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Thome grateful for Wall of Fame induction
- Updated: August 13, 2016
PHILADELPHIA — No player on the Phillies’ Wall of Fame had a shorter tenure with the Phillies than Jim Thome.
But perhaps no player better represented the rebirth of baseball in this city than he did. The Phillies had been perennial doormats in the National League East for years, when former general manager Ed Wade signed Thome to a six-year, $85 million contract in December 2002.
“Overnight he changed the way people looked at the Phillies,” former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said during Thome’s Wall of Fame induction ceremony Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Thome led the National League with 47 home runs in 2003, as the Phillies fell just short of the National League Wild Card. He hit 42 homers in 2004 and seven more in 2005, finishing the season on the disabled list. Ryan Howard emerged in his shadow, winning the 2005 NL Rookie of the Year. The Phillies traded Thome to the White Sox that winter, but the baseball renaissance he started in Philadelphia did not fade.
“I don’t think one guy actually comes in and changes things,” said Thome, who rejoined the Phillies briefly in 2012. “I think what happens is, if a guy signs, you see other guys follow. And even though you don’t see at that moment, say a world championship that season, …
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