FORT MYERS, Fla. — Jim Thome’s back still aches in the morning, just as it has for the past 10 years or so.

The older he gets, the more the Minnesota Twins slugger has to do to get those disks and muscles warmed up and ready for another day on the diamond.

There is going to come a day when that pain will be too great for him to bear, when that mighty swing of his will slow down too much for him to get around on a 95-mph fastball, when all the weight lifting, stretching and cold tubs in the world won’t be enough to get his body prepared to handle a 3-2 slider.

But not yet.

After the season he had in Year No. 18, there was no question Thome was coming back. He was too productive at the plate, had too much fun in the clubhouse and got too close to that elusive World Series ring to walk away.

“I wanted to play,” Thome said without the slightest hesitation. “That’s that competitiveness in me. When you’ve done it a long time, it’s hard to imagine not doing it. But there is going to be a day when you’re not going to do it and I understand that.”