CLEVELAND -- Surprising a group of children taking part in MLB's RBI program on Tuesday, Jim Thome, Sandy Alomar Jr. and Francisco Lindor emerged from the right-center field bullpen to join an ongoing softball game.
Thome and Alomar joined the batting team while Lindor took his natural place in the field.
"Just like old times," Thome shouted as he circled third following a hit by Alomar.
But while the recent Hall of Fame inductee soaked in a moment of nostalgia with his former Cleveland Indians teammate, it didn't surprise him that the kids in the game were more fixated on the 25-year-old five-tool player standing at shortstop.
"It’s what makes it great when you get to come back and here [Alomar] is," said Thome, who will serve as an ambassador for the 2019 MLB All-Star Game in Cleveland alongside the former All-Star catcher and Lindor. "And then you’ve got Lindor, who’s like the face of baseball right now, what he means to the game, it’s just a special time."
The idea of Lindor being one of baseball's most prominent players is nothing new, given his emergence since first being called up by the Indians midway through the 2015 season. In each of his first three full seasons in the big leagues, the Puerto Rico native has earned All-Star Game honors, leading Cleveland to three consecutive American League Central Division titles as well as an appearance in the 2016 World Series.
For Thome -- who was inducted into Cooperstown last August -- Lindor's appeal has as much to do with his personality as it does the career-high 38 home runs he hit last season. Nicknamed "Mr. Smile" for his near-permanent grin, Lindor has starred in commercials, graced the cover of video games and even received his own shoe line, due in large part because his charisma matches -- if not exceeds -- his gaudy stat line.
“When you walk in a room, there’s certain guys who have this energy. He’s got a great smile. He loves the game. You never really know when he’s struggling because he has joy and excitement playing the game," Thome said. "I respect that, I do. He plays the game hard. He’s really good.
"When you’re good and you’ve got everything that comes with that and you’re a good person and you give back to the game like he has, that’s why you’re up there as far as the top five guys, the faces of baseball."
Although he's currently working in the Chicago White Sox front office, Thome still has a soft spot in his heart for Cleveland, where he spent 13 seasons of his 22-year career. So perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that the 5-time All-Star is thrilled to see Lindor doing what he's doing in the same stadium he used to play, serving as a fan favorite for a new era -- just as he and Alomar did two decades ago.
"It’s special," Thome said. "And it’s great for Cleveland because they can embrace a guy like that and say, ‘He’s one of ours.’”