Jim Thome Wife Andrea: Marriage, Kids, Career, and Their Life After Baseball
When people search for Jim Thome wife, they’re usually trying to understand the woman behind one of baseball’s most respected sluggers. Jim’s wife is Andrea Thome (Andrea Pacione before marriage), a former Cleveland TV journalist who later reinvented herself as an author and advocate. Their relationship isn’t flashy, but it’s been steady for decades—built around family, privacy, and the kind of long-haul support that pro sports marriages rarely get credit for.
Jim Thome and Andrea Thome quick facts
- Jim Thome age: 55 (born August 27, 1970)
- Jim Thome height: 6’4”
- Jim Thome estimated net worth: about $80 million (estimate)
- Wife: Andrea Thome (née Andrea Pacione)
- Married: November 7, 1998
- Children: Two (daughter Lila and son Landon)
- Andrea’s background: former Cleveland TV sports/news anchor; later became a novelist
- Andrea’s age/height: not consistently published in reliable public profiles
Who is Andrea Thome?
Andrea Thome is best known publicly as Jim Thome’s wife, but she had a real career identity before that name ever followed her around. She grew up in North Royalton, Ohio, attended Bowling Green State University, and built a career in local television—first in sports reporting, then in news anchoring. In Cleveland, that’s not a small deal. Local sports media is intense, especially when you’re covering a team people truly live and die with.
Andrea has been described as someone who never chased fame for fame’s sake. Even when she was on television, her work wasn’t about celebrity. It was about the job—showing up prepared, asking the right questions, and keeping calm when the schedule was crazy (which it often is in TV news).
Later, after stepping away from broadcasting, Andrea became known for something completely different: writing fiction. That pivot is a big part of what makes her story interesting. She didn’t just “become the baseball wife.” She built a second act.
How Jim Thome met his wife: the interview that turned into real life
Jim and Andrea’s origin story doesn’t sound like a movie, but it’s the kind of detail fans love because it feels real. They met in 1995 while Andrea was working as a Cleveland sports reporter. The most repeated version of the story is simple: she covered the team, interviewed Jim, and over time the professional connection turned into something personal.
That timing matters, because 1995 was not “after the legacy.” It was during the peak years when the Cleveland club was a national story, the ballpark was electric, and the pressure never stopped. Meeting during that period meant Andrea saw Jim as a working athlete, not as a retired legend. And Jim saw Andrea as a working professional, not as someone orbiting the sport for attention.
It’s a small detail, but it explains a lot about their overall vibe. Their relationship began in the real world—deadlines, games, travel, media demands—not in a celebrity bubble.
When did Jim Thome and Andrea get married?
Jim Thome married Andrea Pacione on November 7, 1998. That date comes up consistently in the most widely repeated bios of their relationship, and it also lines up with the idea that their bond formed during Jim’s Cleveland years and became permanent before his career took him through multiple teams and cities.
Andrea’s career path shifted after marriage. She had worked as a sports reporter for WOIO/WUAB and later anchored morning and noon news at WKYC Channel 3. After marrying Jim, she put her TV career on hold as their family life became the priority.
That choice is often described like a simple “she stopped working,” but it’s rarely that simple. In media, stepping away means leaving momentum behind. And in baseball, the schedule and relocation demands can make two full-time careers feel like a constant tug-of-war. Andrea didn’t just marry a player—she married a lifestyle.
Kids: Lila and Landon Thome
Jim and Andrea have two children: a daughter named Lila and a son named Landon. Public profiles typically list Lila as being born in 2002 and Landon in 2007, and Andrea has spoken about being pregnant with her first child during a major family transition in that period.
In sports families, kids don’t just grow up with school and weekends—they grow up with offseasons, trades, spring training, and the emotional swing of a long season. That’s why many baseball couples quietly build routines that feel “normal” even when the environment is anything but normal.
As Landon got older, baseball became part of his story too. In recent years, Jim has been visible supporting his son’s playing journey, including stepping into a more hands-on role around high school baseball. If you’ve ever wondered what retired legends do when the stadium lights go off, this is one answer: they become dad-coach on a field that feels like home.
What it’s actually like being married to a Hall of Fame slugger
People see the highlights: 600+ home runs, standing ovations, Hall of Fame weekend, and a career that looks like one long victory lap. But the marriage side of pro baseball is mostly invisible work.
For a spouse, the reality often includes:
- Long stretches apart during the season and constant travel
- Living out of calendars (games, flights, school schedules, family visits)
- Relocation stress when a contract changes everything overnight
- Public noise that shows up even when you didn’t ask for it
- Emotional endurance when injuries, slumps, or tough seasons hit
Jim Thome was known as a respected clubhouse leader and a steady presence. That kind of personality usually comes from somewhere. It’s hard to stay grounded in pro sports without a grounded home base. Andrea’s lower-key, professional background fits that role perfectly.
Andrea’s career before marriage: Cleveland television and a strong public voice
Before she became a Thome, Andrea Pacione was a working broadcaster in Cleveland. That’s not a “glam job” most days. It’s early mornings, breaking news pivots, and getting comfortable speaking to a camera when you’re exhausted. She worked in sports reporting and later anchored news, which shows she had range—and the ability to handle pressure without falling apart.
That experience also explains why she’s not easily intimidated by public attention. When you’ve spent years in a newsroom, you learn how quickly a story can get twisted, clipped, or exaggerated. You also learn the value of boundaries and keeping the personal stuff personal.
Andrea Thome’s second act: writing novels and building a different kind of legacy
One of the most surprising parts of Andrea’s story is that she became a novelist after stepping away from television. She has written a series of novels often described as part of the Hesse Creek world—stories connected to places she loves, including Eastern Tennessee and settings like Aspen.
This wasn’t a random hobby. Andrea’s work has been associated with real recognition in the writing world, including award mentions tied to her books. The bigger point isn’t the trophy shelf. It’s the pivot itself. A lot of spouses in pro sports get flattened into one identity: “the wife.” Andrea built another identity that stands on its own.
And honestly, it makes sense. A person who can handle live television can usually handle the discipline of writing. Both careers require a strong internal engine: you have to create something from nothing, stay consistent, and keep going even when nobody is clapping.
Advocacy and community presence: when Andrea speaks up, people notice
Andrea has also been linked to community advocacy, including involvement in a public health fight connected to suburban Chicago. That chapter showed another side of her personality: not just supportive and private, but willing to step forward when she believes something matters.
Fans got a smaller glimpse of that same energy in 2024, when she publicly pushed back after a radio station’s on-air contest led to repeated attempts to reach Jim through her and their family. The situation wasn’t life-or-death, but her response highlighted a clear principle: family boundaries still count, even when you’re famous.
It’s a small moment, but it fits the larger pattern. Andrea doesn’t chase attention. But she also doesn’t sit quietly when something crosses a line.
Jim Thome’s post-baseball life and what it means for their family
Jim retired from MLB in 2012, but his baseball presence didn’t end there. Like many Hall of Famers, he stayed connected through analyst work, community appearances, and periodic roles around the game. His Hall of Fame induction in 2018 was one of the biggest family moments, and Andrea was right there—quietly present, clearly proud, capturing the kind of memories that matter more than any stat line.
In later years, Jim’s life has also included something that surprises people: a return to smaller, personal baseball settings—supporting his son’s teams, showing up at events tied to his hometown roots, and being a family-first presence rather than a headline-first personality.
That shift is common for players like Jim. When you’ve already had the stadium roar, the next phase is often about meaning: family, home, and passing something down.
Jim Thome net worth and how the Thome family likely built long-term stability
Jim Thome’s estimated net worth is commonly placed at around $80 million, give or take depending on how a source counts investments, real estate, and post-retirement work. As a long-tenured MLB star with major contracts during the sport’s salary boom years, the earning power was real.
But net worth isn’t only about what you earned—it’s about what you kept. The Thomes have never projected a “look at our wealth” lifestyle in the loudest way. Their public image reads more like “comfortable and careful,” which is often how long-term sports wealth actually survives.
There’s also a practical reason many athlete families protect their finances better than people assume: the career is short, the future is uncertain, and injuries can change everything fast. Couples who treat money like a long game tend to do better than couples who treat money like an endless faucet.
Why the “Jim Thome wife” topic stays popular
Jim is a rare kind of sports star: respected, low-drama, and still beloved by multiple fan bases. When an athlete’s reputation stays clean, people get curious about the personal life because they assume there’s something stable behind it. In Jim’s case, that assumption is fair.
Andrea’s story also adds interest because she isn’t just a name next to his. She had a serious career in media, she built a second career in writing, and she’s shown a backbone when it counts. That combination makes her more than a footnote in Jim’s Hall of Fame biography.
Bottom line
Jim Thome’s wife is Andrea Thome, a former Cleveland TV journalist who married Jim in November 1998 and helped build a steady family life through the chaos of pro baseball. They share two children—Lila and Landon—and Andrea has built her own identity through writing and community advocacy. Jim may be the legend fans remember for the swing, but Andrea is a big reason the life around that swing stayed grounded for so long.
image source: https://www.cleveland.com/tribe/2020/08/5-classic-jim-thome-moments-to-celebrate-the-legendary-cleveland-indians-sluggers-50th-birthday.html
