Jim Thome (born 1970) played Major League Baseball for 22 years, starting with the Cleveland Indians in 1991 and joining the Philadelphia Phillies in 2002. Traded to the Chicago White Sox before the 2006 season, he won the American League Comeback Player of the Year Award that year. After back pain limited him to being a designated hitter, he had stints with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Indians and Phillies before ending his career with the Baltimore Orioles. A prolific power hitter, Thome hit 612 home runs during his career—the seventh- most of all time. He was a member of five All-Star teams and won a Silver Slugger Award in 1996. One of his trademarks was his unique batting stance, pointing the bat at right field before the pitcher threw, something he first saw in the film The Natural. He was known for his consistent positive attitude and gregarious personality. An active philanthropist during his playing career, he was honored with two Marvin Miller Man of the Year Awards and a Lou Gehrig Memorial Award.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Thome
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1810:
Napoleonic Wars: The French Navy defeated the Royal Navy, preventing them from taking the harbour of Grand Port on Île de la Passe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Grand_Port
1832:
Black Hawk, leader of the Sauk tribe of Native Americans, surrendered to US authorities, ending the Black Hawk War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hawk_War
1928:
Over sixty nations signed the Kellogg–Briand Pact, renouncing war as an instrument of national policy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kellogg%E2%80%93Briand_Pact
1957:
The Constitution of Malaya came into force, three days before the Federation of Malaya achieved formal independence from the United Kingdom. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Malaysia
2000:
Moscow's Ostankino Tower caught fire, killing three people and disrupting television and radio signals around the city. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostankino_Tower
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
wantokism: The Melanesian cultural practice of relying on one's wantoks for any need, and of sharing the fruits of one's personal success with one's wantoks. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wantokism
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
I believe in man's capacity for achieving great things and in the combined force resulting from encounters and exchanges. I plead for greater liberty and a more open world … because it provides a setting which liberates individuals and their creativity as no other system can. It spurs the dynamism which has led to human, economic, scientific, and technical advances, and which will continue to do so. --Johan Norberg https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Johan_Norberg