Jim Thome ties Frank Robinson for 8th place with 586 homers

Jim Thome’s great run continued last night, as he homered for the fourth time in three games to tie Frank Robinson for eighth place on the all-time list with 586 career long balls. Thome has given the Twins amazing production for a one-year, $1.5 million investment this offseason, hitting .278/.407/.636 with 22 homers, 16 doubles, and 52 walks in 297 plate appearances. Among all AL hitters with at least 250 plate appearances Thome leads the league in slugging percentage (.635) and at-bats per homer (11.0) while ranking fourth in OPS (1.042) behind only Justin Morneau, Miguel Cabrera, and Josh Hamilton. Morneau hasn’t played since suffering a concussion on July 7, but Thome has stepped up to hit .299 with a .437 on-base percentage and ridiculous .701 slugging percentage in 38 games since then, smacking 12 homers in just 107 at-bats. He now has the third-highest adjusted OPS+ ever by a 39-year-old, trailing only Barry Bonds and Ted Williams while slightly ahead of Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth. In terms of impact per dollar no free agent signing has been better than Thome, particularly since he left the second-place White Sox to join the first-place Twins.