Two successive crushed balls were enough for Jim Thome to enter the elite hitters'club of 600. Presumed to be the most silent build-up of a hitter's march towards homerun number 600, Jim Thome rounded the bases mindless of it and with possibly the feeling of satisfaction carrying the burden off his back; that finally, the chase is over and he's a bonafide member of the club that boasts of Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Babe Ruth and four others.
At age 40, only the legendary Babe Ruth had reached the 600 Homerun plateau faster than Jim Thome. The Bambino only needed 6, 921 at bats to do so. Thome did the same on his 8, 167th plate appearance.
After Thome's historic homerun, talks were immediately swayed as to whether Jim Thome will be elected to Cooperstown. Several experts were quick to remind everyone that the 600 of Thome is not enough to breathe hope in his Hall chances. Why? Because Jim Thome happened to be prolific during the Steroid Era. That Jim Thome isn't a transcendent star. That it takes Skip Bayless at least five hesitations to figure out if he should belong in the Hall of Fame. Summing it up means that they give little weight on Thome's statistic credentials. If that is the point then it may be derived that had Jim Thome did produce exactly the same numbers at exactly the same number of games but only this time around, played with a coastal team, say, New York or San Fransisco, Jim Thome may have filled the checkbox next to "transcendent ". Jim Thome was pronounced by some not worth of the call to Hall because his name lacks luster. Isn't it a shame?
He may led a league only one-time in total homers in a season but that doesn't take away the cumulative boggle that is 600. The bottom line is, 600 is 600 and only 8 players, out of more than 17,000 players that set foot on a Major League game, had ever accomplished this rare feat.
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