Tribe’s return to World Series stirs memories for Thome

CHICAGO — When the Indians inducted Jim Thome into their Hall of Fame at the end of July, Thome’s son, Landon, came away with an Indians sweatshirt and hat along with a plethora of memories.

Landon wore that Indians gear to his suburban Chicago school. That was even before Terry Francona’s squad won the American League Central and ripped off a 7-1 run through the AL side of the postseason to return to the World Series for the first time since 1997, when his dad played first base for the team.

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“All his buddies wear Cubs stuff,” said Thome during a phone interview. “This was before they advanced, so everybody was like, ‘Why are you wearing Cleveland Indians stuff?’ Now, he wears the same gear and I think they get it.”

Game Date Time (air time/game time) Matchup TV Gm 1 Oct. 25 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX Gm 2 Oct. 26 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX Gm 3 Oct. 28 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CLE @ CHC FOX Gm 4 Oct. 29 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CLE @ CHC FOX *Gm 5 Oct. 30 8 p.m. CLE @ CHC FOX *Gm 6 Nov. 1 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX *Gm 7 Nov. 2 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX * If necessary | All times listed ET • World Series coverageShop for postseason gear: Cubs | Indians

The elder Thome currently serves as a special assistant to White Sox general manager Rick Hahn, but has a direct connection to this season’s World Series combatants. Thome grew up in Peoria, Ill., a city with many Cubs fans despite an almost equal distance to St. Louis. And, of course, the slugger with 612 career homers played a major role on the Indians’ last trip to the Fall Classic.

• World Series Game 1: Tuesday 7:30 p.m. ET air time/8 p.m. game time on FOX

In that remarkable seven-game series won by the Marlins, Thome hit .286 and belted two homers. The always upbeat Thome can put the gut-wrenching loss in perspective — a series that ended with Cleveland …

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