Congratulations to our hometown slugger, Jim Thome, who was voted into MLB’s Hall of Fame today!

Thome becomes the first Peorian to enter a professional sports hall of fame. The power hitter played in the majors for an amazing 22 seasons on six teams, hitting an astounding 612 home runs, ranking 8th all-time in MLB. He also holds the MLB record with 13 game-ending, walk-off home runs.

Big Jim was a five-time all star who hit for a .276 career batting average. Six times, he hit over 40 home runs in a season. A star in baseball and basketball at Limestone High School, Thome played those sports for a year at Illinois Central College before being drafted in the 13th round by the Indians in 1989.

He played in two World Series with the Indians in the 90’s before moving on to the Phillies in a big money deal and then the White Sox. He also did late-career, short stints with the Dodgers, Twins and his final team, the Orioles, and had second stops with Cleveland and Philadelphia near the end of his playing days.

Thome’s upbeat, generous personality and zero scandals – he played in the steriod era, but was never suspected of using performance enhancing drugs – endeared him to teammates, fans and media. The Twins Joe Nathan called him, “The world’s nicest man.” Big Jim and Gentleman Jim were also common descriptions of the native Peorian, known for his philanthropy. Not many get voted into the Hall on their first year of eligibility as Thome did.

The induction ceremony for the youngest of the five, athletic Thome kids from the South end will come on July 29 in Cooperstown, New York, where he’ll take his rightful place among the greatest to ever play the game of baseball. He wore #25, but he’s number one in our heart. Congratulations, Peoria’s Jim Thome!

Doc Watson