He wears his socks high, tars up his helmet and shows a Ruthian shuffle around the bases after hitting home runs. And he certainly doesn't cuddle up with an iPad on road trips.
There's nothing cutting-edge about Jim Thome, who broke into pro ball in 1989 -- when Dan Quayle was vice president and "Miami Vice" was in its final season on television.
"I came up when we had those big box cellphones that you plugged into your car," Thome said. "You won't see me with a Twitter account."
He agrees that change is good and modern technology can help players if used properly. In an era when players seem to be in a race to outgadget each other, Thome prefers to sit down with his contemporaries, talk hitting and take a pointer or two into the batting cage or to the plate.
"I'm a 'feeling' hitter," Thome said. "I don't want to say I grew up in the old-school era, but you got a good feeling at the plate and just kept that good feeling."
His approach has worked to the tune of 589 career homers over a 20-year career. He doesn't need to be a video room rat.
Modern technology surrounds him in the clubhouse. Denard Span and Danny Valencia are excited that they have been selected to test a Bloomberg application for their iPads that will enable them to click through a video library of their at-bats to study their mechanics or opposing pitchers. The Twins have a state-of-the-art video room that does that and more.
And several players have opened Twitter accounts. Valencia and Pat Neshek, claimed on waivers near the end of spring training by San Diego, recently had an entertaining exchange that was out on the Twitter universe for all to see. They could have been making fun of Thome, and the 40-year-old slugger wouldn't have known.
