Thome walks off into history

White Sox fans received Jim Thome bobbleheads upon arriving at U.S. Cellular Field on Sunday.

Before exiting, they witnessed history.

After Darin Erstad singled leading off the bottom of the ninth inning, Thome squared up a 3-2 sinker from Angels relief pitcher Dustin Moseley, hitting a 2-run walk-off homer into the seats in left-center field.

Thome becomes the 23rd player in history to hit 500 home runs, and the Sox win 9-7. Here are some snippets of a memorable day in the White Sox' forgettable season:

When he came to the plate in the top of the first inning Sunday, Thome flipped his bat and scrawled "Joyce'' in the dirt behind home plate. It was a tribute to his mother, who died of lung cancer on Jan. 5, 2005.

"I wanted her to be a part of it,'' Thome said. "It's very emotional. She's been a part of this, and I know my family is proud as well. I know she was there today. It was pretty cool.''

While his mother was present in spirit, Thome's wife, Andrea, was seated behind home plate with a flock of family and friends, including his dad, Chuck, his two older brothers and two older sisters, including Jenny, his twin.

"She did a great job of raising him,'' an emotional Chuck Thome said of Joyce. "She did it all.''

Andrea Thome is expecting the couple's first son in December. Daughter Lila was at the park Friday and Saturday, but she was feeling under the weather Sunday.

"She saw it (500th home run) and said she had a special snack for him,'' Andrea Thome said. "She's been making bananas with cinnamon for daddy. It will have to wait a week and it should be pretty tasty by then.''

After meeting with the media following the milestone home run, Thome and the White Sox headed out for their final road trip of the season.

Thome grounded out in the first inning, flied out to center in the fourth and sixth and struck out in the seventh.

When the 36-year-old designated hitter came to the plate in the ninth with the score tied at 7-7, he wasn't bubbling over with confidence.

"All weekend long, you're trying to get a pitch to do it with, and I had several of them,'' Thome said. "As it kept going on, I tried to tell myself 'relax, relax, just let it happen.' I was looking for a ball to drive and I was having a really hard time seeing with the shadows.''

What pitch did he hit out?

"I think it was a fastball,'' Thome said. "I was having such a hard time seeing, I just wanted to get a ball on the plate, but slow down. I just wanted to make sure my body wasn't too quick.''

Moseley, a 25-year-old right-hander, had never pitched against the White Sox before coming on in the ninth.

"I fell behind in a game situation like that,'' Moseley said. "It came down to 3-2 and I was going to go with my best pitch, which was my sinker. I made a mistake and he got it. Outer third, but up.''

Any thoughts on yielding the historic home run?

"Costing us the game is what bothers me,'' Moseley said. "A home run is a home run. It was his 500th, congratulations to him.''

It was quite a scene when Thome did hit No. 500.

The popular veteran pointed to the sky for his mom and pumped his fist as he circled the bases.

"We feel good as a team,'' Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "I think we feel better when Jim did it. I don't think we got so excited even when we won the World Series (in 2005).''

After hugging about 500 people, Thome was hoisted in the air by teammates Bobby Jenks and Jermaine Dye.

"It took Jenksie to get me up, then J.D.,'' Thome said. "I was like, 'What are you guys doing here?' I thought they were going to throw me. But, no, when you see your teammates at home plate, then they pick you up like that, and along with probably the greatest fans in sports, in Chicago, what a great, great feeling.

"You couldn't have written it any better.''

Guillen was thrilled for Thome, as were his family and teammates.

"That was just amazing,'' rookie Josh Fields said. "First of all we won it, but to also hit 500 on a walk-off, that has to be two amazing feelings. That's a goal for a young guy, a very far-fetched goal. It couldn't have happened to a better guy.''

Said Paul Konerko: "He's just great. I'm going to guess that of the 23 guys that are in that club, we are the happiest teammates of a guy that hit 500.

"Most guys that are really great players aren't the best teammates. Jimmy, he's both sides of it. Not only is he great and a Hall of Famer, but he's a great teammate. Those other guys have respect, too, but they are not loved.''

White Sox 9, Angels 7

At the plate: Jim Thome became the 23rd player in major-league history to hit 500 career home runs. Thome reached the milestone with a 2-run blast to left-center in the ninth inning off Los Angeles reliever Dustin Moseley.

On the mound: Starter Mark Buehrle pitched 61/3 innings and allowed 7 runs (6 earned) on 11 hits.

-- Scot Gregor