Jim Thome’s return excites Indians and their fans

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Older, wiser and still hungry to win a World Series, Jim Thome returned to a place he never imagined leaving.

And as he walked into Progressive Field, a ballpark known as The Jake when he played in Cleveland the first time, Thome was flooded with memories of former teammates, games and Octobers past.

Nine years later, he’s wearing an Indians jersey again.

“Baseball’s a weird thing,” Thome said. “Anything can happen.”

Cleveland’s home run king returned Friday to the Indians, the team that gave him his start and one that sorely needs him to lead them back into the AL Central race. Thome, one of eight players in history to hit 600 career homers, accepted a trade on Thursday by Minnesota to go back to the Indians.

Thome received a roaring ovation when he came up for the first time Friday. Holding “Welcome Thome” signs, fans were on their feet long before he left the dugout and walked to the plate. Before his first at-bat for Cleveland since 2002, he took off his batting helmet, bowed slightly and dug into the batter’s box.