The first home run that day was unusual, a screaming opposite-field line drive that barely sneaked over the wall next to the left-field foul pole, the shortest home run possible in Target Field. But when he connected on his very next swing, two innings later, the result was a classic Jim Thome home run: towering, majestic and deep, landing in the bullpens in center field.
That game, an 8-6 Twins' loss to the Rays on July 3, 2010, held more significance than just Thome's personal Home Run Derby. The homers were Nos. 573 and 574 of his career, allowing him to tie and then pass Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew on baseball's career list. And it cemented a bond between a player and a city that grew remarkably strong despite a short time together — perhaps in part because Thome seemingly so mirrored the Hall of Famer who came before him.
"It was a humbling day. I'll never forget it," Thome said. "All of Minnesota knows the man that Harmon Killebrew was, and for those fans to stand and cheer that way, to treat me so special, it made me love that place even more."
It's a remarkable kinship that will play out again Sunday, when Thome is inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. The cap on Thome's plaque will display a "C" for Cleveland, where he played more than half of his 2,543 career games. But just like Jack Morris, to be inducted the same day as a Detroit Tiger, Thome has such a bond with the Twin Cities, and vice versa, that Minnesotans can just as easily picture them wearing Twins hats.
"It's so ironic that they go in together, because they have that in common," Twins President Dave St. Peter said. "I'm not sure any other players have had a greater impact on this franchise in such relatively limited windows of their careers in Minnesota."
They have this in common, too: Few players have been as instrumental in beating the Twins as Morris and Thome — Morris' 23 career victories against Minnesota are third-most in history, and no player has hit as many home runs against the Twins (61), including a game-winning blast for the White Sox in a one-game playoff in 2008, as Thome — yet are as adored for their contributions here.