Thome Tidbits

Music played when Thome comes to bat at Jacob's Field -primarily "Hard Working Man" (Brooks and Dunn) and "Jim Dandy" (LaVerne Baker), ("Dreams," "Let It Rock" and "Funky Cold Medina" are also on his playlist.) Why those songs? "I picked "Hard Working Man" mostly because I like the theme of that song. I like country music so it kind of fits the mold, I guess." The people responsible for playing the music at Jacobs Field, Darryl Scott and Terry Fairfax, chose "Jim Dandy" last season after Jim submitted a list full of heavy metal songs they weren't familiar with, which was fine with him. "If you call it superstitious it worked a little bit for me last year and it's something those guys didn't let go of and brought it back this year. That's cool with me."
-taken from the June 6, 1996 issue of Indians Ink

Home runs go for good cause

You can be sure the Peoria Children's Hospital doesn't want the Indians to lose this afternoon.
They want the games at Jacobs Field to go on, and they want their favorite son, Jim Thome, to hit home runs. Lots of home runs.
"They don't just want me to hit the ball over the wall," Thome said.
"They want me to hit it into Lake Erie."
That's because Thome has a special deal with Peoria Children's Hospital: He will pay them $1 for every foot of every home run he hits at Jacobs Field.
"Earlier in the year, I hit one 455 feet," Thome said. "They loved that."
Thome has adopted Peoria Children's Hospital as his special charity. He makes appearances there in the off-season and takes part in fund-raisers.
This year, he decided to make them a part of his game -- thus, the dollars for distance.
Thome hit 18 of his 38 homers at Jacobs Field this season.
"So far, I figure I owe them about $9,000," Thome said.
Too bad for the hospital that batting practice doesn't count, because no one (not even Albert Belle) hits more or longer home runs in practice than Thome.
-Terry Pluto column, Akron Beacon Journal, October 4, 1996

Thome feature from ABJ's Slammin' Tribe column

What's up, doc?
One of the strangest stories of the year came from Tribe third baseman Jim Thome, who said that when he was a kid, he wanted to make a "bunny drink." So he caught the family's pet rabbit, put it in the blender, and just as he was about to throw the switch -- his mother came to the rescue of the poor hare.

"It wasn't a smart thing for me to do," Thome said.
From "1995: A look back at good, bad, ugly and offbeat" by Terry Pluto, Akron Beacon Journal sports columnist, Dec.31, 1995

Woollybear brings Thome luck, Slider a long winter

Refuse a Woollybear sticker at your own peril.

Legendary Cleveland weatherman Dick Goddard is among the dozens of Northeast Ohio media people who have descended on Atlanta for the World Series.

And even though he's a long way from home, he's still passing out stickers commemorating the big autumn festival in Vermillion that recently marked its 23rd anniversary.

When he handed one to a writer who already has a drawerful of them, Goddard issued this cautionary tale:

Last Sunday, he offered a Woollybear sticker to Cleveland third baseman Jim Thome before the game. Thome took it and, a few hours later, hit the game-winning home run.

That same weekend, Goddard gave a Woollybear sticker to Slider, the Tribe mascot. Slider left his sticker behind in the dugout. And a few hours later, Slider fell off the right-field wall and blew out his knee ligaments.

Coincidence? We think not. -- BOB DYER
From the ABJ Oct. 22, 1995

Herb Score on Jim Thome after he hit a long homer:
"Someday, someone's gonna tell Jim Thome how strong he is ...... and he's gonna be scared."

Why Not?

Indians third baseman Jim Thome wasn't the least bit angry about being snubbed for tomorrow's All-Star game.

After all, you couldn't send the entire Cleveland team to represent the AL. Or could you?

"Hey, we'd beat them if we did that," said Thome, arguably the best third baseman in the AL.

"Now, you know I'm just joking," he continued. "But you know what? I think we'd do OK."

-from the Akron Beacon Journal, July 19, 1995

Jim's first impression of pro baseball -"I figured when I signed to play pro ball, it would have to be all high class and stuff like that, but I remember the first night when I reported to the Gulf Coast League I was laying there in bed by myself and there were spiders and cockroaches and just all kinds of bugs. I thought to myself, 'If this is pro ball, I want to go home!'" -from the July, 3 1991 issue of Indians Ink

GOOD LUCK CHARM -- As a joke, trainer Jimmy Warfield put a photo of former Tribe pitcher Mark Clark in Jim Thome's locker. Thome and Clark are friends. So much so that Thome is trying to influence the course of Clark's career. Clark is a starter for the Mets and has won his last three games. Before two of them, Thome phoned Clark in the clubhouse. He responded by pitching seven shutout innings in each, winning both. "It's making him win," Thome said with a smile. "I called him both times about an hour before he went out there. Now, Mark wants me to call him every time he starts." -from the Akron Beacon Journal, May 30, 1996

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Last updated October 5, 1996