Jim Thome quietly had had a historically great playing career. The 6’4″, 250 pound giant slammed 612 home runs. At the time of his retirement, only six men had hit more.

Thome wasn’t just a slugger. His keen eye at the plate led to 1,747 walks and a .402 career on-base percentage. Thome is one of only six players in MLB history with at least 500 homers, 1,500 runs scored, 1,600 RBI, and 1,700 walks. The others? Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, and Mel Ott.

Thomas played for six teams in his 22 big league seasons, the Indians, Phillies, White Sox, Twins, Dodgers, and Orioles.

He had 12 seasons of 30 or more homers and 9 seasons with at least 100 walks. Six times Thome’s OPS was higher than 1.000. His career mark stands at .956.

From 1996-2004 Thome was at his best. During the 9-year run he had a .416 on-base percentage and averaged 41 homers, 111 RBI, 104 runs, and 114 walks per season. His OPS was 1.004.

Thome retired in 2012 with 612 homers, 1,699 RBI, and a career OPS+ of 147. With those numbers, he was a first-ballot selection for the Hall of Fame in 2018. He is also renowned as one of baseball’s nicest and kindest gentle giants.

Thome signed this contract on February 24, 2002 just before beginning a season in which he’d hit a career-best 52 homers. Over the duration of the contract Thome made two All Star teams and led the league in homers for the only time in his career.

Jim Thome retired in 2012 with 1,583 runs scored after crossing the plate 100 or more times in eight seasons. His career high of 122 came in 1996. Few men in baseball history scored more often before him. Paul Molitor was one of the 49 who did. Thome’s power and patience at the plate made him a consistent run producer throughout his long career.

The lineup card shown above captures the night Molitor tied Thome’s future run total. Molitor entered the June 5, 1996 game with 1,581 runs, two shy of Thome’s eventual mark. In the first inning he ripped a two-run homer that closed the gap. Then in the fourth he stroked an RBI single to left. Two batters later Ron Coomer drove him in. That score pushed Molitor’s total to 1,583, matching Thome’s career number. From there Molitor kept climbing. By the time he left the game after the 1998 season his 1,782 runs ranked 16th all time.

The game-used piece carries the signatures of all 12 Twins who appeared that evening, including Molitor himself. It preserves the exact sequence that moved one future Hall of Famer past another on the runs list.

As Jim Thome climbed the all-time leaderboard, he passed some of the game’s greatest players. The lineup card shown here is from the contest when he hit his 522nd career home run. That moved him ahead of Ted Williams,  Willie McCovey and Frank Thomas, each of whom finished with 521.

Notice Thome’s signature above his inscription, “HR #522 passes Williams and McCovey”. Historic lineup cards like this are usually found in the player’s private collection or in the Hall of Fame.

Thome hit 90 more dingers before retiring in 2012. At that time his 612 long balls put him 7th on the all-time list. Only Barry Bonds, Henry Aaron, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez, Willie Mays, and Ken Griffey Jr. hit more.