When former Phillies first baseman signed a one-year contract with the Phillies in 2012, it would be the very last contract he signed. Despite spending time working near his home for the Chicago White Sox as a special assistant, Thome had not yet retired. Today, we learned that this will change.
According to MLB.com, Thome will go back to the franchise who drafted him and sign a one-day contract and then retiring:
Jim Thome announces he will sign an honorary contract and retire as a member of the @Indians. pic.twitter.com/4k67Cm3HQL
— MLB (@MLB) August 2, 2014
The contract comes on the day the Cleveland Indians unveiled a Jim Thome statue at Progressive Field.
Thome played from 1991 through 2013 for the Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, and then returned to the Cleveland Indians and then the Phillies again before the Phillies traded Thome to the Baltimore Orioles, where he played his last game. In his career, Thome batted .276 with 612 home runs and 1699 RBI, yielding a .956 career OPS.
Thome's former manager for both the Indians and Phillies was present and tweeted a photo of the Indians old staff in front of the Thome statue:
In front of big Thome's statue at The Jake @MLB pic.twitter.com/spUmYgdRXT
— Charlie Manuel (@CMBaseball41) August 2, 2014
