Jim Thome 600 Home Runs!

Jim Thome. Congratulations on becoming the eighth member of the 600 home run club!

Here comes the truth. I didn't know about Jim Thome before he came to Minnesota. I had never heard his name, or if I had, it didn't register. I know, I know... and I call myself a baseball fan. Jim Thome deserves better.

I was watching on Monday night when the Twins caged the Tigers and Thome hit his 599th and 600th. It was great, so awesome to watch. I got to thinking about Thome and the legacy he is living and the era during which he is living it. Last year Rodriguez hit his 600th home run while Jeter hit his 3,000th hit this year. From the media craze, you would think neither one of those great accomplishments (yes, they are great) had ever happened before. The attention granted to these two players was overwhelming and held spots on ESPN for days if not weeks.

I had heard of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez and not because of their accomplishments alone, but because of the media. From what I understand, Jeter is a great guy both on and off the field; I am not trying to take away from that. No, I am attempting to draw, what should be a parallel between all great players.

What Thome does, he does so well and because of that, deserves more of a 'congratualtions'; Thome deserves the respect of baseball fans across the nation. As a baseball fan myself, I will try to do the same for the greats of other teams. After all... that's what Jim Thome would do.

Please, celebrate Derek Jeter, but don't forget to celebrate the accomplishments of Thome and players like Thome. Jeter said this of Thome and his 600th, "I was happy for him. That's quite an accomplishment; 600 home runs. Jim is one of the nicest guys you'll meet in baseball. I've played against him for what seems like forever. It's something he should be extremely proud of. You can't say enough good things about his as a person. He's a great player and a good guy." Though Jeter himself sent 'congratulations' Thome's way,  it appears that too often the boy next door is overshadowed. This is a clear indication of that.

Every interview conducted and every article written about Thome and his 600th home run talks of his outstanding demeanor, his overall kindness and competitiveness. Thome is the all-around package and deserves every bit of fame and support for the rest of his career and beyond.

ARod also sent a 'congratulations' to Thome, but that mostly just makes me mad so I'll only mention it.

The only disappointing aspect of this story is that you can now place Thome in the same breath as Bonds, Rodriguez and Sosa. Despite everything, Thome is seen as guilty by association because the aforementioned three had to go and blow it for the rest of the MLB's greatest home run hitters.

Despite that association, I believe Thome will go down as one of the greatest players both on and off the field that has played the game of baseball.

Hey Rodriguez, you wanna bet on it?

Let's continue the discussion of media bias later. Right now, let's just wish Thome the best while making it clear that no other player deserves the attention more than Jim Thome of the Minnesota Twins. Congratulations, Thome.

Torii Hunter Turns Down Ten Bucks From a Yankee Fan

There is a video making its way around the sports world of Torii Hunter returning a pair of glasses to a New York Yankee fan after said fan drops his glasses on the field at Yankee Stadium. In a show of gratitude, the Yankee fan hands Hunter a single bill, you can speculate on the denomination.

Watch the video here.

What a good guy. Really, Torii Hunter is just an all-around stand up man. And the Yankee fan is a cheap SOB.

A right field seat starts out at $159.19 on the Yankee website while the market value of a Yankee ticket at the New Yankee Stadium will set you back much more than that. A front row seat back in 2009 for an individual game had a list price of $2,625. The lowest priced seats at Mets' Citi Field start at $11.

Torii Hunter as I like to remember him

You can't tell me that a Yankee fan sitting in the front row at Yankee stadium could only afford a $10 reward? Not only are you a snob, but you're cheap too (which, might I add goes against the entire Yankee philosophy which boasted a 2011 team payroll of $202,689,028). That hapless fan should do himself a favor and 1) get lasik and 2) get a reality check. You make six figures and you offer Torii Hunter, a millionaire, at most ten bucks? This guy apparently missed out on 'No Child Left Behind'.

No wonder Apple has more money than the U.S. government.

This is a word of advice for all you schmucks out there wearing Yankee paraphernalia: Chances are you can't afford to be a Yankee fan - so fuhgetaboutit.

I guess that Yankee fan is kind of lucky in the end - If he had been sitting front row on the third base side, either ARod would have stomped out the guy's glasses and he would be stuck with his less than 20/20 vision or he would take the guy's ten dolalrs (most likely he would have done both). After all, ARod has the poker prodigy lifestyle to maintain.

No Kidding, A-Rod Participates in Illegal Activites? Shocker.

Apparently the MLB is taking some allegations against the Yankee Alex Rodriguez very seriously. ARod has been accused of taking part in illegal, underground poker games of which some allegedly turned violent. Luckily, steroids have never been linked to hormonal outbursts known as roid rage. Wait, no... What?

Even more outrageous is the concern by the MLB that ARod's name might sneak in on the current ongoing investigation of Dr. Anthony Galea. Galea has been charged with smuggling human growth hormone and other illegal substances in to this great country of ours from the less-great country of Canada. Galea has treated ARod and Tiger Woods, who might I say is another very classy and respectable gentleman.

Looks like Mr. Rodriguez has gotten himself in to a bit of trouble. Not only are the Yankees trailing their rivals of Boston, but ARod is out recovering on a knee surgery and participating in shady activities. And then there are the illegal substances connections.

To me, this adds up like Enron's financial statements.