Jim Thome among 4 elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

The Baseball Hall of Fame has new members, and a Phillies legend is among them

Jim Thome, Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman were elected by the Baseball Writer’s Association of America. It’s the second largest class in the Hall’s history.

Thome played 22 seasons between Cleveland, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Minnesota, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Chicago White Sox. One of the great sluggers of the 1990’s and early 2000’s Thome sits eighth on the all-time home run list with 612.

Philadelphia first signed Thome for the 2003 season as one of the greatest free agent signings in franchise history. Thome’s signing in Philadelphia signaled a turn in their rebuild centered around Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell, Ryan Howard, and Chase Utley. He also signaled a new era with the closing of Veteran’s Stadium and the opening of Citizens Bank Park.

In his first season with Philadelphia Thome led the league with 47 home runs, but finished fourth in MVP voting.

After trading Thome to the White Sox prior to the 2006 season to clear the way for Ryan Howard, the team re-signed the first baseman for the 2012 season.

Guerrero sits 40th on the all-time home run list with 449 home runs, but his .318 career batting average and dominance in the 1990’s paved his way to Cooperstown.

Hoffman became the first pitcher to ever record 600 saves, but was surpassed by Mariano Rivera as the all-time saves leader.

Jones was known for being a Phillies killer with a .331 batting average against Philly in his career with Atlanta. He won the MVP in 1999 and a batting title in 2008 at the age of 36 with a .364 batting average.

Next: Phillies likely to be inducted on 2019 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot

Former Phillies Brad Lidge, Kevin Millwood, and Jamie Moyer each fell off the ballot on their first year of eligibility after receiving less than 5% of the vote.