Way to go Jim, way to go

Jim Thome hit his 500th home run Sunday. It was a walk-off to boot.

I won’t say much about this, because I’ve said it already.But from John and myself here at Halftime Adjustments, we celebrate with you Jim. I hope that you get elected to the Hall someday. I wouldn’t mind going to see that.Thanks for the memories.

No brooms for Tribe…Thome near history

The Indians lost the final game of the year with the White Sox 7-4. They end the season series up 11-7 against the pale hose. In fact the Indians won each of the series in this rivalry save for one in mid-July. And though we gave away 3 runs in the 5th, I’m really not that upset with the loss. We finished this road trip 7-3, which was a game better than I asked for at the time. We also lost only a half game to the Tigers in that time period (assuming the Tigers finish off the Rangers tonight) and come home with a 5.5 game lead, and a magic number of 11. If the Indians simply play .500 ball the Tigers would need to go 14-1 for 1st.

I prefer to talk about Jim Thome’s place in history. In the fourth inning, Thome hit career home run number 499 off former teammate Jake Westbrook. Obviously this leaves him 1 away from a very special club. Much has been made lately about who is hall of fame worthy, and whether 500 homers or 3000 hits is an automatic pass to Cooperstown. Many say that with the expanded league, quality of starting pitching, and sheer number of players from this era surpassing the 500 homer level that it should not be a bench mark anymore. Others say that with the possibility of so many ‘juiced’ athletes it is impossible to tell whether or not the home runs have been achieved on the up and up.

What Makes a Hall of Famer

I’d like to begin this article by saying thanks to Rick for asking me to contribute to his blog. It’s a privilege, and I hope that I can add to his already good work.

Last week, some friends and I had the pleasure of visiting the National Baseball Hall of Fame. What an experience, all of that history was awe inspiring. Of course, living in the Akron-Canton area, I have been to the Pro Football Hall of Fame many times; again a great trip for the fan. But all of this, plus the recent induction ceremonies in Cooperstown and Canton have got me thinking about what it takes to be a hall of fame athlete.

With the recent induction of Gene Hickerson, All-pro offensive lineman for the Browns from 1958-1973, I ask the question, “What took so long?” Here is a player who opened holes for three of football’s greatest running backs (Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly, and Bobby Mitchell seen to the Left with Hickerson), selected to 6 consecutive Pro Bowls from 1965-1970, and named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1960’s. Impressive? How about this: In his first 10 seasons in the NFL, Hickerson opened the holes for nine 1,000-yard rushers seven of those were the league’s leading rushers. This stat becomes even more impressive when you realize that, prior to that point, the NFL only had 7 1,000-yard rushers in it’s history. I can go on and on, but my point is: why has it taken 28 years since his first year of HoF eligibility to finally see this great enshrined in the Hall?