It's 4:15 A.M. on a midwinter Saturday, and people are already descending on the King of Prussia mall in suburban Philadelphia. They didn't come out for a Bloomingdale's tag sale. They came to see Jim Thome, whose 52 homers last year didn't begin to show us the kind of power he really has.

Since 1994, the Phillies have made nearly 19,000 fans per game disappear. But in the first week after Thome signed his six-year contract on Dec.3, the team sold 1,000 season tickets. It's headed for a 40% jump in sales. Kevin Millwood, David Bell and the Vet's finale won't hurt. But Thome's blue-collar charm and Luzinski-esque power flicked the switch. "Jim Thome coming to Philadelphia," says Phils marketing publicist John Brazer, "is like Vegas being built in the desert, like Disney World being built in the marshes. He's changed everything."

By 5:30 a.m., security has to open the gates. By 7:30, 300 people are waiting for Thome's autograph. By 9, the line stretches a quarter-mile. "He's a Philly-type person," says Loren Case, a chemist who arrived at 7. "Just listen to him talk."

Okay. "It's been awesome," says Thome, who grew up in Peoria, Ill. "It's very heartwarming to have people embrace you like this." But you get the feeling he has no idea what he's done. Who's the last guy to rock Philadelphia's world like this? Ben Franklin? Dick Clark? Pete Rose?

"I can't think of anyone who could have had this impact," says Phillies assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. "Ichiro wouldn't have been embraced like this guy. It's almost like they feel he's a Philadelphian."

After 14 losing seasons in 16 years, the Phillies were sinking into oblivion. Thome is the Coast Guard. His biggest miracle is inspiring the locals to talk baseball again. "I was so happy they signed him, I bought him a thank-you card," says Lennie Good, a school maintenance man. "A Hallmark, even. Cost me four bucks."

Sure, Thome cost the Phillies slightly more. But who can put a price on a baseball revival?

This article appears in the February 17 issue of ESPN The Magazine.