Report: Thome not ready to retire
Jim Thome is a 42-year-old free agent who's probably headed for the Hall of Fame, but he's not ready to retire.
No teams are expressing an interest in signing him at the moment, but FOXSports.com reports Thome would like to play this season and is heading to Arizona to get ready in case someone wants him,.
"My plan is to kind of stay in shape and see what happens," Thome told Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.,com. "If a team calls for me, mentally, I want to know I'm ready to go."
Thome's duties would be restricted to that of a designated hitter and pinch-hitter, and he would probably need days off regularly to avoid injuries.
He plans to go to Phoenix early next week. If no team calls, he'll bow out of the game.
"I said this to my wife: There is never a happy ending," Thome said. "You can't script it. You can't look in the mirror and go, 'I want to go out like Ray Lewis did. Or John Elway.' You can't script the perfect ending."
Thome ranks seventh all-time with 612 career homers. Last season, he hit .252 with eight homers in 58 games for the Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles.
