Everyone's attention is on Pujols, on whether he's going to hit 1,000 HRs, and A-Rod, on whether his recent steroid confession will taint his record when he passes Bonds...
But let's not forget about Thome. For some reason, you just don't hear a lot about him. Why is that? I really have no clue. Is it because he's part of a Midwest (read "flyover") franchise, and not New York? But then again Pujols plays in the Midwest as well. Thome will never be an A-Rod or a Pujols (or what Pujols has the potential of being), but I dare say he's got potential for 700. You think I'm kidding?
First things first. Here's a video of Thome's homer tonight, when he hit his 564th career HR, passing Reggie "The Straw that Stirs the Drink" Jackson to obtain sole possession of the 12th spot in the all-time home run list. 12th is pretty decent, if you ask me.
What's more remarkable is that he's only 39, and still consistently hitting 30+ HR per season. So I wouldn't be surprised if he makes it to 600 next year, at age 40.
Now, let's speculate a bit. He's a DH, so he could easily play 'till he's 45 or so without much risk of injury. If he does so, he has a chance to beat Barry... And maybe, just maybe, he could be the first to it: of course, he's got two more active players ahead of him in the all-time list (the not-such-a-Kid anymore Ken Griffey Jr. and A-Rod), but who know what will happen from now until then?
Here are Thome's current stats.
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