AL DIVISION SERIES: RED SOX v INDIANS

October 7, 1999

Jim Thome

A. I think that kind of happened during the season when I struck out 171 times. It's hard to explain. You know, like I said, you have great hitters around you and, you know, I've been fortunate to get some good pitches to hit and they went out.

A. Like I said, I think our hitting today was kind of contagious. Harold got the home run. I think it relaxed our dugout a little bit and we played a great game. I actually thought Saberhagen threw the ball very well and to get to him and knock him out of the game I thought was huge.

A. I think it is very comparable to the '95 one. The '95, Manny and I hit sixth, seventh and eighth in that line-up. We have a lot of veterans. We have a little more speed, guys that can bunt. We also have power, but I think when you've got a Roberto Alomar that can hit for power, can bunt, Roberto is a big key for us and he's been getting big hits. He's been getting on base. Harold, like I said today, did a great job and we all kind of protect each other and that's what's nice.

A. Well, Harold is the type of guy, really, I mean his bat does a lot more talking than he does. He's a great guy. Harold is a true veteran in all ways. His approach to the game is great. I mean, he's a guy that really never shows much emotion and when he hit the home run today, I seen the smile on his face when he crossed home plate and that was great. That was awesome.

Q. Jimmy, you are now on the all time home run list with players like Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson. What do you think about being with them?

A. Until somebody mentions it to you, you really don't think about it. You also got to -- for myself, our organization, we've been in the playoffs now for four or five years, you know, and having great hitters around you. Being a kid from Peoria, I never thought they would have mentioned my name with those players for sure. That's what my dad told me. It's kind of nice to have them mention your name with that group of players. We'll just see what happens.

Q. Would you talk about needing just one more to wrap this series up?

A. Going into Boston we know, I think one of the biggest keys for us is not to get too relaxed going into Boston because they have played us very well there. You know, obviously I think the momentum is our way but, you know, by no means are they going to lay down and die. It is one of them things going in that we got to still be focused, keep our same, you know, mentality that we've had the last couple of days and just try to wrap it up.

A. I think one of the biggest keys for us, we were playing for home field advantage late in the season. And having guys hurt, I think if you look at what Fryman and Alomar have done, you know, Sandy, Sandy's been a big leader for us since he's been here and to have Travis come in, both of those guys are playing with bad knees and they are playing as hard as they can. That's been big for us. One of the biggest keys I think that helped us going down late was the fact that we did play for home field advantage and it kept us focused from the years past. You know, I think having a lot of veterans, too, and knowing when to kick in, it's not that easy but the first two games of this series, it seems to work out.