Classic Twins Game of The Week: Jim Thome Booms Walk Off Homerun! Aug. 17, 2010

Jim Thome follows through on his game-winning homerun on August 17,  the first "walk-off" homer
ever hit at Target Field in Minneapolis.  The 581st of his career, and he cranked the living crap out of it.

Jim has since hit his 586th career dinger (on Tuesday, 9/8/10, 6th inning off

Luke Hochevar) which narrowly missed hitting the flagpole in right field. It tied him
with Frank Robinson for 8th on the all-time homerun list. He passed THAT on Sat. night, 9-11!

TURN DOWN YOUR VOLUMN for the above video to see the big tater! Thome's shot can also be seen in this official Twins MLB video, which gives the standard camera shot from centerfield.  Irritating drunk driver (another evil white male) psa precedes the clip!

Jim Thome's game winning homer on Aug. 17 (see box score and game details at this link) was huge in this modern Classic Twins Game of The Week. It was spectacular. It brought to mind the past glories of a Harmon Killebrew, bashing a big fly just before the All Star break in 1965. And it was hit off the Chicago Stinking White Sox' best reliever, Matt Thornton, in the 10th inning, nobody out, with one strike, to drive in Delmon Young to give the Twins a 7-6 victory! And it gave lefty reliever Ron Mahay a cheap victory, who came in to get out the last Sox hitter in the top of the 10th after Chicago tied the score. The Twins went up four games over their division rival with this win. Boo-yah!

Numbers Schmumbers

Thome has given the Twins amazing production for a one-year, $1.5 million investment this off season, hitting .278/.407/.636 with 22 homers, 16 doubles, and 52 walks in 297 plate appearances. Among all AL hitters with at least 250 plate appearances Thome leads the league in slugging percentage (.635) and at-bats per homer (11.0) while ranking fourth in OPS (1.042) behind only Justin Morneau, Miguel Cabrera, and Josh Hamilton. He's also good at making those chocolate chip muffins too, I hear.

America, Rock & Roll, Shaving Cream Pies & A Chevy Hit & Run Over Jon Rauch

Twins fans love this guy as if he were one of their own.  He comes across as a ego-free team player, and humble as Dudley Dooright. He's always passing off credit meant for him to his teammates and the other team, for the love of Pete Redfern!! Go ahead - watch him on the bench during TV games - you're liable to see him giving away hitting nuggets to younger players such as Dan Valencia. A coincidence that Valencia is now a rookie of the year candidate? I think not!


Speaking of nuggets: it took a lot of them for partial closer and complete knucklehead Jon Rauch to give Thome a shaving cream pie in the face (see stupid baseball player pranks) during a post game interview.

And again, from another angle, with more of humble Jim discoursing on his exploits...



Probably a lucky thing for Rauch that Big Jim didn't relieve him of his head from his shoulders after that stunt!

For another day...

AS AN ADDED BONUS, THIS VIDEO FROM THE JUNE 28TH GAME AGAINST DETROIT...JIM THOME HITTING HIS FIRST TRIPLE SINCE 2004!!



May YOUR taters fly far too!
Twinkler Out