Jim Thome hadn’t hit a homer in his first
11 games with the Orioles.
He finally did it in the fourth inning
Friday night in Cleveland. The Orioles were already up by six runs, so it was a
pretty meaningless bomb.
But when you are 41, have played 22 years
and have been as daunting of a slugger as Thome has over his career, no homer
is meaningless anymore.
Thome’s 418-foot shot – off the 39-year-old
Derek Lowe – was the 610th of his career. That put him in sole possession of
seventh all-time on the home run list, breaking a tie with former Oriole Sammy
Sosa.
The fact that it came in Cleveland, where
Thome has spent roughly half of his career, added to the allure.
Of course, the aw-shucks Thome didn’t bite
too much on the line of questioning.
“I'm most happy about winning the game,” said Thome, who gave up a
bat and two signed baseballs in return for the souvenir home run ball. “The key
was getting the lead against Lowe. He's a guy that once he gets settled can be
very good.”
Orioles manager Buck Showalter had no
problem praising his new DH.
“There’s nothing Jimmy doesn’t do that I don’t say, ‘Man, you’re
pretty lucky to watch this.’ I am honored to have him pass my way. They don’t
come like him too often," Showalter said. "Having the great fortune
to have him on our club now, I have always admired him so much from afar. Just
the way he goes about business and the way he treats teammates and treats the
game. He sets such a great example for all of our players. Seeing him walk is
an honor. … The game is going to miss him when he is not around anymore, I can
tell you that.”
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