reached the World Series. Upon his return to the Indians in 2011, the club again sported the high socks as a tribute. His batting stance featured him pointing his bat to center field prior to the pitch. Thome adopted this stance from Charlie Manuel, who was the Indians hitting coach, and since then Ryan Howard has also adopted it. Thome credits his calm demeanor to his role model during his early playing years, Eddie Murray, once commenting, Personality Thome's friendly personality has been the subject of much attention. In a 2007 poll of 464 MLB players, he tied with Mike Sweeney for second-friendliest player, behind Sean Casey. After Thome hit his 600th home run, Twins closer Joe Nathan said, "He is the world's nicest man." Teammate Michael Cuddyer added, "He is the nicest, gentlest, kindest guy you will ever meet ... to everything except the baseball, he still hits that really hard." His kindness comes up in conversations with many MLB players. When he signed with the Phillies in the offseason before the 2012 season, Phillies general manager Rubén Amaro Jr. cited Thome's constant positive attitude as a main reason for his signing. As an exercise in remaining humble, he annually visited his high school prior to spring training. A Sports Illustrated article said that Thome frequently signs autographs for fans and that he is "endlessly patient with requests". In a piece for Philadelphia magazine discussing Thome's Baseball Hall of Fame prospects, sportswriter Stephen Silver wrote, A fan poll in The Plain Dealer in 2003 named him the most popular athlete in Cleveland sports history. Career legacy Despite his injuries throughout his later years, Thome totaled, according to Fangraphs, 71.6 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), a sabermetrics baseball statistic intended to quantify a player's total contributions to a team. He was one of few players whose prime was during the steroid era and who was not suspected of using steroids; Thome adamantly denies ever using performance-enhancing drugs. Soon after the announcement of his front office position (which signified the end of his playing career), writers began to speculate as to whether or not Thome would make it to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and more specifically, whether he would gain entrance in his first year of eligibility in 2018. Writers also questioned whether Thome's candidacy would be hindered by his lack of self-promotion and others' tendency to overlook him. Personal life