Who is Jim Thome?

Jim Thome has always intrigued me. He was a third basemen who batted lefty, but threw righty, very similar to my all-time favorite third-basemen, Robin Ventura. As I saw these two go at it -- this is while the White Sox were championship hopefuls and their strongest rivalry was with the Cleveland Indians around the '92 season -- my heart would always race when a sharp grounder was hit to the third base side, or either Thome or Ventura were up to bat.

Of course, I was always rooting for Ventura.

What noticed each time these two went at it was that Ventura was getting a little bit slower each time out, showing less power and Thome always got better. I mean, this guy went from a no-name third basemen to a continual Sox killer.

Today, Jim Thome is now older and a first basemen, but he is still great and underrated. As of this writing, he has 39 homeruns with a month left in the season, good for fourth in the entire MLB! So who is Jim Thome, this underrated star of baseball? I'll tell you.

Peoria, Illinois, 1970. Jim Thome was born. He and his sister Jenny, both paternal twins, are the youngest of five children. His father, Chuck, Jr., did play some baseball when he was young, and even thought about giving baseball a shot, though he thought better of it, and instead went for a more stable position at a local factory. Family, rather than ambition, was what Chuck, Jr. installed in his children.

The Thome family was notorious softball players in the Peoria, Illinois area. Several of Jim's relatives are even in the Peoria sports Hall of Fame for fast-pitch softball! Jim's older brothers were always baseball fanatics, having played baseball at the college level and then fast-pitch softball.

At Jim Thome's first Cubs games, he asked Dave Kingman (his favorite childhood baseball player) for an autograph, and was quickly denied. Jim Thome was upset, and so after Dave Kingman left into the dugout, Jim jumped the wall and dashed into the dugout after Kingman. Jim Thome was quickly caught by Barry Foote, so never made it to Dave Kingman, but he did get his baseball autographed my other team players. It was then that he decided that he wanted to be a Major Leaguer when he grew up.

Jim made his name at high school, where he became an Illinois all-state basketball player and was even scouted by the Cincinnati reds as a high school shortstop. Not being selected in the the MLB draft, Jim went off to Illinois Central College where he gained an Junior College All-American honorable mention, which in 1989, earned him a 13th-round draft pick by the Cleveland Indians.

In 1990, Jim Thome earned the Cleveland Indians with the Lou Boudreau Award, declaring Jim the Indians' best minor league baseball player as a third basemen. After a short stint in AA and AAA, Jim was promoted to the major leagues at the end of the 1991 season, when the Indians were still a joke. His first game, Jim got two hits, and RBI, and a run-scored. That season, Baseball of America and Upper Deck named him the best hitting prospect in the American League.

His first three years in the big leagues, '91, '92, '93, Jim battled some small injuries and alternated between the big leagues and rookie ball. During this time, the Indians were slowly bringing their hot stars up, and the beginning of 1994 was the year they would all click.

In 1994, Jim Thome was the third basemen opening day starter at the newly opened Jacobs Field. With Kenny Lofton, Carlos Baerga, Albert Belle, Eddie Murray, Manny Ramirez, and others, the Cleveland Indians would go on to dominate for years.

In Jim's first season where he was considered the "man" at third base, he batted 20 homeruns and batted .268. For the next eight years, Jim Thome matured into a dominant all-star. Cleveland did reach the World Series twice while Jim Thome was with them, in '95 against Atlanta and '97 against Florida. His 20-homerun season in 1994 was followed by 25, 38, 40, 30, 33, 37, 49, and then 52 homeruns in 2002, his last year in Cleveland.

By '02, Jim had transitioned himself over to first base. Jim was ready for another chance at a championship, and after seeing the direction the Indian management was going in, he decided, with much sadness, to jump ship.

Before the 2003 season, Jim signed with the Philadelphia Phillies at a price of $85 million for six years, becoming one of the highest-paid players in baseball. Although the Phillies didn't make it to the postseason last year or appear to be in the race this year, Jim Thome has found a new home in the National League and is finally beginning to receive the respect that he deserves.

Among Jim Thome's Awards are a Silver Slugger Award, '96; three All-Star Game nods, '97, '98, '99; a Players Choice Award for Man of the Year, 2001; and the Roberto Clemente Man of the Year Award, 2002.

With Jim Thome 20 homeruns past 400 and only recently turned 34 years of age, there is no doubt that Thome will surpass the 500 homerun mark and only makes 600 homeruns a valid argument. With the hardware to back it up, Jim Thome has shown over his career that he is not just one of the top players in baseball, but he is also one of the best people in baseball. With four years left on his contract in Philadelphia, Jim's stock is still going up.