page_title: Jim Thome
section_title: Chicago White Sox (2006–2009)
hierarchical_section_title: Jim Thome / Professional career / Chicago White Sox (2006–2009)
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 became Chicago's regular designated hitter in April 2006 and flourished in his first season in Chicago. He set the team record for most home runs in the month of April (10), overtaking Frank Thomas's previous record by one. He also set a major league record by scoring in each of Chicago's first 17 games. For the season, Thome hit 42 home runs, drove in 109 runs, and hit .288, though he struck out in 30% of his plate appearances, the highest percentage in the AL. On May 1, 2006, Thome returned to Cleveland to play against the Indians in his first game as a visitor at Jacobs Field, and received an unenthusiastic reception.
  On September 16, 2007, Thome joined the 500 home run club by hitting a walk-off home run against Los Angeles Angels pitcher Dustin Moseley. Thome became the 23rd major leaguer to reach the milestone and the third in the 2007 MLB season (the others were Frank Thomas and Alex Rodriguez), as well as the first ever to do it with a walk-off home run. Several family members including his father were on hand to witness the accomplishment, which occurred at a game during which the White Sox distributed free Thome bobbleheads to fans. Thome celebrated by pointing upward in homage to his late mother as he rounded the bases.
  On June 4, 2008, Thome hit a 464-foot (141 m) home run—which at the time was the ninth-longest home run in U.S. Cellular Field history—against Kansas City Royals pitcher Luke Hochevar in a 6–4 White Sox victory. He hit a solo home run in the AL Central Tiebreaker game, which proved to be the difference as the White Sox defeated the Minnesota Twins, 1–0. Thome's hitting remained strong during Chicago's 2009 season – he hit his 550th career home run. On July 17, 2009, he hit a grand slam and a three-run home run for a single-game career-high seven RBIs. By the conclusion of the season, he had passed Reggie Jackson for 11th place on the all-time home run list with 564 home runs.
caption: Thome with the White Sox in 2009
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