FORT MYERS, FLA. - Standing behind the batting cage Thursday morning, Jim Thome shucked his old-school batting helmet off his old-school crew cut and held the helmet aloft for observation, like an archeologist who had just discovered a fossil in his vegetable garden.
Stickum and pine tar have built a stratum of sediment on the crest, creating what looks like modern art or an ancient talisman.
The helmet could be an artifact from the days of Babe Ruth. So could Thome.
"I have every helmet I ever wore," Thome said between swings. "When I signed back here, I got my old helmet back. This stuff is still on here from last year."
The Hall of Fame should send an operative to Fort Myers to steal a chunk of the gunk. These days everything Thome touches, or launches, becomes part of baseball history.
"It's been a good ride," he said, in that way he ruminates and repeats himself when interviewed. "Yes, it's been a good ride."
In his first year as a Twin, during a season in which he turned 40, Thome went deep 25 times in 276 at-bats to move into eighth place on the all-time home-run list, with 589.
One of those homers beat his old team and All-Star lefty Matt Thornton of the White Sox.