I lived in Cleveland when Thome was there. The fans absolutely loved him. He would sign autographs for as long as he could. He would pose for pictures. He did a ton of fund raisers, just a great guy.

 

Jim Thome came into the Hyatt Bar in Cincy back in 2003 and ended up sitting down beside me. He was really friendly. He signed a ball and ended up cutting up with us for a good while. Greg Maddux was also really friendly.

In the link, Sean Casey looks like he's swinging an aluminum bat while in a Detroit uniform. Do they make wooden bats in a silver color now? I can't figure this one out!

I noticed Thome got thrown out of the game the other night on a bad call. He said after the game that he would not appeal and he was embarrassed for letting his emotions get the best of him. I thought that was pretty stand up becasue most Pro's now days would have placed the blame somewhere else.

In the link, Sean Casey looks like he's swinging an aluminum bat while in a Detroit uniform. Do they make wooden bats in a silver color now? I can't figure this one out!

 

 

Nah, just a high gloss black bat. Reflection from something makes it look silver.

Nah, just a high gloss black bat. Reflection from something makes it look silver.

 

That's probably what it is. It sure looks weird though.

Unfriendliest - Johnny Bench. I was stunned how rude he was several years ago to my son, who was only 11-12 years old at the time. We saw him in the Diamond Club dining room and approached him for an autograph, making sure to do so when he wasn't eating or even talking to anyone. I introduced myself to him, said to my son, "This is Mr. Bench, the greatest catcher in the history of baseball" (yeah, kind of suckup-ish, but I do feel that way) and said to Bench, "This is my son, (name)." My son was holding a baseball and just kind of looked at him speechless in awe. Bench stares at him expressionless for a few seconds, then looks at me and says (with about as much disgust in his voice as you can possibly imagine), "Well? Is he gonna just stand there or ask me himself?" My son meekly mumbles, "I was wondering if you could sign my baseball, Mr. Bench." Bench doesn't say another word, grabs the ball, signs it, flips it to him, then turns around and walks away. And I promise I'm not exaggerating in the slightest. In fact, I'm probably downplaying exactly how rude he was. I know guys like Bench must get sick of getting asked for their autograph and even more perturbed when half their autographs end up on eBay (ours didn't), but this was just a bit excessive in my book.

I went last year to a spring training game in Florida between the Phillies and Reds at the Phillies' park. The Phillies' Howard was taken out of the game around the 5th inning. A bunch of little kids, hanging over the rail, were begging him for an autograph as he walked past the 3rd base line. He looked at them and then turned the other way and kept walking. I don't know what type of personality he has, but he didn't impress me that day.

FWIW, I was at batting practice once when Danny Graves played for the Reds. He signed my hat and made small talk, asking if I played and so on which made my day and forever altered my opinion of him.

 

It's amazing that I can remember just about every ball player I met, or ignored me when I was younger. I often wonder if players realize how much of an effect a smile and a few words have when they see little kids. I'm sure it gets annoying day in and day out, but I'd like to assume that I would be considered a friendly baseball player if ever in the situation.