I hope Jesse doesn't mind me posting two stories back-to-back on the main page, but I just had to share the following nuggets about Jim Thome's amazing season. We're seeing something special here, folks, enjoy it.
Jim Thome's Isolated Slugging Percentage currently sits at .357. Not only is this the highest mark in baseball, it's the highest in Twins' history. In fact, the last time a player finished a season with an ISO higher than .357 was in 2004. The player? Barry Bonds.
Thome has walked in 17.5% of his plate appearances. That's also the highest mark in baseball.
Thome is just one of five players with an OPS over 1.000.
39% of the balls Thome puts in play are fly balls. 33% of those fly balls are hit for home runs (easily the highest rate in baseball).
Thome has only been intentionally walked 3 times this season. Expect that number to go up.
That's it, that's all I wanted to share. Have any fun facts about Thome's season, career, mystique? Add 'em in the comments. Let's have some fun.
(NOTE: Thome doesn't actually have enough PAs to qualify for the batting title, so he doesn't show up on the official leaderboards for any of these stats. The above stats are comparing Thome to all other players with at least 290 PAs.)