CLEVELAND — Did Cleveland Indians legend Sandy Alomar Jr. soak up his big All-Star moment back in 1997?
Get to know more about Sandy Alomar Jr. as we go "Beyond the Dugout" with the Cleveland Indians icon and hero of the 1997 All-Star Game in Cleveland.
Question: You hit the big Home Run in the 7th inning with the game tied 1-1. How often to you relive that memory? Take us back to what it was like for you.
Alomar: It was a wonderful experience to be a part of your hometown ballpark All-Star Game, and the fact that I had a chance to interact with the fans and with my kids and everything here in Cleveland, it was fantastic.
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Question: Did you soak in the moment when it happened, or did it happen so quick?
Alomar: Everything happened so quick. I remember when I touched first base all the flashes and the people standing up. The roar of the crowd was outstanding and once I was standing on first base I was thinking, man I can’t believe I did this. It was a special moment.
Question: Sandy, you are an ambassador for the All-Star Game. Jim Thome is an ambassador. You guys were teammates, good friends. Let’s go Beyond the Dugout here. Share a story about Jim that a lot of people might not know.
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Alomar: Well, Jim Thome and I we’re real close friends. When Jimmy came up to the scene, the first thing that we did we were roommates in spring training, Winter Haven. Fantastic person. This guy has been the same guy from day one up until his day at the Hall of Fame. He hasn’t changed a bit. He’s very humble, and I enjoy all those times I had the chance to spend with Jim Thome. I could say many other things, but I better keep it at that.
Question: Oh, we have to keep it clean.
Alomar: Yeah, keep it clean!
Question: Who’s the biggest All-Star in your life?
Alomar: The biggest All-Star in my life, got to be my father. My father was a former Major League Baseball player, and when we were kids one of the reasons we were playing baseball is we looked forward to being just like our dad. He would always give us good advice: Stay within yourself, play the game the right way, be a professional, respect the opposition and throughout our career he never pushed us to play baseball but at the end of the day we wanted to be just like him.