Jim Souhan: Modern-day Babe is latest Twins legend

In early August, on a sunny day in Cleveland, Michael Cuddyer prepared himself in the on-deck circle as Jim Thome swung a weighted bat.

"Jim said, 'You think this is what Gehrig and Ruth felt like on a Sunday afternoon in Cleveland?'" Cuddyer said. "I said, I don't know. We're about to find out.

"I walked. He hit a homer. When he came around and touched home plate, I said, 'That's exactly how they felt.' So he gave me the bat he hit that homer with and wrote on there, 'This must have been how Gehrig and Ruth felt.' "

You don't have to be a teammate to own one of the 584 baseballs Thome has launched into bleachers and bullpens around the country.

Saturday afternoon at Target Field, Thome smacked home run No. 583 into the upper deck in right field, and home run No. 584 into the Rangers' bullpen during the Twins' 12-4 victory over Texas.

Wearing the Twins' cream-colored retro uniforms and playing in front of the available members of the franchise's 50 greatest players of all time, Thome honored and altered history all at once.

He tied, then passed, Mark McGwire to reach ninth place on the all-time home run list. In his other two plate appearances, he drew walks to tie, then pass, Frank Thomas for ninth on the all-time walks list, with 1,668.

Most sluggers, including McGwire, loomed above the games they played, cultivating a menacing mien.

Thome, you expect to start every sentence with the word "Shucks." If translated, his expression would say: "Are the fish bitin'?" He runs like a boy trying to wake his parents on Christmas morning.

He's a one-man Blue Collar Countdown Tour, now trailing Frank Robinson by only two for eighth on the all-time homer list.

"It's a thrill to get to play with this guy," veteran pitcher Carl Pavano said. "For all of us."

We're becoming accustomed to these Thome moments.

On Aug. 17, Thome hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning at Target Field to give the Twins a 7-6 victory over Thome's old team, the White Sox.

And on Saturday, about a week after turning 40, Thome passed McGwire while Killebrew watched.

"I think we all know how special Harmon is," Thome said. "Tony Oliva, all of them. [Rod] Carew, [Paul] Molitor. It is cool. It's an organization where when you look at it, our young guys really benefit from the guys who come around. It's pretty cool to watch [Frank] Viola and Carew and Killebrew. You never know who's going to walk through that door."

He is a 40-year-old bound for the Hall of Fame who arrived in Minnesota late in his career to try to win a championship for his former rival. He likes to wear a purple shirt with the No. 4 and the name "Favre" on the back.

Unlike Favre, though, Thome defers to his boss, Gardenhire, who has rationed Thome's playing time to save his aching hip and back. Unlike Favre, Thome displays an ego disproportionate to his fame.

What did he expect in Minnesota? "When I wasn't getting any calls this winter, I didn't know," he said. "When these guys called, I knew about their club, and I knew they had [a regular designated hitter in Jason] Kubel. I didn't have any expectations."

Today Thome leads the Twins with 20 home runs, and frequently replaces the concussed Justin Morneau as the Twins' cleanup hitter.

Wednesday night, after a couple of days off, Gardenhire asked Thome if he could pinch hit. Thome grabbed a bat and growled, "Let's do this."

Gehrig and Ruth would have been proud; Gardenhire couldn't stop chuckling. "That's Jim," Gardenhire said. "That's why we love him."