By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Former Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Jim Thome is officially enshrined among Major League Baseball's best, forever. Sunday afternoon, the 22-year-veteran and five-time All-Star was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, along with Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, Chipper Jones, Alan Trammell and Jack Morris.
"Cleveland is where my career was born, but Philadelphia is where I had to grow up fast. I needed every single tool in my toolbox in Philly," Thome said. "The city welcomed me with open arms from the moment the electricians met us wearing hard hats. The fans couldn't have been batter."
Among the first people Thome mentioned in his speech who have helped shape his career, was of no surprise, but his former coach, manager and career-long friend, Charlie Manuel.
"From the moment I met Charlie Manuel, as a wide-eyed kid in the Gulf Coast League, I knew this was someone I could connect with instantly," Thome said. "Charlie took a scrappy young kid, who was anxious to hit a million home runs, and actually encouraged those crazy dreams. He told me that I could hit as many home runs as I wanted to. From day one in that dugout in Kissimmee, he always believed in me."
Manuel managed Thome in three seasons with the Cleveland Indians in 2000-2002 — and part of two seasons with the Phillies in 2005 and 2012 — but he mentored the slugger seemingly throughout the entirety of his career starting in 1989.
"Chuck, I'll never forget the day you called me in your office in Scranton. You had this idea that I could benefit from what Roy Hobbs was doing," Thome said. "Little did I know, that day in Pennsylvania would change everything for me. From that day on, all we did was work, work, and work some more."
Roy Hobbs is a fictional baseball player from the 1952 novel and 1984 film adaption of Bernard Malamud's "The Natural." In NBC Sports' "Inside Look: Jim Thome," Thome described how Manuel used the film to help his swing:
"We were in Scranton and I was a guy who held the bat still and would go from a standstill and swing," Thome explained. "(Charlie) was watching The Natural and he saw that (Hobbs) kind of had this little wiggle to his stance, and I remember the day. We went out the next day, we worked early and he said 'Do me a favor and try holding the bat out there (pointing towards the pitcher) and get a little rhythm with your swing.' And from that day I never looked back. The following day we played a doubleheader and I hit two home runs."
At the end of his praise to the Phillies' 2008 World Series-winning manager, Thome noted he would not be standing at the Cooperstown podium without him. "Thank you for everything, but most of all, thank you for your loyalty," Thome said.
Thome ranks eighth all-time in home runs (612), behind Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Alex Rodriguez (696), Willie Mays (660), Albert Pujols (631) and Ken Griffey Jr. (630). Pujols, 38, still remains active with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
