Jim Thome on brink of 600 HRs; Does anyone care?

Last month, as Yankees captain Derek Jeter was approaching career hit No. 3,000, the news media pounced. There were stories gauging Jeter's place in the pinstripe pantheon. Sport websites featured "Jeter Watch" coverage of the pursuit. HBO cameras followed his every move for a documentary.

Now another player is on the verge of reaching an even more exclusive baseball milestone and not many people seem to be noticing.

Minnesota Twins slugger Jim Thome is two home runs away from the 600-homer club.

He would be just the eighth player in MLB history to reach the lofty mark. (By comparison, Jeter became the 28th player to get 3,000 hits).

So why is Thome, who belted his 598th home run last night in Anaheim, not garnering much hype outside of the Twin Cities?

There are a slew of possible explanations. For starters, Thome, who turns 41 later this month, has been a consistent power hitter but not a perennial All-Star. He's made the team just five times in his two decades of playing and his career .277 average isn't exactly awe-inspiring.

Furthermore, despite his staggering power numbers, Thome's proclivity to swing and miss (he's second all time in strikeouts) and his lack of MVP awards have some casting doubt on his Cooperstown worthiness.

Then there's the fact that he collected most of those homers during the so-called "steroids era." Six hundred homers? It's not what it used to be in the eyes of many jaded baseball fans even though Thome has never been linked to PEDs. By comparison, three other members of the exclusive 600 Club (A-Rod, Sosa and Bonds) will forever be linked to pills, corked bats and syringes.

Then there is his peripatetic career. Whereas Jeter has played his whole career in the Bronx, Thome has worn five uniforms - playing in Cleveland, Philly, Chicago, L.A. and now Minneapolis.

Still, the man is on the verge of hitting 600 home runs. Other than the three steroid-linked players mentioned above, the only other players to reach the plateau are some rather familiar names: Aaron, Ruth, Mays and Griffey, Jr.

That's impressive company and Thome's feat will be nothing short of historic.

"I know it's taken a long time to get though this journey to this point. As you go through it, the process is pretty special," Thome said.

A special event indeed. Target Field may not be Yankee Stadium but HBO should consider sending some cameras to Minnesota this weekend.