When did it hit Hall of Famer and former White Sox slugger Jim Thome that his son, Landon, might be a special ballplayer?
When he started getting hit by Landon.
When Landon was a freshman at Nazareth, he hit a ball that nailed his father under his right eye.
“I learned quickly to get behind the screen,” Thome said Sunday.
Thome noticed a big change during his son’s junior year. When Thome threw batting practice, Landon’s hits came back harder — but Thome was protected.
“As they grow, the strength is now colliding with some of the skill set,” Thome said.
That skill set caught the attention of many major-league teams, particularly the Sox, for whom Thome is a special assistant to general manager Chris Getz. After trading for the 34th overall pick in the MLB Draft, the Sox used it Saturday on Landon, an 18-year-old infielder.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Landon, wearing No. 25, which his dad wore and has been his number. “Growing up coming to games here since I was a little kid and to be able to hear my name called by the White Sox, it’s really a dream come true. I grew up wanting to put in a banner because my dad never got to.”
Thome, a native of Peoria, Illinois, played 22 major-league seasons, including three-plus with the Sox. He hit his 500th career homer with Sox in 2007 on his way to 612, ranking eighth all-time.
“I was always able to keep it together as a player,” Thome said of the emotions he felt as the Sox drafted his son. “This is tough. This is so special. What a day just to watch your son go through that and his name be called. It’s just a dream come true.”
“He was so excited,” Landon said of his dad. “That was probably the most nervous I’ve ever seen him.”
Landon doesn’t have many memories of his dad playing — Thome’s wife, Andrea, was pregnant with Landon when Thome hit home run No. 500 — but he does recall watching highlights as a kid and trying to model his swing after his dad’s. In fact, sometimes he instinctively points his bat toward center field just like his dad did. Landon called it “genetic.”
“The biggest thing he’s taught me is the mental side of being able to trust the process,” Landon said of his dad, who also coached him at Nazareth. “Having that positive mindset going into every day. Going from high school to pro ball, I’m going to fail a little bit, but being able to have that positive mindset is going to help a lot.”
Landon described himself as an “ultra competitor” and said he wants to develop into a leader. He also wasn’t shy about describing his strength.
“[I’m] someone that’s a pure hitter, does damage to all fields,” he said. “And I think once I get out there in Arizona and take ground balls every day, I think I’m going to be that excellent defender one day, too.”
Thome on Cholowsky
Shortstop Roch Cholowsky, whom the Sox took with the No. 1 overall pick Saturday, followed Landon in throwing out ceremonial first pitches. Thome helped scout Cholowsky, who hit two home runs the first time Thome saw him.
“The biggest thing for me is when I met him, listening to him, how he loves the game and how he pours his heart into the game,” Thome said. “I feel like he’s going to match extremely well with this group of guys.”
Notes
White Sox designated hitter Andrew Benintendi reached 10 years of major-league service time, qualifying him for a fully vested pension. Benintendi has played 1,230 career games in 12 seasons with the Red Sox (2016-20), Royals (2021-22), Yankees (2022) and White Sox (2023-26).
• Caleb Bonemer, the top-ranked prospect in the Sox’ system and No. 16 overall, according to MLB.com, started at third base in the Futures Game in Philadelphia and went 0-for-2.