On Wednesday, the 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame electees were announced, as Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome and Trevor Hoffman all received the call.
Thome was elected on his first time appearing on the ballot, and very well deserved as he ranks eighth all-time with 612 home runs while being named an All-Star five times in his 22-year career.
While he came up through the Cleveland Indians farm system, Thome spent time in five other organizations, including four years with the Philadelphia Phillies and part of one season with the Los Angeles Dodgers towards the end of his career.
Former Phillies great Chase Utley, who shares a similar career path as Thome as he wound up playing for the Dodgers later in his career, took to Ingramgram to congratulate his former teammate on the Hall of Fame election:
Utley and Thome were teammates with the Phillies from 2003-05 and then again for a short span in 2012 when Thome returned to the organization.
Thome’s time with the Dodgers was short-lived and didn’t come with much success, as down the stretch of the 2009 season he went just 4-for-17 without an extra-base hit. He then went 1-for-3 that postseason.
Utley came over to the Dodgers towards the end of the 2015 season and then stayed with the team for both 2016 and 2017. There have been recent talks about him possibly returning to Los Angeles for another season as he has been seen working out at Dodger Stadium, although no agreement on a deal has been reached yet.
