Jim Thome will enter the Hall of Fame as an Indian, but the hat on his plaque will not feature the controversial Chief Wahoo logo.
The Hall of Fame announced Wednesday that Thome's plaque will feature the block "C" Cleveland logo, and that the Hall will not include Wahoo on future plaques. The move comes after MLB said in January that the Indians would not use Wahoo on uniforms after this season, deeming it "no longer appropriate" in light of longstanding complaints that the logo is racially offensive.
At the time, commissioner Rob Manfred cited a desire to build a culture of "diversity and inclusion" in making the move.
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"The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum concurs with the Commissioner’s sentiment and acknowledges the shifting societal view of Native American logos in baseball," the Hall said in its news release Wednesday. "Although examples of the 'Chief Wahoo' logo can be found in our Museum exhibits, and on Early Wynn’s 1972 Hall of Fame plaque, the Hall of Fame will no longer use the logo in the creation of new plaques."
Thome played for the Indians from 1991 through 2002, then again briefly in 2011. He hit 337 of his 612 career homers with Cleveland.
The 2018 Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held July 29.
