Jim Thome is one of the best sluggers in the history of baseball, and he started his career wearing a Cleveland uniform for the then-Indians.
On Wednesday afternoon, though, he was in Chicago sitting in the stands as the White Sox took on the Guardians in ALDS Game 3. And Thome was taking part in the stadium-wide “Black Out.”
It wasn’t what Cleveland fans wanted to see.
Jim Thome at White Sox Game
It isn’t shocking to see Thome at a baseball game like this involving his former team.
It just was odd to see him matching with the rest of the White Sox fans.
Sure, he didn’t have a logo on, but he could’ve worn anything, and he went with the in-sync black polo.
“I have a lot of respect for Jim Thome, but it’s disappointing to see him wearing all black at the game today,” The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd wrote on X. “There isn’t a statue of him in front of that… stadium in Chicago.”
One fan wrote this on X:
“We seriously have a statue for Jim Thome and he’s at the game wearing black? Tear that down and replace it with Jose (Ramirez).”
Yep, there’s really a statue outside of Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland of Thome. It shows him in his signature pre-swing bat point that he used for his whole career.
It’s certainly confusing to add that up with the way he was there in Chicago on Wednesday.
Jim Thome Career With Cleveland Indians
Cleveland made Thome a 13th-round pick in the 1989 MLB Draft out of Illinois Central College. It was a great choice.
He played his first 12 seasons with Cleveland, as well as one more later in his career.
Thome hit 337 home runs with Cleveland while driving in 937 runs and putting up a .980 OPS.
All told, he played 1,399 games with Cleveland — more than half of the games he played in his MLB career.
Jim Thome Career With Chicago White Sox
Thome joined the White Sox in 2006 and made the All-Star Game.
He spent three-and-a-half seasons in Chicago and played 529 games, his second-most in any stop in his career.
Thome hit 134 homers for the White Sox and had a .933 OPS.
So yeah, he accomplished a lot in Chicago, too.
But his production and time with the White Sox is dwarfed by what he did for Cleveland.
Thome also played for the Phillies, Twins, Orioles and Dodgers.
Most remember him for his time in Cleveland, though, and he wears a block ‘C’ logo on his Hall of Fame hat to represent that time in his career.
Jim Thome Angers Cleveland Guardians Fans With Chicago White Sox Decision