CLEVELAND -- This summer, Cleveland will play host to the 2019 MLB All-Star Game.
And when it does, a pair of former Indians All-Stars, along with one of the team's current All-Stars, will serve as ambassadors for the city.
On Tuesday, the Indians revealed that shortstop Francisco Lindor, Hall of Famer Jim Thome and former catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. will serve as the team's official ambassadors for the 2019 MLB All-Star Game. All three will be tasked with promoting the Midsummer Classic in the months to come, as well as during the events the actual week of the game.
The team made the revelation by having the trio surprise a group of children participating in MLB’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program who were taking part in a softball game in the outfield of Progressive Field.
A 3-time All-Star, Lindor makes for a natural fit as an Indians ambassador given his status as one of the faces of baseball. And despite a sluggish start to his season since returning from an ankle injury that sidelined him for the first few weeks, it seems likely the 25-year-old will be one of the players representing the Indians in the actual All-Star Game on July 9.
Thome and Alomar, meanwhile, are no strangers to the Midsummer Classic -- especially when it comes to Cleveland playing host. Thome, a 5-time All-Star, and Alomar, a 6-time All-Star, each participated in the 1997 All-Star Game that Jacobs Field hosted with Alomar winning the event's MVP honors after hitting the game-deciding home run.
"It's special," Lindor said. "To get to be an ambassador with [Thome and Alomar] makes me happy and makes me proud. They both came out of here. Hopefully one day, I'll be close to them."