Jim Thome: 5 Things To Know About Baseball Icon Throwing World Series’ Ceremonial Pitch

LET’S PLAY BALL! Now that Game 7 of the World Series is finally here, all eyes will be on Jim Thome! He’ll be throwing the first ceremonial pitch of the night, so grab your peanuts, crackerjacks, and read these 5 things to know about the baseball legend.

1. Don’t get confused — he’s not the game’s pitcher.

Jim Thome, 46, will NOT be pitching during Game 7 of the World Series, but he WILL throw the first ceremonial pitch of the night. The ceremonial pitch is a baseball tradition, in which guests of honor step up to the pitching mound and throw the ball towards home plate. It can be an embarrassing experience, but Jim is a baseball pro.

2. Jim is a baseball legend!

During his athletic career from 1991 – 2012, Jim played three positions as first baseman, designated hitter, and third basemen. He started for the Cleveland Indians and ended for the Baltimore Orioles. Clearly, Jim has strong ties with the Indians, so it’s only natural that he’d be honored to throw the ceremonial pitch before they face off against the Chicago Cubs.

3. He’s a power hitter!

People call Jim an icon for a REASON, and that reason is his batting skills are through the roof! As a five-time All-Star player, Jim hit 612 home runs during his career (the seventh-most of all time), and had a 0.276 batting average. Then in 1996, he rightfully won the Silver Slugger Award.

4. Even after retirement, he lives for baseball.

When Jim hung up his cleats in 2012, he didn’t go far away from the baseball field. Instead, he found him as special assistant to the general manager of the White Sox organization. Jim has dreams to one day be head manager of the group, and has chairman Jerry Reinsdorf fully supporting him.

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5. He’s actually a really nice guy.

Some athletes are said to be ego-driven A-holes, but not Jim! In a poll taken in 2007, Jim tied with Mike Sweeney as second-friendliest player out of 464 Major League Baseball stars. Sean Casey was voted number one.

HollywoodLifers, are YOU going to watch Jim throw first pitch? Game 7 is on TODAY (Nov.2!)