page_title: Jim Thome
section_title: Personality
hierarchical_section_title: Jim Thome / Player profile / Personality
caption_attribution_description: Jim Thome
context_page_description: James Howard Thome is an American former professional baseball corner infielder and designated hitter, who played in Major League Baseball for 22 seasons. A First Ballot MLB Hall of Famer, he played for six different teams, most notably the Cleveland Indians, during the 1990s and early 2000s. A prolific power hitter, Thome hit 612 home runs during his career—the eighth-most all time—along with 2,328 hits, 1,699 runs batted in, and a .276 batting average. He was a member of five All-Star teams and won a Silver Slugger Award in 1996.
  Thome grew up in Peoria, Illinois, as part of a large blue-collar family of athletes, who predominantly played baseball and basketball. After attending Illinois Central College, he was drafted by the Indians in the 1989 draft, and made his big league debut in 1991. Early in his career, Thome played third base, before eventually becoming a first baseman. With the Indians, he was part of a core of players that led the franchise to two World Series appearances in three years during the mid-1990s.
context_section_description: Thome's friendly personality has been the subject of much attention. In a 2007 poll of 464 MLB players, he tied with Mike Sweeney for second-friendliest player, behind Sean Casey. After Thome hit his 600th home run, Twins closer Joe Nathan said, "He is the world's nicest man." Teammate Michael Cuddyer added, "He is the nicest, gentlest, kindest guy you will ever meet ... to everything except the baseball, he still hits that really hard." His kindness comes up in conversations with many MLB players. When he signed with the Phillies in the offseason before the 2012 season, Phillies general manager Rubén Amaro, Jr. cited Thome's constant positive attitude as a main reason for his signing. As an exercise in remaining humble, he annually visited his high school prior to spring training. A Sports Illustrated article said that Thome frequently signs autographs for fans and that he is "endlessly patient with requests". In a piece for Philadelphia magazine discussing Thome's Baseball Hall of Fame prospects, sportswriter Stephen Silver wrote, 
  "It's not just the numbers. Thanks to his gregarious personality, Thome is the rare athlete who played in several cities and was beloved everywhere he went. I saw the Twins and Phillies play each other in Philadelphia when Thome was with the Twins, and the same two teams in Minnesota two years later when Thome was a Phillie, and the opposing crowd cheered Thome both times, even when he hit home runs for the road team. Thome was similarly loved in his long stints in Cleveland and Chicago, as well as shorter runs in Los Angeles and Baltimore."
  A fan poll in The Plain Dealer in 2003 named him the most popular athlete in Cleveland sports history.
caption: Jim Thome in 2010
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