Dein erstes Forum » Jim Thome now has a gigantic bat to go with a Hall of F

CHICAGO (AP) — ame plaque.The Chicago White Sox gave the former slugger with the big stick an appropriate gift during a pregame ceremony before Saturday night’s matchup against the Cleveland Indians Dave Winfield Jersey , another honor for a player enshrined in Cooperstown in his first year of eligibility two weeks ago.“This is so special,” Thome said prior to the ceremony. “This is my family, this is where I work, this is where we live. … This is really special.”The White Sox showed highlights of Thome’s time with them as well as his Hall of Fame induction. Just as she did in Cooperstown, his daughter Lila sang the national anthem.Thome got a standing ovation as he walked out of the dugout. The White Sox presented several gifts, including a black 8-foot bat that had his name and images of him.Thome thanked former White Sox star Paul Konerko for attending the induction. He mentioned teammates such as Jermaine Dye, A.J. Pierzynski, Scott Podsednik and Joe Crede while praising former manager Ozzie Guillen and his staff as well as White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and team executives Ken Williams and Rick Hahn.The tribute was fitting for a five-time All-Star who hit 612 homers in 22 seasons with Cleveland, Philadelphia, Chicago Rollie Fingers Jersey , the Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota and Baltimore.Thome got drafted by Cleveland out of Illinois Central College in the 13th round of the 1989 draft and spent his first 12 major league seasons with the Indians. But he forged a strong connection with the White Sox and their fans once Chicago acquired him in a trade with Philadelphia prior to the 2006 season.Thome hit 134 homers for the White Sox before getting dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers in August 2009. None were bigger than the drive he hit in the 2008 AL Central tiebreaker game to give the White Sox a 1-0 victory over the Twins. Chicago then lost to Tampa Bay in the AL Division Series.Thome grew up about 130 miles southwest of Comiskey Park in Peoria and remains a popular figure on the South Side. He is currently a special assistant to general manager Hahn.The Indians unveiled a statue of Thome at Progressive Field four years ago and are scheduled to honor him again next weekend. The Twins are also giving out Thome bobbleheads on Aug. 25. The Orioles moved to keep pitcher Dillon Tate, the big piece in the Zach Britton trade, safe from the Rule 5 draft by adding him to the 40-man roster on Tuesday."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Commentary & AnalysisOrioles ProspectsOrioles Game RecapsOrioles News and RumorsCamdencastOrioles News and RumorsOrioles add Dillon Tate to 40-man roster, designate Engelb Vielma for assignmentNew,6commentsThe Orioles moved to keep pitcher Dillon Tate, the big piece in the Zach Britton trade, safe from the Rule 5 draft by adding him to the 40-man roster on Tuesday.ByMark BrownNov 20, 2018,6:21pm ESTShareTweetShareShareOrioles add Dillon Tate to 40-man roster Randy Jones Jersey , designate Engelb Vielma for assignmentTommy Gilligan-USA TODAY SportsThe first minor roster move of the Mike Elias era is in the books. Facing a Tuesday evening player to add Rule 5 draft-eligible players to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from being drafted, the Orioles made one pair of moves. The team selected the contract of pitcher Dillon Tate. Since the 40-man roster had been full, they needed a corresponding move: Infielder Engelb Vielma was designated for assignment.The Orioles had already added Maryland-born pitcher Branden Kline to their 40-man roster during the transition period between general managers. Players who needed to be added this year were essentially high school draftees from 2014 and college draftees from 2015. Tate, the #4 pick in that draft by the Rangers who’s been traded twice to end up here, was the highest-profile of the O’s remaining eligible players.In his introductory press conference, Elias indicated that he would be relying heavily on the remaining front office staff in order to make the decisions about who to add and who not to add. The O’s 40-man roster still has some obvious dead weight, so if the front office had really wanted to add more players - lefty reliever Luis Gonzalez and Czech catching sensation Martin Cervenka had come up as possibles - they could have done so.The 26-year-old Gonzalez has been in the O’s organization since 2013. He showed some quality as a reliever in Double-A, where he struck out 58 batters in 45.2 innings with a 0.920 WHIP. That’s not bad. It earned him a promotion to Norfolk, where he allowed a 1.720 WHIP in 25 innings. That is bad.Cervenka, also 26 http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-brad-hand-jersey , only joined the O’s for this past season after spending seven years in the Indians organization. He batted .258/.317/.457 across 97 games with the Baysox, throwing out 29% of would-be base-stealers. That might be enough to put him in the backup catching mix.Tate was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Zach Britton to the Yankees. What made him the main part of that deal was chiefly the fact that he used to be a top prospect when he was still with the Rangers. Because we’re not allowed to have nice things, Tate promptly gave up 27 runs in 40.2 innings with Double-A Bowie in seven starts after the trade, including just 21 strikeouts. The O’s might have turned to Tate in desperation for a September start or two if not for the fact that he had some shoulder soreness while throwing in Sarasota.Injuries and performance problems have dimmed Tate’s star and he has yet to make it above the Double-A level in four professional seasons. That’s not great for a player who was drafted as a college junior. Perhaps he will be the kind of player who will benefit from whatever new player development regime will be brought in by Elias.The most interesting thing about Vielma, 24, is his name. The switch-hitting utility infielder has never been able to hit his way out of a wet paper bag. That included a .229/.273/.280 batting line in 121 minor league games across two levels in the 2017 season, which presumably inspired former GM Dan Duquette to take a flier on Vielma given the lack of depth in the 2018 O’s infield.Vielma had his own injury problem that kept him from being a part of the picture this year. He ran into a railing while chasing a foul ball for Triple-A Norfolk and didn’t play again in 2018. He will not be the last of Duquette’s strange experiments to be shuffled off the roster by the new regime.The O’s would still need to clear a 40-man space if they want to continue Duquette’s tradition of making a Rule 5 pick at the winter meetings. That could be done if any players are not tendered a contract. Tim Beckham and Caleb Joseph have been speculated in this category. They could also designate somebody they don’t think will have any future use.