By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
This July, the book will officially be closed on former Philadelphia Phillies star Jim Thome’s playing career, as he will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Thome, who already has been elected to the Phillies and Cleveland Indians team Wall of Fames, may have a second chapter in his storied career in the sport, however.
Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports did a piece looking at what former/current players could transition into being managers in the near future. Among those that he listed was Thome, who he has been told may eventually show interest in managing:
He may want to wait until his kids are older, but according to someone who knows him, he “has the itch.” He also has a warm personality that would likely work well in a clubhouse.
Since July of 2013, Thome has served as a special assistant to Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn, the same role that former Phillies manager Pete Mackanin now serves in under Matt Klentak. In addition to his role with the White Sox, Thome also is an analyst for MLB Network. New Phillies manager Gabe Kapler served as an analyst for FS1 before spending three seasons as the Los Angeles Dodgers director of player development, so if Thome does indeed want to be a manager someday, he seems to be building a resume that’s in-line with some former players that have recently received managerial gigs.
Thome told the Chicago Sun-Times in 2014 that despite the fact that he hadn’t given up on playing yet, he did hope to manage in the future.
“This is the thing in this job I’m in now — I want to look at what the next phase is for me getting back on the field, competing at a high level,” Thome said. “There is a side to me that wants to manage someday and prepare myself for it if that opportunity came calling. I’d want to be ready.”
Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the White Sox, predicted in that same piece that Thome will eventually be a major league manager.
Six-time All-Star Paul Konerko, who was Thome’s teammate for nearly four years in Chicago, told SportsTalkPhilly.com in January that Thome’s leadership was a contributing factor to the longevity that he had with the White Sox.
“I was very fortunate to have Jim join the White Sox right around the time I was turning 30, Jim was probably 35,” Konerko said of Thome. “Watching him taught me what I’d have to do to play the game until an older age. He would say, ‘when you get to be about 35, you’re going to spend more time getting ready to play than actually playing. You gotta want that.'”
Thome is only 47, though that’s older than Kapler and other first-time managers, such as Mickey Callaway, Aaron Boone and Alex Cora. Even Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who brought the Dodgers within a game of a World Series title in 2017, is only 45. So it appears, as Heyman alluded to, that Thome’s desire to be around his children while they grow up may have pushed back his managerial timeline. Thome’s youngest, his son Landon, will turn 11 in 2018.
It’s unclear when Thome will decide he’s ready to be a manager, but when he does, there will certainly be interest.
