Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
PHILADELPHIA - Jim Thome's shot sailed high over the left-centerfield wall, sending the crowd into a frenzy as he pumped his fist to celebrate his apparent 400th career home run.
It was the most memorable moment in the brief history of Philadelphia's new ballpark, and there was a chance it wouldn't count.
Rain nearly wiped out Thome's first-inning homer. A rain delay in the third inning left the left-handed slugger staring at the Doppler radar inside the clubhouse wondering if the rain would pass and the homer would stand.
"In my mind, I was trying to think positive that the rain was going to get out of there," he said.
The rain never really did go away. The game was stopped three times, with delays totaling 3 hours, 54 minutes, and ended at 2:06 a.m. Tuesday.
Still, the Phillies won 10-7 in eight innings and Thome officially became the 37th player to hit 400 homers.
He dreaded having to possibly replicate the moment.
"You don't ever imagine doing anything like this," he said. "It's special."
Ryan Madson won and John Riedling lost, both in relief. The Phillies used seven pitchers, the Reds six. Each team had 13 hits, and Sean Casey and Jason LaRue hit two homers each for the Reds.
The Reds gave Ken Griffey the game off. They decided to wait at least another day to let him try for his 500th homer.
The sellout crowd of 44,710, the largest at Citizens Bank Park, erupted when Thome homered. There couldn't have been any other reaction from fans who have embraced Thome like few others.
"I think it was great how the fans have treated me here," Thome said. "To give that back to them is a special, special thing for sure."
Then one fan gave back to Thome. Todd Stark of Glenmont, N.Y., ended up with Thome's homer. The two met after the game and Stark received an autographed hat, bat and jersey from Thome.
"It's Christmas," Thome said, laughing.
Stark thanked Thome and posed for a picture with a wide smile.
Thome has made a knack for hitting dramatic homers since he signed with the Phillies as a free agent in 2002 after 12 seasons in Cleveland.
He became an instant fan favorite with his down-home charm and mammoth homers, making the biggest impact on the notoriously prickly fans since Philadelphia signed Pete Rose.