage during his 22-year career.
This gentle giant was one of only five players in major league history - joining Barry Bonds, Mel Ott, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams - to hit at least 500 home runs with 1,600 RBI, score at least 1,500 runs and walk at least 1,700 times.
HALL COUNTDOWN
He averaged 38 home runs in an 11-year span, and when he didn’t walk to strike out, he batted .396 and homered once every 9.5 at-bats.
Thome, besides being considered one of the nicest players in the game, also helped lead his team to 10 postseason appearances. He hit four homers and drove in 10 runs in the 1995 postseason, leading the Indians to their first World Series since 1954. In 1998, he homered six times in 10 games, including four against the New York Yankees in the ALCS.
He was a five-time All-Star and finished in the top 10 of the AL MVP race top four times, finishing fourth in 2003. He drove in 100 or more runs nine times and scored 100 or more runs eight times. He still ranks fifth among all players with a homer every 13.76 at-bats.
The case against: Thome was always considered one of the finest sluggers every year, but never the best player. He finished fourth in the 2003 AL MVP race, but never higher than 12th in his final nine seasons. He’s the only 600-homer hitter never to win the MVP award.
While always a premier power hitter, only once did he lead the league in homers, in 2003 when he hit 47 homers for the Philadelphia Phillies.
He had a lifetime batting average of .276, with just three .300 seasons in 22 years. He also struck out 2,548 times, second to only Reggie Jackson, despite a .402 career on-base percentage. He was a dominant fastball hitter, hitting .284, but struggled badly with off-speed pitches, hitting just .170 against sliders..
He was considered primarily a one-dimensional player with 47.6% of his career plate appearances resulting in either a homer, strikeout or walk. He stole just 19 bases after 1994, and primarily was a DH the last five years of his career.
Thome helped get his teams to the postseason, but never had that monster October that will forever be remembered. He had a career .211 batting average, .312 on-base percentage and .448 slugging percentage in 71 games and 267 plate appearances in the postseason.
X-factors: In an era of self-promotion, Thome may have been the most low-key superstar of his era. He won the 2002 Roberto Clemente Award, two Marvin Miller Man of the Year awards and the 2004 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award for his community service.
“He’s my favorite teammate ever,’’ former Twins All-Star pitcher Glen Perkins said when they played together in Minnesota. “But he’s everybody’s favorite teammate.’’
Consensus: Thome won’t get the overwhelming support of first-time eligible classmate Chipper Jones, but will still receive plenty of votes to get him into the Hall of Fame.
If he was ever linked to performance-enhancing drugs, it would be a Hall of Fame death sentence. But with no such ties, a power-packed resume and his rep as one of the nicest gentlemen in the game, he’s a lock to be inducted this summer into Cooperstown.
GALLERY: 2018 Hall of Fame ballot
