Manuel & Thome to be Inducted into Charlotte Baseball Roundtable of Honor
Published on June 9, 2016 under International League (IL1)
Charlotte Knights News Release
(UPTOWN CHARLOTTE, NC) -- Back in February, the Charlotte Knights announced plans to revive the Charlotte Baseball Hall of Fame, which originally inducted members from 1982 to 1985. Rebranded as the "Charlotte Baseball Roundtable of Honor", the Knights are pleased to announce that after months of deliberation, the first two selections into the class of 2016 will be Charlie Manuel and Jim Thome. Both Manuel and Thome will attend the 2016 Sonic Automotive Triple-A All-Star Game presented by Gildan on Wednesday, July 13th and will be officially inducted at the Triple-A All-Star Game Luncheon on the morning of July 13th at the Charlotte Convention Center.
Charlie Manuel first called Charlotte home in 1968 when he played for the Charlotte Hornets. That season, Manuel slugged 13 home runs and drove in 79 runs for the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. He finished third in the Southern League that year in RBIs and hit .283. A year later, the Northfork, WV native made his major league debut with the Twins.
Manuel spent parts of six seasons in the majors before taking his home run hitting talents to Japan where he mashed 189 long balls over six seasons. Years later, he returned to the Queen City area as a manager and led the Charlotte Knights to their first Governors' Cup title in 1993 after 86 regular-season wins and a dominating playoff run. He later took his managerial talents to the majors and went on to win 1,055 games as a major league manager over 12 seasons. In 2008, his hard-work came full circle as he guided his Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series Championship -- the organization's first since 1980.
Jim Thome made his mark on the Charlotte area in 1993 -- his one and only season with the Charlotte Knights. At the age of 22, Thome hit .332 and clubbed 25 home runs while driving in 102 RBIs in 1993 with the Knights. He earned the International League's Most Valuable Player Award and a trip to the majors with the Cleveland Indians later that year. Thome helped lead the Knights and manager Charlie Manuel to the 1993 Governors' Cup Championship in their first season as a Triple-A franchise.
For his career, Thome mashed 612 career home runs at the major league level over 22 seasons -- four of those with Manuel at the helm. A five-time All-Star, he led the National League in home runs in 2003 with an impressive 47 while playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, one of six teams he played for in his major league career (Indians, Phillies, White Sox, Dodgers, Twins and Orioles). He finished his illustrious big league career with 2,328 career hits and 1,699 RBIs. Since 2013, he has worked with the Chicago White Sox as a special assistant to general manager Rick Hahn, working with minor league players in the organization -- including the Charlotte Knights.
On April 11, 2014, Thome helped usher in a new era of professional baseball in Charlotte as he threw out a ceremonial first pitch at the opening of BB&T Ballpark in Uptown Charlotte. Months later, Manuel was honored, along with more than 20 former Charlotte Hornets players, during a Hornets Reunion on August 5, 2014.
The All-Star Luncheon on July 13th will feature both inductees, along with all players and coaches of the 2016 Triple-A Baseball All-Star teams (International League and Pacific Coast League). The event will take place just hours before the 2016 Sonic Automotive Triple-A Baseball All-Star Game presented by Gildan, which will be televised nationally on the MLB Network beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13th from BB&T Ballpark.
Tickets for the All-Star Luncheon, which is set to begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Charlotte Convention Center are on sale now. Tickets are also available for the 2016 Harris Teeter & Tide+ Triple-A Home Run Derby presented by Clariant and the 2016 Sonic Automotive Triple-A Baseball All-Star Game presented by Gildan. Tickets for all events are going fast and are available online at CharlotteKnights.com, in person at the BB&T Ballpark Ticket Office, and by phone at 704-274-8282.
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