Timing is everything -- in baseball and in life -- and first baseman Jim Thome, the best available free agent in an admittedly thin group, is ample evidence of this.

	Jim Thome hit a career high 52 home runs in 2002.

Having finished last season with a career-high 52 homers, Thome, 32, is hitting the market at precisely the right time: old enough to have established himself as a powerful, run-producing machine (138 homers in the last three seasons) and young enough to have plenty of good years ahead.

Among AL hitters the last two seasons, only Alex Rodriguez has hit more homers. Expand that list to all major league hitters and add only Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds as players who have totaled more home runs. That's select company.

Last season, he finished second only to A-Rod in homers in the American League and was seventh in RBI with 118. He led the league in slugging percentage and was among the leaders in total bases and extra-base hits.

But just as significantly, he led the league in walks and was second in on-base percentage. If the ability to both get on base and knock runners in are the twin components to offensive success in 21st century baseball, then Thome does both at an astounding rate.

Thome has improved his selectivity, too. He amassed 139 strikeouts last season, good enough for sixth in the league, but that figure was the lowest of his career in seasons in which he's played in 150 or more games. Meanwhile, his walk total (122) was his highest in the last four seasons.

	Thome time
	Jim Thome's season-by-season stats over the last eight years:
	Year	Gms	HR	RBI	OPS	AVG
	'95	137	25	73	.996	.314
	'96	151	38	116	1.062	.311
	'97	147	40	102	1.002	.286
	'98	123	30	85	.997	.293
	'99	146	33	108	.966	.277
	'00	158	37	106	.929	.269
	'01	156	49	124	1.040	.291
	'02	147	52	118	1.122	.304

Conversely, at 36, Greg Maddux has begun a downward descent. True, his 2.62 ERA in 2002 was his best since he led the National League with a 2.22 ERA in 1998. But Maddux managed just 199 1/3 innings last season, his lowest total since his rookie season in 1987.

While Maddux is hardly a prototypical power pitcher, there's evidence to suggest that he's feeling the affects of his age. Last year, he allowed 194 hits, or almost a hit per inning. Contrast that to 1998, when Maddux pitched 51 2/3 additional innings than he did in 2002, yet allowed just seven more hits than last year. That's an ominous trend.

When Maddux jumped from the Cubs to the Braves after the 1992 season, it was one of the greatest free-agent signings in baseball history. He's since won three Cy Young Awards, notched six seasons of 19 wins or more and helped get the Braves to the playoffs each year.

But that was then, and this is now. Maddux is unlikely to have the same kind of impact -- with the Braves or anyone else -- this time around. Check the record of top veteran free-agent pitchers in recent years. Mike Mussina, after a fine first season with the Yankees, was a disappointment last year. Mike Hampton was a disaster in Colorado.

(Randy Johnson has been a marvel since joining Arizona before the 1999 season, but Johnson is a freak of nature, able to throw in the high 90s even as he approaches 40).

There are no such risks attached to Thome. He's been durable, averaging 153 games over the last three seasons. And if character and off-field contributions count, Thome's selection as the Roberto Clemente Award winner last month speaks volumes.

Last month's World Series illustrated that while pitching depth is essential to team success, individual dominance isn't. The Giants and Angels had just one starter with more than 15 wins between them (Jarrod Washburn with 18). In the American League, in fact, the two teams thought to have the best starters -- Oakland and New York -- were upended in the Division Series.

But power and on-base ability can drive an offense, and few combine both like Jim Thome.

Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal covers baseball for ESPN.com.