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Much to the chagrin of many (wrong) Cleveland fans, Jim Thome will be throwing out the first pitch tonight to kick off Game 7.
Jim Thome to throw out first pitch prior to #Game7, game ball to be delivered by Travis Hafner. #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/C3j7CIoUYJ
— MLB (@MLB) November 2, 2016
In a span of 11 years in Cleveland, Thome was fantastic. He slugged 334 homers, drove in 927 runs, and hit 20 triples. Can you imagine Jim Thome hitting a triple? He hit 5 in one year (6 the rest of his career)!
In terms of WAR, Thome finished his time in Cleveland with 47, enough to be considered as a candidate for the HOF, if he ended his career at the age of 31. But no, he played for 11 more years, two of which were with the Twins, before we sent him back to the Indians.
He wasn’t here for long, but everyone loved him.
He even joined the 600 HR club while he was here:
By all accounts Thome is a class act, and a very humble guy. I could sit here and list reasons why he’s awesome all day, but I have class in about 20 minutes.
While it would’ve been nice to see Lebron James, or even Charlie Sheen throw out the first pitch, Jim Thome is more than deserving to do so.