if they can do that." Though his loyalty to the Phillies was questioned, Thompson did return in 1898 and was batting .349 with 15 RBIs, five doubles, three triples, a home run after 14 games. However, Thompson opted to leave the team in May 1898 and return to his home in Detroit. His sudden retirement has been attributed to a "combination of homesickness and chronic back pain." Other accounts indicate that continued tension with manager Stallings contributed to Thompson's decision to retire. Detroit Tigers Late in the 1906 baseball season, Thompson briefly returned to the major leagues as a player for the Detroit Tigers. With starting outfielders Ty Cobb and Davy Jones out of the Tigers lineup with injuries, Thompson volunteered to fill in. At age 46, Thompson had remained active, playing baseball for the Detroit Athletic Club and other local teams. Accordingly, in late August and early September 1906, he took his old place in right field for Detroit. Thompson's return to baseball led to an increase in attendance, as "the stands and bleachers were full of special Thompson delegations." After getting a hit and two RBIs in his first game, he totaled seven hits, four runs, three RBIs and a triple in eight games with the Tigers. At age 46, he became, and remains, the oldest player to hit a triple in the major leagues. Detroit sports writer Paul H. Bruske noted that Thompson was still able to throw the ball from deep right field to the plate "on a line" and that he still had "a lot of speed on the bases." Career statistics and legacy In 15 major league seasons, Thompson compiled a .331 batting average with 1,988 hits, 343 doubles, 161 triples, 126 home runs, 1,305 RBIs, and 232 stolen bases. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. Thompson was one of the most prolific run producers in baseball history. His career RBI to games played ratio of .923 (1,305 RBIs in 1,410 games) remains the highest in major league history, higher even than Lou Gehrig (.921), Hank Greenberg (.915), Joe DiMaggio (.885), and Babe Ruth (.884). In 1895, Thompson averaged 1.44 RBIs per game (147 RBIs in 102 games), still a major league record. His 166 RBIs in 1887 (in only 127 games) was 62 more than anyone else in the league that year, and it stood as the major