The Cleveland Indians have officially retired the number 25 worn by Hall of Fame slugger, and franchise career home run leader, Jim Thome on Saturday.
Thome was honored in a pregame ceremony, prior to the Indians game against the Baltimore Orioles, who Thome also played for during his long career, in which they lost 2-1.
During the ceremony, Thome took his familiar home run trot around the bases one final time, this time accompanied by his son, Landon, and was mobbed by his former teammates as he crossed home plate.
Thome’s retired jersey number will now be permanently displayed in the upper deck of Progressive Field between fellow Hall of Famers Bob Lemon’s 21 and Larry Doby’s 14.
Thome mashed 337 homers to become Cleveland’s career home run leader, and it will be fun to see if any player can catch, or surpass Thome’s number, making it fun for betting sites, such as bettingsites.ltd , to track in the years to come.
Many of Thome’s former teammates and managers were on hand for the celebration, including Omar Vizquel, Kenny Lofton, Carlos Baerga, Charlie Manuel and Mike Hargrove.
Current Indian players also paid homage to Thome, by wearing high socks that mimicked Thome’s look during his playing days.
“To have my jersey retired gives me the chills,” Thome said, according to ESPN News. “To see my number hanging in the rafters in the company of Bob Feller, Lou Boudreau, Jackie Robinson, Mel Harder, Larry Doby, Earl Averill, Bob Lemon and Frank Robinson, I don’t really know what to say. That’s some ‘Field of Dreams’ stuff right there.”
“To this day, these guys are my brothers, and I’m so touched that you all would take the time to come today,” Thome said.
Thome, who spent 13 years with the Indians organization, batted .276 and hit 612 home runs, eighth on the all-time home run list, during his MLB career.
“The ’90s were exciting times in baseball, and there was no place better than the corner of Ontario and Carnegie,” Thome continued. “This organization from top to bottom is first-class all the way. I was so proud to go into the Hall of Fame as a member of the Cleveland Indians.”
Additionally, Thome is the Indians’ career leader in walks (1,008) and is second in career RBIs (937).
