Sure, it helped that the Phillies blew the Indians out of the water in the two-team bidding war, but that was significant, too, because for years president David Montgomery and the team's ownership partners only collected free-agent leftovers.
Does anybody remember Mark Leiter and Mark Portugal? They were two free-agent signings that were off the mark, but there were plenty of others.
Thome, who had 334 home runs and was 32 at the time of his signing, changed the culture here.
Oh, yeah, and he helped bring Charlie Manuel to Philadelphia, too.
Thome and Manuel first met in Arizona. Thome was a country-strong 19-year-old and Manuel was Cleveland's triple-A minor-league manager.
"We had a first baseman named Mike Davis," Manuel said. "He was a big lefthanded hitter and Jimmy would always follow him around. I used to work with Mike Davis every day after practice was over and Jimmy would always hang out with him, so I'd have to throw to Jimmy, too."
Manuel said he didn't want to throw to Thome because he wasn't sure the kid was ever going to amount to anything.
"I didn't think Jimmy was real good at that time," Manuel said. "And then all of a sudden I'm talking to Mike Davis about a week later and here's Jimmy . . . and he's doing exactly what I wanted Davis to do. I thought, 'Hey, man, I've been working with the wrong guy.' "
Manuel, of course, started working with the right guy and their relationship became unbreakable. Manuel was either Thome's hitting instructor or manager when the first baseman compiled home runs in Cleveland.
When it came time to decide between continuing his career in Cleveland or leaving for Philadelphia, Thome called upon Manuel for advice.
Take the money was Manuel's advice.
About a month later, Manuel took a job as a special assistant to then general manager Ed Wade.
