A Tale of Two Milestone

When Derek Jeter was staring down 3000 hits, it was practically impossible to avoid coverage of his quest. Whenever one turned on ESPN, looked at a sports website, or listened to a baseball game, there was Jeter. It got to a point where it almost seemed as though it was a part of his contract that he needed to be mentioned everywhere. Of course, if it was, Alex Rodriguez would have negotiated a clause in his contract where he needed to be mentioned more than Jeter.

Meanwhile, there was another player marching towards a milestone. In fact, the milestone that he was chasing was more exclusive than getting to 3000 hits. While Jeter became the 28th player to get 3000 hits, only seven people had gotten to this other feat. Yet, due to the low profile approach to the game the player has, very little attention was paid to his quest. The player? Jim Thome. The milestone? 600 home runs.
With a two home run game last night, Thome became the eighth player to get to 600 home runs for a career. His name now joins players like Mays, Ruth, Aaron, Griffey, Bonds, A-Rod, and Sosa. Yet, it seems as though no one cares. Why is this?

There are a number of reasons for this. First, Thome never really captured the imagination of America. He has only been an All-Star five times over his twenty year career. He has never finished higher than fourth in the MVP vote. He has played for teams that aren’t exactly constantly on television with the Indians, Phillies, White Sox, Dodgers, and Twins. His peak was during the height of the steroid era, where he was being overshadowed by players like Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, and A-Rod. He just isn’t an exciting player.

Secondly, there is the entire steroid era. Thome has never been linked to PEDs, but he played during that era. Baseballs were leaving the yard with amazing frequency. In fact, three of the players he joins in the 600 home run club have been linked to steroids, and one is an admitted user. Yet Thome was never hauled in front of Congress, was never the focus of a smear campaign headed by Major League Baseball, and just destroyed the ol’ horsehide with regularity.

This actually leads to the third reason. Due to the steroid era, people are jaded with home run hitters. Remember the old baseball ad stating ‘Chicks dig the long ball’? Maybe they did back in the day, but now people just expect them to happen. Over the past decade, five players joined the 600 home run club. Meanwhile, only three players have joined the 3000 hit club in the same time frame. The oversaturation of the home run in baseball has led people to think that 3000 hits are a more difficult accomplishment to get to, when that is simply not the case.

When Derek Jeter got to 3000 hits, you could not escape the coverage. Meanwhile, Jim Thome got to 600 home runs to a collective yawn. It’s unfortunate that a player who did things the right way is not getting the due he deserves.