Father Time: Jim Thome enjoying his son’s debut in pro ball
Jim Thome, who slugged 612 career home runs on the diamond to benefit his ball club, traded in his bat for a golf club to help raise funds for some worthy causes during a recent trip to Cooperstown.
Thome, a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018, served as the celebrity host for the Pathfinder Village-Baseball Hall of Fame Golf Invitational Sept. 14 at the Leatherstocking Golf Course.
Proceeds from this event benefit Pathfinder Village located in nearby Edmeston, a residential community dedicated to children and adults with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities, as well as the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum educational programs.
“It’s great anytime you get to come back to Cooperstown,” said Thome, 56, while standing near the 18th hole’s putting green. “It’s special, especially this time of year with the beginning of the fall.
“My golf game is actually OK. I’ve never been a great golfer. I love to do it when I get the chance. It’s like anything – if you want to be good at it, you’ve got to do it a lot. I don’t really golf a whole lot, but I golf enough to enjoy it.”
Asked for a special memory of his Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, Thome immediately shared how important it was that his father attended. Chuck Thome passed away less than a year later, in March 2019, at the age of 83.
“When mom passed, I know dad really, really wanted to be there if that opportunity came about,” Thome recalled. “For our whole family, it was just really special. That’s the best part. There are so many memories here, but when you think about it, all those memories kind of go back to your family.”
Thome was also able to spend some time at Pathfinder Village.
“It was great having the opportunity to see firsthand the love and the joy and how meaningful it is,” Thome said. “We had a kickball game, and I came in and was the reliever. I’ve never been a reliever. It was just a fun, incredible day.
“I’m really glad, first of all, that I was asked to come in to do this event, but then after seeing Pathfinder Village, and being around it, gosh, what an incredible experience.”
Another Thome made the news on July 11 when Jim Thome’s son, 18-year-old shortstop Landon Thome, was selected out of Nazareth Academy (La Grange Park, Ill.) by the Chicago White Sox in the first round (34th overall) of the 2026 MLB Amateur Draft. Jim Thome was a 13th-round pick by Cleveland in the 1989 Draft out of Illinois Central College.
“It’s great to watch him begin his journey,” Thome said. “You start at the bottom and you keep just hopefully working your way up. And he’s enjoying it. You learn how to be a professional. What I love about it is watching just the growth and how much better they get doing it every day.”
Currently, Landon Thome is the Bridge League in Arizona, a developmental complex where time is split between games and individual work. Helping to get his son settled in his new environment was the reason Thome was unable to attend this year’s Induction Weekend.
“I wasn’t a slugger early on. I think in that regard we’re very similar,” Thome said. “When I was 18, I did not hit the ball out of the park. I learned to be a hitter. He runs much better than I did, and his baseball instincts are already there.”
Both father and son bat left and throw right. But while Landon is listed at 6 feet and 177 pounds, his dad during his playing career was 6-foot-4 and around 250 pounds.
Landon Thome was named the 2026 Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year after hitting .535 with seven homers, 29 RBIs, 57 runs scored and a 1.676 OPS his senior year of high school. He also stole 49 bases in 50 attempts to set the school’s single-season steals record.
“I think the best part with my son is he loves to play,” said Thome, who is an assistant coach with the Nazareth team. “And when you have that in you, and you like to compete, that’s when it gets really fun. You’re going to go through these steps, and the key is to keep positive. They ultimately, with their work ethic, that’s got to come from within, and I think he’s got that. He loves to play.”
Thome has been with the White Sox since 2013 as a special assistant to general manager Chris Getz, where his responsibilities include consulting with the baseball operations department, working with the White Sox major league staff and players and visiting White Sox minor-league affiliates throughout the summer to evaluate player performance.
Over a 22-season big league career, the first-ballot Hall of Famer hit .276 with 612 home runs, 1,699 RBI, 1,583 runs scored and 1,747 walks in 2,543 games with Cleveland (1991-2002, 2011), Philadelphia (2003-05, 2012), the White Sox (2006-09), Los Angeles-NL (2009), Minnesota (2010-11) and Baltimore (2012). He ranks among baseball’s all-time leaders in walks (7th), home runs (8th), OPS (23rd, .956), slugging percentage (27th) and RBI (28th).
As for his future, Thome has talked in the past about possibly managing. While he’s not ruling anything out, he also wants to be available for his family after spending so much time away as a player.
“Honestly, I think right now I love watching my son. I love being around my daughter, watching her journey as well. My wife is an author. She’s going to be doing some traveling with some book launches. And really, they’ve all been big supporters of mine. I want to do the same for them, and kind of give back to what they’ve given me all the years,” Thome said.
“But look, I think in due time, we’ll see where it takes us. But in the meantime, just loving where I am.”
Bill Francis is the senior research and writing specialist at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
