The above quote is from this article by Joe Posnanski, perhaps the greatest sports writer in the business today.
Jim Thome, who now labors as the DH for the Minnesota Twins, became the eighth member of the 600 home run club last night by going three for four - with two of his three hits going out of the park.
Thome has never received the credit he has earned with not only his bat, but also with his persona. In a Sports Illustrated survey this year to determine whom the players considered the nicest guy in the game, Thome won. No surprise there.
If you consider yourself even a lukewarm baseball fan, you have to read the above article by Joe Posnansky. It will bring back that old feeling about the game.
Here's Posnanski wrapping up his outstanding homage:
I asked Thome once how he wanted to be remembered. That’s not really the sort of question that Jim Thome likes to answer. He’s not the philosophical type. But since I asked, he wanted to answer. He kind of looked at me, then looked at the ground, then looked back at me. He thought for a minute. He put his hand on my shoulder, and he said: “You know, I’d kind of like to be remembered as a pretty good guy. Isn’t that how you would want to be remembered?”
I said something then about being remembered as a great baseball player. His eyes lit up.
“Sure,” he said happily. “Why not? That would be great too!”
H/T: rsm1
