Jim Thome describes his move from third base to first base before the 1997 season as “really the best thing that ever happened to me.”
But what Thome did for the man who replaced him at third with the Cleveland Indians hasn’t been forgotten.
“He didn’t know me from Adam, but he made a point that spring to sit down and talk and welcome me to the team,” Matt Williams said. “He was the first person to welcome me. He said, ‘We’re glad you’re here, and let me know if I can do anything.'”
The addition of Williams helped the Indians reach the World Series for the second time in three years. It was also beneficial for Thome. Switching to first base eased some of his defensive concerns and helped him stay healthy enough to reach 499 career home runs at age 37.
Now the White Sox’s full-time designated hitter, he will try to become the 23rd player in major league history with 500 beginning Friday night against the Los Angeles Angels.
Thome has hit 406 homers since moving off third base. He has four homers in his last six games and is 10-for-24 (.417) over that span.
“It’s always nice to have an off-day, but when you’re swinging well, you want to continue to play,” he said.
For Williams, Thome’s warm greeting eased some of the shock of being traded from San Francisco, where he had been named to four National League All-Star teams and won three Gold Glove awards. He was joining a new team in a new league that trained about 2,200 miles away from his former spring training home.
“He became one of my running buddies,” Williams said. “He and his future wife (Andrea) invited me to dinner and helped me get comfortable.
“We had a veteran-laden team and everyone was friendly. But Jim treated everyone like family.”
Thome was only 26 at the time, and Williams, 31 then, remembered all the attention generated by his arrival and Thome’s position switch.
“Jim downplayed it,” Williams said. “That’s the kind of person he is. He defused all the commotion around the switch because he was willing to do what was best for the team.”
Williams, now 41 and a special assistant with the Arizona Diamondbacks, hit 32 home runs and drove in 105 runs for the Indians that season. Thome hit 40 homers for the first of six times in his career and drove in 102 runs.
Williams will be paying attention as his buddy pursues the milestone.
“He’s an exceptional player and person,” he said. “I’m proud of him.”
Williams figured Thome would benefit from the move from third to first — “The demands aren’t as great,” he said. But playing first, he said, “isn’t as easy as people think.”
“You can’t move from one corner of the infield to the other without working at it,” Williams said. “He worked hard to make himself comfortable. The move turned out to be seamless.”
No matter where he plays — or played — in the field, and no matter how well, Thome will always be known as a slugger.
“You still have to hit them. It took a lot of hard work to get to 499,” Williams said. “I’m proud that he’s going to get that [500] mark, and go beyond.”
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mgonzales@tribune.com
