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Humble Hall of Famer
Slugger Jim Thome brings a personality as stellar as his career stats to the 13th Annual Law Foundation/PICPA Reading Chapter Holiday Benefit Luncheon By Brian C. Engelhardt
PHOTO CREDITS: Susan L. Angstadt
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n Glory Days in Tribe Town, a book about the golden period from 1994-1997 when the former Cleveland Indians won two pennants and three division titles, co-authors Terry Pluto and Tom Hamilton wrote how, on a team with All-Stars at virtually every position, a key player, Jim Thome, “Made baseball history the same way he played. Don’t brag. Respect the game. Have a grateful heart.” Almost 30 years after those glory days in Cleveland and 10 years after retiring from a 22-year major league career, Thome exuded these same qualities in serving as the keynote speaker at the 13th Annual Law Foundation of Berks County and PICPA Reading Chapter Holiday Benefit Luncheon, held on December 3 at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel. The event is the largest fundraiser for the Law Foundation, benefitting programs in the community that serve local youth and preserve equal access to legal services. More than 400 people attended this year’s event and helped raise more than $37,000.
8 | Berks Barrister
Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018, Thome’s baseball resume includes (here come some numbers): 612 career home runs (8th on the All-Time list)
9 consecutive seasons with 30 or more home runs, then after a one-year gap 3 more consecutive seasons 1,699 Runs Batted In (28th all time) 9 seasons with at least 100 RBIs
3 seasons posting a batting average above .300 (and now for some Super Geek numbers)
6 seasons posting an OPS (total of a player’s on-base percentage and slugging percentage) of more than 1.000, plus 7 seasons of more than .900 2,543 major league games with six different teams including two stints with the former Cleveland Indians, 2 stints with the Philadelphia Phillies and time with the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore
