COOPERSTOWN, New York — The former Minnesota Twins were both inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York on Sunday.
Emotional during a Hall of Fame visit in February to tour the museum to prepare for this day, Jim Thome held it together despite having to wipe away tears after his daughter sang the national anthem.
"I'm so honored to be part of something so special," Thome said. "Baseball is beautiful and I am forever in its service."
The lefty-swinging Thome hit 612 home runs, eighth all-time, and had an MLB record 13 walk-off homers , mostly for the Cleveland Indians. He also had 1,699 RBIs, scored 1,583 runs and drew 1,747 walks.
Among the many he thanked, Thome praised former Cleveland manager Charlie Manuel, who served as the Indians' hitting coach in the late 1980s and 1990s. Manuel was in the audience.
"He told me I could hit as many home runs as I wanted to," Thome said. "I knew this was someone I could connect with."
Jack Morris, now 63, pitched 18 seasons for the Tigers, Twins, Blue Jays and Indians, and played on four World Series champions. In the 1980s, he led all pitchers with 2,444.2 innings pitched and 162 wins and topped all AL pitchers in strikeouts with 1,629.
Among those he thanked were his late parents and the late Sparky Anderson, who managed the Tigers to the 1984 World Series championship.
"I know Sparky Anderson is with us today," Morris said. "He taught me so many things. He taught me to fight through adversity."
The crowning achievement of Morris' career was his 1-0 complete-game victory in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series while pitching for his hometown Twins against the Braves. Minnesota manager Tom Kelly wanted to take him out after nine innings and the 36-year-old Morris convinced him not to.
Morris also thanked Kelly for that decision.
