Why I Want to Interview Jim Thome

If you follow baseball at all, then you know who Jim Thome is.  Easily a future hall-of-famer, Thome has racked up 604 home runs in a 20-year career—and he’ll be back this year to add a few more, hopefully inching further up the ranks.  Thome is by far one of the best players in the game and can be found in almost every batting record list.  Unfortunately, I’ve never seen him play, though I certainly would like to before he hangs up his cleats.  I almost bought tickets last season to his return game in Cleveland months before there were even the slightest of rumours of the Tribe trying to trade for him; had I known that was going to happen then I for sure would have snatched up those tickets.  The fact that Thome is such an amazing ballplayer is more than enough to want to interview him or even just talk to him for a few short moments.  That’s not the main reason why I want to talk to him though. 

After watching Moneyball last fall on opening night (my friend and I were the only people in the theatre under the age of 40), I was immediately inspired to write some kind of baseball story.  It only made sense that I would eventually write something about baseball, fusing two of my favourite passions.  I mulled on the idea for a few days, trying to decide on the right plot.  At first I thought about Ubaldo Jimenez who had recently been traded to the Indians by the Colorado Rockies, the only team for which he had ever played, in exchange for a handful of young players, including two of the Indians’ top pitching prospects.  I wondered what it must be like to spend an entire career with one team and then all of sudden, without any real warning, be traded to another team.  That’s a pretty life-altering thing.  But then I started thinking about Jim Thome who had just rejoined his original club, the Cleveland Indians, about a month prior.  What must it feel like to come back to a team where you spent the first half of your career, I wondered.  On top of that, when Thome left Cleveland, he faced backlash comparable to that of Lebron James.  Thome was after the same thing as James: he wanted that championship ring and knew it wasn’t going to come in Cleveland.  Not only was Thome coming back to his old team, but also to a city which he essentially betrayed.  Thome, though, was welcomed back to Cleveland with open arms, which I somehow doubt Lebron could ever get.  There has to be a lot of emotions there.  So that is what I wrote.

I wrote it fairly quickly (maybe even in one sitting—I can’t remember) and it isn’t very long, but “You Can’t Help But Be Romantic (About Baseball)” is probably one of my favourite things I have written (the title comes from a quote in Moneyball).  It’s a pretty simple short story, but I like it, and so have a lot of people who have read it.  It’s written in the first person and is a reflection of a five-tool Major League ballplayer who has rejoined his old club after having left for another team and the emotions he feels.  He concludes by saying that even though his fans felt betrayed, they had no right to judge him for doing what he felt was right for him and that only God can judge him.  I loved this story so much that I quickly decided that I wanted to expand on it, exploring the ballplayer’s entire career, from discovering little league in 7^th grade up until his retirement from professional ball.  Thome’s career has often times been described as being “storybook”, and I thought I might just try to write that story.

I want to interview Jim Thome to ensure that I get it all right, even if it is fictionalized.  I’m young, and only a recent fan, so I didn’t get the joy of watching Thome play in his prime in the ‘90s, coming within inches of helping the Indians win a World Series.  I would love to hear those stories straight from the source, find out the most significant moments in his career, so I can write the best novel possible.  With Thome’s help, I know I can write what will be the next great American novel.

Why Life Is Worth Living

I was watching the Jim Carey film, The Number 23, earlier on TV.  Not the greatest film, and I still don’t think it’s quite coherent, but I dig it.  One of Carey’s personas—Fingerling, I think—utters the line “I once read that the only philosophical question that matters, is whether or not to commit suicide... I guess that makes me a philosopher.”  That line really stuck out at me.  I like it.  I think it’s a good line.  And in some ways, I think it’s true.  We can ask all the philosophical questions we want: who am I, why are we here, etc. etc.  But if someone is pondering taking a blade to their wrist or a gun to their temple, there is no bigger question.  That question entails, or rather, should entail, every other philosophical question one might ask throughout life.  Suicide, however, is typically an incredibly irrational decision fueled by irrational behaviour.  If a person is contemplating suicide, then they have a very one-track mindset, focusing purely on the negative rather than any of the positive things in life; any lingering on the positive could sway one’s decision.

Some people say they find it hard to imagine that someone could be so downtrodden and beat that they would think about suicide and want to end their life.  I don’t think it’s that it is really that far of a stretch.  I think the thought creeps up on more of us than we would like to admit.  It might be a simple passing thought that more or less goes in one ear and out the other.  Or, we might linger on it, but never really seriously considering it.  It’s one of those “what if” thoughts.  What if I did it?  Who would care?  Would anyone notice?  Who would be the saddest?  That kind of thing.  Just like “What if the sun explodes?” or “What if Koreans start a nuclear war?”  Others think about it more seriously though.  Some go through with it, but others, they find someone to save them.  Those people are fortunate enough to have at least one person out there who cares enough to listen.  Or rather, are rational enough to realize that there is at least one person out there to help them.  I’ve helped more than one kid, and I’ll always be here to help.  There’s always someone to help.  There’s always someone who will be there for you.  Sometimes it’s the person you least expect.  But don’t worry—someone is there for you.  Don’t you ever forget it.

I told someone recently that there are a million ways life could be better and that there are a millions ways life could be worse, too.  I stand by that statement.  I know it is true, very true.  No one has a perfect life, everyone has problems.  I have problems in my life and so do you.  The key is in how you deal with it all.  There are two old adages that I think are true: “Don’t sweat the small stuff, and it’s all small stuff” and “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.”  Those are words to live by.  You have to take what you’re given and make it work.  No one is dealt a fair hand; the dealer has pocket aces and you have an off-suit 2 and 10.  They say the house always wins, but that doesn’t mean you should give up trying; you never know when you’ll hit the full house on the flop.  Like life, poker is a game of skill and luck—it’s all about what you do with the cards you’re given.

Life is worth living.  I’ve told that to a lot of people.  And so long as it makes a difference, then it’s never going to be enough times that I’ve said it.  It’s a true statement.  The other person always says they’re not happy.  Life is all about the pursuit of happiness, so if you’re not happy then you have to find it.  That’s what life is—never giving up until we find what makes us happy.  Once you find what makes you happy, then you move on until you find what else makes you happy and keep going until your last day—the one god chose, not you.  It’s a vicious cycle, a never-ending circle.  Happiness comes and goes usually, but it’s always there.  Sometimes you just have to look where you’ve never looked before.  Life gets better, so long as you let it.

Why Jason Kipnis Is My Favourite Player

I was a little excited when the Indians signed veteran Orlando Cabrera to be their starting second baseman. It wasn't long before that excitement wore off, though. Cabrera made some decent defensive plays, but offensively, he was a bit sub-par. I began to wonder how long it would be before he was replaced. The Tribe finally promoted Jason Kipnis from Triple-A Columbus, who edged his way into the start line-up. Now, the young Kipnis finds himself locked-in as the Opening Day second baseman for the Cleveland Indians, an incredible feat for the young Kipnis who won't be twenty-five for almost another month.

As the Indians were starting to lose offensive power to a seemingly neverending slew of injuries, I began exploring the Clippers' roster to see what alternative were out there. Kipnis was at the top of almost all the charts. Kipnis first got my attention when he was named Minor League Player of the Week in June of 2011. It wasn't too much later that he was sent to the All-Star Futures Game, where he belted out a homer in his first at-bat. Kipnis' stats were comparable to All-Star shortstop, Asdrubal Cabrera, and were far superior to that of Orlando Cabrera. I wanted Kipnis in Cleveland, and it didn't take long for that wish to come true.

Kipnis made his Major League debut against the Chicago White Sox on July 22, 2011. He started at second base and no hits for the game. It was a little disappointing debut, for me at least, who though Kipnis would come in and go yard every time he came to the plate. The next game, though, was a different story: he didn't knock the ball out of the park, but he got his first Major League hit in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded, driving in the winning run for yet another Indians walk-off win. Nothing giant, but certainly theatrical and a hit to remember for Kipnis. The slugger wasn't done there though: Kipnis hit the long ball in not one, not two, not three, but four consecutive games becoming the first player in Major League history to hit home runs in four consecutive games within two weeks of his debut. Kipnis immediately had an impact on the offensive output for the Tribe. Unfortunately, though, like so many other players, Kipnis found himself on the DL. He was back though after a couple long weeks. He finished the season with a .272 batting average over 36 games and 136 at-bats. He had 37 hits, including seven home runs, and drove in 19 runners and scored 24 runs himself—almost one run a game. So far this Spring, in three games Kipnis is hitting an impressive .429 for seven at-bats in three games, which includes one home run and one double. In comparison, last Spring, over nine games, Kipnis only hit .167 in 18 at-bats, again with one home run. Personally, I am excited to see Kipnis this summer and can't wait for Opening Day, which is in just a little under a month. Not only is Kipnis an amazing player who shows great potential for the future and will be a big part of the Tribe's success, but he also seems to be a pretty cool guy in general, based on his daily comical Tweets. It was a little upsetting hearing him sing Adele on the field, though. Now, if only I could get a re-Tweet.