Jim Tom is a famous American baseball player who has won the Silver Bat. He is renowned for his achievements in Major League Baseball. The athlete was once famous for his punching power and knocked out 612 home runs.
Biography
The full name of the baseball player is James Howard (Jim) Tom, he was born on August 27, 1970 in Peoria, Illinois. His parents were office workers, but at the same time they were quite active in sports.
While still in high school, Jim successfully played baseball and basketball. He then attended Illinois Central College, where he was spotted by the Cleveland Indians on the 13th round of the 1989 MLB project.
After graduating from college, Tom was accepted into the Cleveland Indians. There he worked with former Indian hitting coach - tribal manager - Charlie Manuel.
Tom is to this day the absolute leader of the Indians in home runs, walks and strikes (1400).
Sports career
In 1989, Jim made his Major League Baseball debut. At first he was a third base player, but quickly moved to the first lane. Jim's first season did not go well, with a 0.237 score without home runs. But within a year the athlete "got into shape" and achieved high results.
The baseball player has established himself as a successful player with a powerful and smooth kick. After a while, Jim Tom became one of the main players of the Indians. During his game, the club got into the World Series twice in three years.
Cleveland had seven unsuccessful seasons in a row until 1994, but with the help of Tom and other rising baseball stars Carlos Baerga, Kenny Lofton, and Sandy Alomar Jr., Cleveland became a top contender for the World Series for a decade.
In one of his interviews, when asked how he plays among the "stars", he replied: "When I got into the big league, all I wanted to do was to survive."
After living for more than ten years in Cleveland, the athlete in 2002, as a free agent, moved to the Philadelphia Phillies, where he played for the next three seasons.
After a 2002 campaign where he hit 52 home runs, Tom led the AL with a 0.677 percentage drop. The athlete signed a 6-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. Jim hit 47 home runs in 2003 and 42 more in 2004, but was forced to miss most of the 2005 season due to a serious elbow injury.
In a 2003 Cleveland Plain-Dealer fan poll, Tom was voted the most popular baseball player in Cleveland's sports history.
In 2005, after completing his contract with Philadelphia, Tom traded with the White Sox. This was a deliberate decision, since the athlete, after the death of his mother, wanted to be closer to his father.
Jim played very successfully with this team and won the AL's Comeback of the Year award. Tom played confidently in his first season in Chicago and became a regular hitter, setting the team's record for most home runs as well as breaking Frank Thomas's record. Here he knocked out his 500th home run.
However, injuries did not pass the baseball player by and severe back pain did not allow him to play at the same level. He began to enter the position of the designated hitter.
Then Jim Tom played in the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins. After which he briefly returned to Cleveland and Philadelphia, and ended his professional career at the Baltimore Orioles.
After Tom retired from big baseball, he was offered a leadership position at the White Sox.
Sports achievements and awards
Jim Tom played in Major League Baseball for 22 seasons. In a baseball player's sports career, there were games in six Major League Baseball clubs:
- Indians;
- Philadelphia Phillies;
- Chicago White Sox;
- Los Angeles Dodgers;
- Minnesota Twins;
- Baltimore Orioles.
The main distinguishing feature in Jim's sports career was his strong signature strikes. He was even given the nicknames "Tomenator" and "Mister Incredible".
In the 1999 ALCS vs. New York and ALDS vs. Boston game, Tom hit four home runs.
He has hit over 40 home runs in six seasons, and in 2003, having knocked out 47 home runs per season, became the leader of the National League by that indicator.
Jim's base plus slugging is 95.6% - this is the seventeenth result in Major League Baseball history.
Just six players have completed at least 1,700 walks: Ted Williams, Baby Ruth, Mel Ott, Barry Bonds, Karl Yastrzemski and Tom.
In 2011, Jim Tom became the eighth Major League Baseball player to hit a record 600 home runs.
When he retired, Tom's personal best was:
- 1583 goals scored;
- 612 home runs;
- 1699 RBIs.
Only seven other players in major league history (Bonds, Manny Ramirez, Ruth, Williams, Mickey Mantle, Frank Thomas and Jimmy Fox) have similar results.
He was named in the list of five star games and entered the top 10 most valuable players in his league. Tom was named Player of the Month three times (2001, 2003 and 2004).
In addition, Jim is known and loved by fans for his positive attitude, sense of humor and sociability.
In 2002, Tom's performance on the field and his activities outside of his sporting life were highly acclaimed. Jim has been named the Roberto Clemente Award Winner, reflecting his athletic prowess and community involvement.
He took an active part in charity work, for which he was twice awarded the Man of the Year (from Marvin Miller) and the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award.
Tom also takes part in various events. For example, in May 2006, he was among other attackers in an action in favor of the Breast Cancer Fund.
In 2008, he and his father came to Cooperstown, where he attended the Hall of Fame and donated his famous 500th ball.
Jim is very fond of by his teammates: “He's the good, kindest guy you’ve ever met, in everything but baseball.”
The renowned baseball player does not forget about his relatives and actively helps them. In particular, he pays for his nephews' college tuition.
Tom is currently ranked seventh in MLB history. He is now on the ballot for the 2018 Hall of Fame.
Jim is considered a very poor person, according to rough estimates, his capital is about $ 80 million, and the annual salary is about $ 1.25 million.
