The Last Summer Dance for Jim Thome?

Outside of Albert Pujols, who came onto the baseball scene in 2001, my sophomore year of high school, my two favorite players as a kid were without question Robin Ventura of the White Sox and Jim Thome of the Indians.

Because of Jim Thome and others, it became cool in the 1990s for people to wear Cleveland Indian hats and jerseys around the country.

As a first baseman and outfielder in junior high, I even wore my socks like Thome and imitated his batting stance, until my baseball coach warned me that having a stance like Thome would mess by back.

But the real reason why I rooted for Thome was because he stood for what was right with the game of baseball.

Unlike Barry Bonds or Jose Canseco, he wasn't a douchebag that tried to upstage his teammates.

He w...

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