CLEVELAND — Sandy Alomar walked through the doors of the visitors' clubhouse, turned into a side room full of Chicago White Sox watching TV and made an announcement to his new teammates.
"I want you guys to know," Alomar said, placing his hand on David Wells' shoulder. "I've officially cut the cord."
Alomar, who spent 11 seasons with Cleveland, came to Jacobs Field as a visitor for the first time Sunday. Once inside, the six-time All-Star catcher shook hands with old friends as he made his way down the hallway to Chicago's clubhouse.
"It's about 100 more steps," Alomar said, adding he had only been there once before, to congratulate an opponent. "It's kind of weird."
Nothing had changed for Alomar except his uniform.
Once the Indians' heart and soul, Alomar will be behind the plate for the White Sox on Monday when Cleveland and Chicago open the season.
Alomar signed with the White Sox during the offseason after contract talks broke down with the Indians, who wanted to make Einar Diaz their everyday catcher and thought Alomar wanted too much money for a backup.
Alomar said he's no longer bitter about his breakup with the Indians and wants to focus on his future, not his past.
"It's a different scenario for me," said Alomar, the Indians' opening day catcher nine times since 1990. "This is not a simple opening day for me. It's time to cut the cord. I'm happy with the way they've accepted me in Chicago. It was a great ride (in Cleveland) and I respect them a lot.
"I had all winter to get over it. I'm with the White Sox now and I'm looking forward to a fresh start. I felt the best thing was to forget about the whole situation."
During his time in Cleveland, Alomar was one of the club's most popular players. He started his career when the Indians were baseball's biggest joke, losing 100 games annually.
He was voted AL Rookie of the Year in '90 and the Indians decided to make him a cornerstone of their rebirth. Alomar was one of the first Cleveland players to sign a long-term contract for less money than market value so he could help the team win, which is why there was a large public outcry when the Indians chose not to re-sign him.
That emotion will likely resurface Monday when Indians fans warmly welcome back Alomar.
"They say there's no crying in baseball," he said. "But there's no shame in it. I was part of this organization for 11 years and I'm always going to respect it regardless if I'm here or not."
Memories will surely flood back to him, especially his 1997 storybook season.
That year, he was selected MVP at the All-Star game in Jacobs Field and had a 30-game hitting streak. The Indians were four outs from elimination in the playoffs when he homered off New York's Mariano Rivera to save the season.
But he said his fondest memory of playing in Cleveland was Game 7 of the '97 World Series against the Florida Marlins. Although the Indians lost 3-2 in 11 innings, Alomar said he'll never forget leaving the field that night.
"I still think about walking back to the dugout," he said. "We played great and I was very proud of our team."
Leaving Cleveland also meant he likely won't get a chance to win a World Series with his brother, Indians' second baseman Roberto Alomar, who signed in 1999 to be with Sandy.
"It's very disappointing," Sandy said. "Because that was our goal as a family. But now, that marriage is over. We've put it behind us."