On This Date in Sports September 16, 2007: Walking Off for 500
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
Jim Thome of the Chicago White Sox hits his 500th career home run. He was the third player in 2007 to join the 500-HR club with Alex Rodriguez and Frank Thomas doing it earlier in the season. Thome is the 23rd overall player with 500 home runs and the first to reach the milestone with a walk-off. The magic moment comes against Duston Mosely of the Los Angeles Angels in a 9-7 win.
Jim Thome was born August 27, 1970, in Peoria, Illinois. After being an all-state star in Peoria, Thome was picked by the Cleveland Indians in the 13th round of the 1989 MLB Draft. He quickly became one of the Tribe’s top prospect as was part of Cleveland’s resurgence when he made his debut in 1991. Jim Thome had a breakout season, hitting 20 home runs in a season cut short due to a strike.
In 1997, as Cleveland hosted the All-Star Game, Jim Thome made his first appearance in the midsummer classic. Over the next five years, Thome became one of the top sluggers in baseball as he set the Indians franchise record with 337 home runs. After the 2002 season, Thome left Cleveland and signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as a free agent. Injuries would limit him to seven home runs in 59 games in 2005, as he became expendable with the emergence of Ryan Howard. This led to a trade to the Chicago White Sox.
With the White Sox in 2006, Jim Thome had a bounce-back year, hitting 42 home runs and returning to the All-Star Game. Thome was again having a strong season, despite the White Sox season-long struggles. In the middle of September, Thome had 27 longballs to put him one away from 500 as the White Sox at 64-85 hosted the first-place Los Angeles Angels who were 87-61 heading into the game.
The Angels led 3-0 early behind home runs by Vladimir Guerrero and Juan Rivera. After a fifth-inning single by Jerry Owens put Chicago on the board, the Halos again attacked, scoring four to make 7-1 in the seventh. The White Sox answered, with four runs in the bottom of the seventh, as Josh Fields belted a three-run shot to get his team back in the game. In the eighth Danny Richer tied the game with a two-run shot off Scot Shields. Dustin Mosley came on to pitch for the Angels in the ninth and gave up a single to Darin Erstad. The next batter was Jim Thome, who was hitless in his first four at-bats. On a 3-2 count, Thome hit the ball out to left-center field to win the game 9-7. After rounding the bases, Jim Thome was given a victory ride by his teammates.
Jim Thome would play another five years, finishing with 612 career home runs in 2012. He would be chosen as a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2018.