The Fun Youth Of The 2022 Cleveland Guardians: A Reflection On A Giant Surprise, And Restored Optimism

I am a self proclaimed baseball historian. I also was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. I still call it home having purchased a house in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood with my wife last Spring. So the Indians and now Guardians have been a big part of my life. I was born in 1987, so in my early years no one talked about baseball in this blue collar town on the shores of Lake Erie. The Indians were in the middle of a horrific 40 year playoff drought. They played in a broken down ballpark that they shared with the Browns called Cleveland Municipal Stadium. 

In 1994, things started to change though. The Indians opened Jacob’s Field, a new fabulous ballpark that was designed to look and feel like the old parks from the 1920’s and 30’s. My earliest memories about baseball occur from this season. My father worked for a company that had purchased season tickets to use for taking clients who were visiting town, to see the brand new ballpark. If no clients were in town they distributed the tickets to their employees. The company had agreed to let my Dad have those four tickets to take his family to a game that August. I vaguely remember my Mom telling me that we were going to be going to a baseball game soon and that she thought I would enjoy it. Well, as many of you know, that 1994 season ended on August 12th, when the players and owners couldn’t agree on a new contract and a strike began. It ended up wiping out the entire rest of the season and playoffs and World Series. It alienated many fans, who to this day in some cases never came back. Our tickets had been for a game later in August, so we didn’t get to go. 

I always wondered what that 1994 Cleveland Indians team would have done had the season been played to its completion. They were one game out of first place in the brand new Central Division and leading the Wild Card spot when the season abruptly ended. Fans had been attending games at “The Jake” in droves as the team was poised as a contender for the first time in well over 35 years. It was a devastating blow for a town hungry for a winner.

When the strike was finally settled in April of 1995 and the season was able to start, albeit 18 games shorter than normal, I did attend my first ever baseball game, and the Indians dominated all year in 1995, starting their magical 90’s run that saw them win two pennants and nearly win the 1997 World Series. It is what gave me a love for baseball that has been with me ever since. 

I have seen so many seasons though that have ended so close to the final prize of a World Series. It weighs the heart of a fan down a bit with frustration. 

Multiple seasons the Indians were easily the best team in baseball but just couldn’t quite get it done in October (1995 and 2017). On two other occasions, 1997 and 2016 they were a hot team exceeding expectations that ran out of steam just short in game seven of the World Series. Intermixed throughout the last 28 years has been many other contenders and a few rebuilding seasons, but never had there been quite a team like that 1994 team, full of mostly young players who had come up through the minors together and were learning how to win at the big league level. That question as to what that 1994 could have been like had they been able to play in October never had a chance to be answered. That is, until last year. 

The 2022 Cleveland Guardians were debuting something new as well. Not a new ballpark this time, but a new name. Indians was out, due to a desire to remove the prospect of alienating anyone over a ‘racial’ team name, and Guardians, like thes statues that sit on the Hope Memorial Bridge outside the stadium, was in. Similar to 1994 too, was the team on the field, full of young players that were far from household names, save for Jose Ramirez, who on the day before the 2022 season got underway signed a long term contract extension, choosing to take less money to ensure he played in Cleveland for his entire career. No doubt his leadership would be needed for a team that would see 17 players make their major league debut and boast the youngest average roster in baseball for the 2022 season. 

No joke, before the season began national news publications picked the Guardians to finish dead last in their division. Admittedly I didn’t go that far, but I figured they would be at best a .500 team, likely finishing in third place by season's end. 

The Guardians began looking like the average team I was expecting, but they were doing so with a different approach from new hitting coach Chris Valaika. Instead of swinging for the fences all the time and accepting the strikeout as a common result, Valaika was preaching a contact first approach. In his view, the Guardians were a young and athletic team, featuring many players with above average speed. What better way to use that speed to an advantage than by teaching the players to do all they could to put the ball in play and then run their butts off to first base, forcing the opponent to make the plays and throw them out. This was resulting in a lot of infield hits and added baserunners for opponents to deal with from day one. While it wasn’t always transferring into more runs, it was giving the offense life. 

I was definitely a skeptic to the legitimacy of the Guardians style of play for quite a bit of the season. I just kept expecting that this super young team, which started to get hot in June, was going to eventually run out of steam, but they just didn’t. 

In late June they won three out of five against the Minnesota Twins, the division leader. All three of the wins saw the young Guardians facing deficits late in the game that they overcame to win. The most exhilarating of three saw them rally from a 6-3 deficit in the bottom of the 10th to win 7-6, capped off by Josh Naylor’s two out, two strike, opposite field two run walk off homer to the porch in left! Naylor jumped up and down and screamed triumphantly while rounding the bases and then head butting manager Terry Franona in the midst of an exuberant home plate celebration. 

Talk about a young team having a lot of fun! And it was in that moment that the historian part of my brain jumped back to the 1994 Indians team. That team won 10 games in their final at bat in similar ways to what Naylor had just done. They were also a young team that no one knew what to expect from either. Could this 2022 team give us a possible idea of what the 1994 team could have accomplished had they been able to finish out that season? 

Well as the 2022 season continued to leave me stunned and surprised each night as I watched them play, I began to legitimately believe this was in fact my chance to see before my eyes, one possible outcome the 1994 team could have enjoyed. 

The Guardians stayed hot all summer long, winning many games with great pitching and with their insane contact first approach on offense which allowed them to capitalize on many late game opportunities to squeak out wins. They also looked like they were having a ball doing it, as the joy of just playing in the big leagues and tasting victory at that elite level was carrying these young men far. 

In September they played the Minnesota Twins eight times in twelve days, due in part to the weird five game series at Progressive Field scheduled because of the week-long delayed start to the 2022 season due to a collective bargaining agreement fiasco. Everyone knew going into that stretch that the Guardians would be tested. Boy did the team respond, sweeping the Twins in their own ballpark on the front end of the matchups and then winning three of five at home. The biggest of the wins came in a fifteen inning marathon in the Saturday night cap of a doubleheader, which saw the young Guardians claw and fight to victory on Amed Rosario’s grounder turned error by Twins shortstop Jermaine Palacios that allowed the winning run to score. 

The Guardians then went on to sweep their only other competition in the division, Chicago White Sox immediately afterwards, all but securing what came three days later in Texas, the Cleveland Guardians were Central Division Champions! They celebrated with the traditional champagne, yes, but then proceeded to have a full on pizza party, once again embracing their youth and fun wholesomeness that was making Cleveland fans fall in love with them. 

Of course, the question still remained. Could the Guardians contact first approach win at all in October, where home runs tend to be king. The Guardians entered the Wild Card Series against the Rays,  and swept the best of three series with dominant starting pitching and ironically enough, timely home runs, winning game one 2-1 on a Jose Ramirez sixth inning homer, and game two 1-0, which was a memorable 15 inning affair that showcased both teams stellar starting pitching, won on Oscar Gonzalez’s walk off bomb off former Indian Corey Kluber. 

They then went into the AL Division Series and faced a harrowing opponent in the New York Yankees who disposed of them with ease in game one, 4-1 behind their dominant starter Gerrit Cole, and timely home runs from Harrison Bader and Anthony Rizzo. Game two after being delayed a day by rain would be tied at 2-2 in the tenth when the Guardians first displayed how their style of play could win a playoff game, scoring three times in the inning, keyed by Jose Ramirez hustling down the line on a bloop shot that fell in, allowing him to hustle all the way to third base due to erratic defense by the Yankees and then scored the go ahead run on an Oscar Gonzalez two strike bloop single. 

Game three of the series in Cleveland provided the best example of the Guardian hustle and contact approach being legit, as the bottom of the ninth inning saw them provide a clinic on short swings and speed providing a parade of hitters and base runners moving things along long enough for Oscar Gonzalez once again to be the hero, slapping yet another winning hit up the middle for a two run walk off single which gave the Guardians an stunning 6-5 victory!

Now yes, in the end, Gerrit Cole again shut the Guards down in game four, sending the series back to New York where rain yet again delayed the series for a day, allowing the Yankees to bring their other star starter Nester Cortes back on three days rest, while the Guardians went with Aaron Civale who gave up a three run bomb to Genecarlo Stanton in the first inning and the Guardians just never recovered. 

It was disappointing but not devastating to see the Yankees come back to win the series. They were the more experienced, better funded and just plain better team. However, the Guardians definitely turned a lot of national media heads with their surprising and out of nowhere run to the Central Division Championship. The Guardians definitely had some holes in their young lineup, and having another power hitter or two alongside all of the great contact hitters would have potentially made a big difference.

Which leads me back to the 1994 Indians. That team had holes too, but their holes were instead in their starting pitching, which I do believe would have led to them also being bounced from the playoffs before the World Series, had the strike not happened. The parallels between both the 1994 Indians and 2022 Guardians were very striking, and in the end, did give us a very likely answer to what the 1994 team could have accomplished. The echoes of that 1994 team made up of so many exciting young and yet proven players like Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome, alongside players entering their prime like Kenny Lofton, Carlos Baerga, Sandy Alomar Jr. and Albert Belle, merrily resounded around Progressive Field last summer when our new batch of potential stars were making their skills known. Could players like Steven Kwan, Andres Gimenez, Oscar Gonzalez, and Josh Naylor be the guys we will look back on with such fondness 30 years from now? I think they just may be! Jose Ramirez has already cemented his legacy as one of the greatest to have ever worn a Tribe/Guards uniform when he signed that long term deal last April. Then Andres Gimenez signed a seven year extension yesterday! It is likely that several of this group of young talent will follow suit, providing the opportunity to write quite a legacy over the next several years. 

Like in 1994, when the Indians shored up their pitching holes by signing Orel Hershiser and Paul Assenmacher via free agency, the Guardians signed Josh Bell and Mike Zunino to provide some power boost to a young offensive lineup that should continue to showcase their base runner generating abilities in 2023. The previously mentioned 1995 Indians went on to have one of the single greatest regular seasons in baseball history on their way to the American League Pennant. Does this 2023 Guardians team have something similar in store? It is unlikely they will go on any kind of historic level of dominance like that, but another division title and trip to October baseball seems very likely, and in baseball, that automatically means you have a very legit shot at winning it all! Expectations are higher as we embark on what is sure to be a fun journey, picking up where last season’s party left off!

This offseason longtime Indians/Guardians fan, season ticket holder and faithful drummer of nearly 50 years passed away. Outside of radio voice Tom Hamilton, no single person may be more synonymous with summer in Cleveland, certainly in the Jacob’s Field era especially, than John Adams. While Covid and then chronic health concerns had kept him away from the ballpark since 2019, he still was always cheering them on, even from his nursing home room. Last season the Guardians honored him by placing a bench with a bronze replica of his drum in Heritage Park, and even played recordings of his drumming during rallies in the postseason. It is my hope they continue this practice regularly, not only to honor a local legend, but also because the echoes of that steady beat imploring players to perform and fans to cheer louder are part of the fabric of baseball at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. Here’s to another special season of baseball in Cleveland, where hope is riding high as the mercury in a thermometer on a hot humid night off Lake Erie’s shores.

Spring Training Thoughts Part 2

Spring Training is nearing it’s end, and the opening day roster is coming into view. The time is almost here for the Indians to break camp and head North to start the 2021 Baseball Season! So here is the second part of my Spring Training thoughts on the 2021 Indians, starting with a slightly deeper look/projection of the pitching staff. 

To begin with, here is how I see the Indians opening the season as far as five man rotation goes. Because of the amount of off days, the Indians won’t need a fifth starter until April 16th, and even then they technically won’t need one again until April 26th. Therefore they can go with a four man rotation for the majority of the month of April if they do desire, with perhaps keeping the fifth starter as an extra arm out of the bullpen initially. All that being said here is my projection for five starters to start the season: 

1. Shane Bieber

2. Zach Plesac

3. Aaron Civale

4. Triston McKenzie

5. Logan Allen

Logan Allen has had a great Spring. He also is left handed, and the Indians haven’t had a lefty in their rotation regularly in over six years. He came into camp having lost weight and put a ton of effort into his offseason pitching training, and it has showed. That is why I think he will break camp as the fifth starter over Cal Quantrill, who while still someone I think will be really good, had a rough Spring and likely will need some time at extended Spring Camp and then in the minor league season to get things squared away. 

Now the bullpen is a little more hard to figure out. So far we know six that guys have made the team for sure in Bryan Shaw, Trevor Stephan, James Karinchak, Emmanuel Clase, Nick Wittgren and Oliver Perez are all guaranteed spots. It is expected the Indians will go with an eight man bullpen, so that leaves two more spots up for grabs. I think Phil Maton has a good shot at breaking camp with the Indians, and I also see Adam Plutko being kept due to him being out of options. That covers the initial eight man bullpen.

Now we move to the position players. Guaranteed spots are

C Roberto Perez

1B Jake Bauers

2B Cesar Hernandez

3B Jose Ramirez

SS Andres Gimenez

RF Josh Naylor

CF Ben Gamel

LF Eddie Rosario

DH Franmil Reyes

So that leaves four roster spots to make up the bench. My predictions: 

C Austin Hedges

IF Yu Chang

OF Jordan Luplow

IN/OF Amed Rosario

Now of course, this will change throughout the season, which is why Indians television announcer Rick Manning recently said one shouldn’t make too much of the initial opening day roster because it will change throughout the season, and the team you start with often won’t be the same team come September. That being said, I have a couple of predictions on how things will change as the season goes along. 

First, I don’t see Jake Bauers lasting long at first base. He has had a terrible Spring Training and is only on the roster because he is out of options and the Indians don’t want to lose him before giving him one more shot. They also like the fact he can play the outfield as well. The hope is he finally figures it out this year, but I personally don’t see that happening. Therefore, my bold prediction is Bauers will be put on waivers and  Bobby Bradley, who has had an excellent Spring Training, will be playing first base everyday by mid-late May. 

Second, I don’t see the platoon of Ben Gamel/Amed Rosario lasting very long in the outfield. I think Daniel Johnson, though he didn’t play any centerfield this Spring Training will take over that position with a good start to his AAA season in May. Therefore the combo of Gamel, Amed Rosario and occasionally perhaps Jordan Luplow will have an expiration date. That date will likely be sometime in June. 

On a final note, there has been a lot of second guessing some of the decisions the coaching staff and Terry Francona have made this Spring in terms of sending some of the young guys who had good Spring’s down to Columbus to start the season. While I too am not sure I would have made the same decisions they have made, I am not the manager, I am simply a fan. My job is to cheer on the players the manager and front office have put on the field. Really that is what every person’s job is who doesn’t get paid by the team. Baseball is supposed to be fun, not stressful, and I think we all, myself included, get too bent out of shape about things we as fans have no control over. So when the season kicks off on Thursday, let’s all try and be better at enjoying the game for what it is, a hobby and at times fun distraction for us. Nothing more, nothing less. Go Tribe!

2021 Cleveland Indians Outlook. Spring Training Throughts At The Halfway Point

At the end of the Covid shortened 2020 MLB season, I stated the Indians had some work ahead of them this off season to overhaul their offense. First and foremost I stated they needed to get some bats in return for their star shortstop Francisco Lindor. Secondly I wrote they needed to focus on developing some hitters in the minors the way they have been developing pitchers the last seven years. 

Well they have done some of what I suggested and also done a few things that I didn’t expect, but have certainly not hurt their much needed retooling of their offense. First off, in trading Fracisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco they got two legit hitters. First they received Andres Gimenez and so far this Spring he has looked like he will slide right in to Lindor’s vacated shortstop position with ease. He is showing the signs already of being an elite defender, and has done nothing but hit all Spring as well. Secondly, they received Amed Rosario, who until Gimenez came up to the big leagues last September, was the Mets starting shortstop. Rosario is not the defender that Gimenez is, so while he has more experience it does not appear the Indians are keen on making him their opening day shortstop. However, he has hit really well this Spring so the Indians are looking at putting him in the outfield to keep his bat in the lineup. 

That leads to my second point though, which was the Indians needed to overhaul their outfield as last season they had an abysmal amount of offensive production from all three outfield positions. This is where they did something I didn’t expect this offseason. They went out and signed a big bat in Eddie Rosario to a one year contract to be their everyday left fielder. The man will easily hit 30 homers and possibly drive in 90-100 runs this season barring he stays healthy, which he has for most of his career. So the rest of Spring Training is to determine who plays Center and Right Field this year. 

Center field could be covered by a plethora of options. I just mentioned Rosario is now taking reps there, but also Oscar Mercado and Bradley Zimmer are options. Both need to prove themselves though, as Zimmer has not been the same since his rookie campaign of 2017, due to injuries and just overall less than exciting play. Mercado similarly had a terrific 2019 rookie campaign but looked completely lost last year, albeit during a 60 game season. So far they have played decently well this Spring, but we will need to see more progress to ensure they win a starting job. 

Right field seems to belong to a platoon of Josh Naylor and Jordan Luplow. Luplow has been hampered by a sore ankle so far this Spring and hasn’t played in a game yet. However, he historically crushes left-handed pitching, so his spot should be relatively secure barring he is healthy by April 1st. Naylor is a good contact left handed hitter and he will likely play right field against right handed pitchers. He has potential to develop more power as he gains more experience, and may even share some time at first base this season. Which leads to the next discussion, our infield. 

Surprisingly the Indians also spent money to bring back free agent Cesar Hernandez to man second base for the 2021 season. Hernandez was one of the Indians’ most consistent hitters in the short 2020 season, and bringing him back is a very helpful move. Jose Ramirez of course will patrol third base. He is the Tribe’s best hitter and flat out best player. Barring injury third base is set for the Indians. Shortstop as mentioned earlier is looking more and more like it will be Andres Gimenez’s spot, unless he starts to struggle as the season winds on. First base is the biggest question to answer for the remainder of the Spring. Bobby Bradley trimmed down this off season and has looked really good at the plate, crushing some massive home runs. However, Jake Bauers, out of minor league options, is in a make it or break it month. It is hard to think the Indians will give up on him, as he is a solid defender and has raw power. However, he will need to show he can hit more consistently than in 2019 when he split time between first base and the outfield. Bobby Bradley has a minor league option left, Bauers does not. It may come down to that in the final decision for first base at the end of camp. Regardless, I think Bobby Bradley is the first baseman of the future. If Bauers hits well, he can always move to left field for 2022, after Eddie Rosario’s one year deal is up. 

It has also been great to see both Gabriel Arias and Owen Miller exceeding all expectations so far in their first Spring with the Indians. While they are likely a year away from being major league ready yet, the Indians suddenly have some really good looking young hitters on the farm. Being that Cesar Hernandez is only back on a one year contract, it means that one of these two young infielders will probably take over the second base job next season. Not to mention the Indians still have top prospect Nolan Jones bouncing between third base and the outfield attempting to earn his way onto the club either before the 2021 Season is over or certainly in 2022 as well. Daniel Johnson also is having a solid spring, making us all wonder how long before he will be in Cleveland in the big leagues for good!

As we sit at the halfway point of Spring Training, I haven’t even discussed the pitching. I will do that in more detail as we near opening day. But I will say old friend Bryan Shaw has been impressive so far this spring as he looks to earn a spot in the bullpen. Emmanuel Clase has looked excellent and James Karinchak has been a bit wild, but no doubt has the stuff to be an elite reliever soon, if not by the start of the season. Also the projected starting five being Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale, Cal Quantrill and Triston McKenzie is exciting. Logan Allen has also looked good. Same with newcomer Sam Hentges. As per usual the Indians have pitching depth, and while it has gotten a bit more shallow with the loss of Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger, the players they received in those trades are paying dividends already and will only continue to do so.  This really should be a fun season. Will the Indians make the playoffs? That I am not sure of, but I feel confident they will be in the hunt all year. I will give more detailed prediction in a little over two weeks when the Tribe heads North.

On Fixing The Indians Offense: How To Rebuild A Team While Simultaneously Contending On A Tight Budget

The Indians are headed into their most important off season in quite some time. This season has shown what many of us already knew, that you can’t win with pitching alone. The Indians have become the talk of baseball for their development of starting pitching these last five to seven years. They have either drafted, or acquired via trade, young arms and then used their farm system to develop them into high quality pitchers. So much so, that they have traded three of them over the past two seasons and seemingly not missed a beat as young arms like Shane Bieiber, Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac and Triston McKenzie have emerged taking over for traded aces like Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger. The four listed above will anchor this team for a few years to come. Logan Allen, Scott Moss, and Jefry Rodriguez are still down in Columbus developing as well. Carlos Carrasco may be traded this winter along with Francisco Lindor to try and infuse additional young hitters into the organization. More thoughts on that in a bit. 

That leads us to why this off season is so important, this winter the Indians need to take a serious evaluation of their developing hitters. They need to single out at least six or seven of these young men between all of their minor league levels and give them individualized attention next year with coaching. There has been such an emphasis on pitching that I feel the development of good, smart hitters has kinda fallen by the wayside. Hitters should also be the focus of next year’s draft the way pitching was in 2016, the draft that netted the Tribe Civale, Bieber and Plesac. 

Secondly, the time has come to trade Francisco Lindor. Yes, I know he is an exciting player, and yes I know we all wish we could afford to keep him, but with the small market being even smaller in 2020 due to lack of fans being allowed to attend games, there is no way the Indians can afford to keep him. The same is true of free agents Carlos Santana, Brad Hand and Cesar Hernandez. Lindor however, will at least allow them to get players in return via trade. The Indians need to focus on acquiring as many solid hitting prospects as possible in exchange for their star shortstop. 

As previously mentioned, I have read they may try and shop Carlos Carrasco as well, due to his somewhat expensive contract, and his overall impressive comeback season in 2020 after successfully battling leukemia in 2019. It likely depends on how hot the trade market will be this offseason as to whether or not both Lindor and Carrasco are dealt, but I think the Indians will at least take inquiries on Carrasco to see what he could net them in a trade. If some young hitting prospects are offered, the Indians should probably listen, as that is their big area of need.

However, they shouldn’t depend on trades alone to solve the offense woes. They should also select players from down in Columbus and give them a hard look in Spring Training. These are the five main guys I think deserve extended looks and some individualized coaching: Ka’ai Tom, Bobby Bradley, Nolan Jones, Daniel Johnson, and Yu Chang. Now three of these four have had limited major league experience, and it admittedly hasn’t been great, but if these players are willing to work, and I am sure they are, and we are willing to put some focused hitting coaching behind them, the potential they have shown in the minors could easily begin to translate to the majors. 

Bobby Bradley has been a minor league monster power hitter and decent first baseman. He is the heir apparent to first base with Carlos Santana leaving via free agency again. With Lindor likely being traded, Yu Chang emerges as the most likely replacement at short, and he hit with incredible power this year at summer camp, so the potential is there. Chang starting 2021 at shortstop will likely be determined by if the Indians acquire any other potential replacements in trading Lindor, and/or possibly Carrasco. Regardless though, he has potential to be a good hitter and should be given some focused attention this off season. Both Ka’ai Tom and Daniel Johnson are outfielders who have hit for good averages in Columbus as well as shown power. If we can help them not be overwhelmed by big league pitching I think they could become legitimate corner outfielders. Nolan Jones is the apparent third baseman of the future, but with MVP candidate Jose Ramirez being locked in there for at least two more seasons, it is likely Jones will get time in the outfield in winter ball this year to make him more versatile. I would even see if he could play second base, since there will more than likely be an opening there in 2021 as well. 

Of course ss has already been stated, all of this depends on what type of prospects we get for Lindor and/or Carrasco, and also what kind of spring Jake Bauers has next year, after he was left at the alternative training site in Eastlake for the entire 60 game 2020 season. Bauers can play both first base and the outfield, so he has some versatility on his side. There is also Josh Naylor whom the Tribe received in the Mike Clevinger deal, who admittedly was unimpressive in his final month of the year here, though he was very impressive in the quick two game playoff series with the Yankees. He seems to have potential to be a good contact hitter, but I would like to see him get some coaching on driving the ball more consistently, like he was doing in that brief playoff sample. The other two main hitting prospects they received from the Clevinger deal were infielders Gabe Arias and Owen Miller, who are probably not going to be ready until 2022-2023, so the Indians should evaluate them next year down in Akron and determine what kind of extra coaching they should receive. My understanding is they both have shown hitting and power potential, so it would behoove them to give them some extended looks. 

Basically to sum up all of this, the Indians need to put a conscious and intentional focus on offensive acquisition and development over the next two to three years, both in house and via trade. All of our young pitchers aren’t going anywhere and will continue to improve at the big league level, so there is time to shift focus to a glaring need in this area of team development. I truly believe this is one of the best run organizations in professional sports, so they should be able to accomplish this with a commitment to focus on offense development. Don’t count them out. 2020 was a frustrating season in a tremendously difficult year in many ways, but good years are still ahead!

We Somehow Made It Here: My Thoughts As A Most Unique 2020 MLB Season Kicks Off

It has been a long four months for our country. There has been a lot of unrest and general low morale among most of America’s citizens. Throughout our history we have had times of great turmoil and upheaval, and sports, especially baseball have always been there to help us heal. Due to the nature of one of the main sources of turmoil, the Coronavirus, sports have been unable to create some semblance of normalcy and unity this time around, and that has made 2020 extra challenging. There was much doubt any sports seasons would be able to resume or get off the ground. However, baseball is set to usher in the return of sports, though one unlike any other, as any major sporting events this year will more than likely be without any fans in stadiums and ballparks.

As we are set to finally begin the 2020 Major League Baseball season, it would be almost an understatement to say it has been a long, eventful, and unprecedented off season. In fact, it has probably been the most controversial and news making offseason since the 1994-1995 offseason that saw the players’ strike cancel the playoffs and World Series in 1994 and spill into the canceling of 18 regular season games in 1995. Fans were angry and outraged and for understandable reasons. This year, as we all know, we have had the first suspension of games at the start of the season for the first time since 25 years ago, and man it was a long suspension due to multiple factors, the main one being the Coronavirus. More on that later.

This off season was initially shrouded in the 2017 Houston Astros scandal and fans were, and are still, really angry and justifiable so. Yet, this time, and in this instance, unlike in 1995, not only are the fans angry, but the players on just about every other Major League club are ticked off, and many haven’t been shy about saying so! Despite Commissioner Rob Manfred’s warning that any pitcher that umpires deam intentionally through at an Astros batter will be suspended and fined, it is easy to anticipate some pitchers won’t care and will chuck pitches in the general direction of many Astros hitters. While there no longer will be fans in attendance at games this year, one wonders if pitchers will still ignore Manfred’s warning. It will be something to keep an eye on, especially early on. Will the Astros get off easy due to the long delay due to COVID19, or will they have to take their lumps? Only time will tell.

There is also the scandal associated with the 2018 Boston Red Sox cheating in similar manners, and the fallout from that, which some feel Manfred’s punishment was too lenient on them, as their replay guy J.T. Watkins took most of the fall on their behalf, along with the loss of a draft pick. Will they also have some backlash from pitchers? Again a storyline to follow as things get underway.

Then of course there is the biggest story, the Coronavirus epidemic that hit our country in early March, with the first confirmed cases in Ohio coming to light on March 9th. March 12th is a day that will live in the history books as the day the sports world and general entertainment industry as a whole came to halt. Following the example of the NBA on the evening of March 11th, MLB, the NHL and the MLS suspended their seasons. For baseball specifically, it meant the cancelling of the rest of Spring Training and the first three and half months of the regular season’s scheduled games. The Indians had already been off since sweeping a split squad set of games on March 9th due to a scheduled off day and back to back rainouts of exhibition games.

Once it was determined in May that MLB wanted to try and get as many games played as possible, a well documented fight between the Commissioner’s Office and Players Union began. I don’t need to rehash all that here, but I will say both parties embarrassed themselves as they squabbled over money and amount of games to be played, with an original plan to get the season started by July 4th with an 82 game schedule scrapped, and things coming down to Rob Manfred setting a schedule of 60 games, per his allowance in the March agreement all parties signed when the virus first halted Spring Training.

The fallout from these horrific negotiations will linger as a new bargaining agreement will be needed after the 2021 season, yet, if history teaches us anything, it is that baseball will survive that and come out the other side. It has survived many scandals and challenges in it’s now 119 years of professional status. It made it through the Black Sox Scandal, two world wars, multiple players strikes, and the steroid era, just to name a few. It survived those and it will survive this too.

This season, at least initially, will also be without fans in the stands, and that too is unprecedented. While teams are piping in crowd noise and blasting music over the PA system, as if fans were in attendance, things will still look a bit odd on TV. On a personal note, this will be the first baseball season I haven’t attended at least one Indians game since 1997. A 22 year streak will likely come to and end this year.

However, despite all these unique circumstances, when the umpire yells ‘play ball’ at all 15 major league ballparks between tonight and tomorrow, weather permitting of course, it will signal it is officially time to put the tumultuous off season in the rearview mirror, and look instead forward to a three hour distraction from ongoing challenges we are facing. The 2020 season should most assuredly bring a much needed break from the constant news! A 60 game sprint is about to take off! Hang on tight fans!

Remembering The Summer Of 1995: A collection of national and local news stories interplayed with personal stories about one of the great eras of Northeast Ohio's history

When I first began assembling this list back in January, I had no idea what was about to descend upon our country. I had no idea that a then mostly unknown virus would wrap it’s invisible hands around the world and cause it to come to a screeching halt in mid-March.I had no idea that the dawning of the Summer of 2020 would arrive Memorial Day weekend in Ohio and most of the country would still be on a semi stay at home order, and no Major League Baseball games would be taking place. Yet, here we are. On the precipice of a summer that will mark 25 years since the legendary Cleveland summer of 1995.

In the summer of 1995 I was eight years old and playing T-Ball in Parma’s Recreational Summer Little League. My sister was five and playing her first summer of T-Ball. Her games were in the morning and evening and my games were in the afternoon and evening. They somehow coordinated schedules for families so no two children had games at conflicting times.

I truly began to develop a love for morning hours that summer, as my sister had games at 9am, so I spent time outside in the earlier morning sunshine while accompanying my mother and sister to her games. I distinctly remember walking over to one of the empty ball fields in the Nike Park complex and sitting in the empty bleachers simply being thrilled to be outside and enjoying the warm summer sun when I saw a deer deep out in the outfield run across the grass. Back then, deer were a far rarer site in Parma than they are now.

Below begins a list by date of both historical news stories, and personal memories that I have, from that summer in Cleveland, Ohio. I hope you enjoy it and perhaps it jogs some memories of your own. Please share any stories you have from that summer in the comments section below. I would love to hear your stories!

May 28th- A Memorial Day Weekend storm blows through Bagley Rd in Berea. It rips the roof off of a section of Crest Apartments, and does heavy damage to the intersection of Eastland and Bagley Roads. No reports of any tornados touching down surface, but funnel cloud activity was in the area.

June 12- The Indians sellout streak of 455 straight games begins. It lasts until April 3rd of 2001.

June 13th- I attended my first ever Indians game with my parents and grandfather. The Indians beat the Orioles and Mike Mussina 11-0. Jim Thome and Albert Belle blasted home runs, while Dennis Martinez pitched a complete game. At the time, the game set the attendance record in the brief history of Jacob’s Field.

The OJ Simpson Trial runs from January 24th, and all summer (where the famous ‘glove incident’ happened on June 15th) until a ‘not guilty’ verdict reached October 3rd. The news coverage was a daily part of every cable news network.

The City of Cleveland has a ton of Ozone Action days due to several heat waves that slam the city hard (June 17th-June 21st, July 12th-July 17th, July 26th-August 4th, and August 11th-21st) This summer goes down as of the hottest summers in Cleveland history. I remember playing some afternoon T Ball games that umpires shortened to three instead of four innings because of the heat. Honestly, I wasn’t bothered by it too much. I drank water and dumped it in my hat periodically and was fine.

June 22nd- The still new collaboration between Major League Baseball and NBC and ABC known as “The Baseball Network” is dissolved due to both TV networks losing so much money in 1994 due to the MLB strike, and their desire to extend the six year deal an extra season into 2000, to make up for the strike. MLB refused to agree to that and thus the networks agreed that they would quit televising baseball after the 1995 World Series. Thus the 1995 MLB Playoffs and World Series would be one and only year these two networks had postseason coverage, and most were glad about that, as all playoff games started at the same time and were broadcast regionally, so for example in Cleveland, one could watch the Indians (yay!) but couldn’t see any of the other playoff games being played. The deal worked fine during the regular season, when a game either on Saturday night, Monday night or Friday night was aired on ABC or NBC, as most people just want to see their local team during the regular season, but to stick to that format for postseason play was proved to be a mistake.

June 23rd- Federal and state agents surround a home on Stratford Avenue around 7pm in Parma to question a man. The man answers the door in the company of a large dog and states he will comply with agents requests after securing his dog. He shuts the door and never comes back. Officers keep the house surrounded throughout the evening until it is determined the man is no longer in the house, having apparently slipped out the back door and crawled through a hole in the fence. Four years later the man, Michael R. Stedman is arrested in Bangkok by Thai police, having taken on a new alias of Duncan Robert Allen Smith, in connection with a two separate 1994 Cleveland crimes; a murder and an arson.

June 25th- Akron native cartoonist Tom Batiuk stirs local and national controversy when he portrays an attempted teen suicide in his comic strip “Funky Winkerbean.”

June 30th- Eddie Murray reaches the 3,000 hit plateau in a 4-1 Indians win in Minnesota. Many fans are downtown for the annual Cleveland Orchestra “Stars and Stripes Forever” performance, taking place the weekend before the Fourth of July, are watching the game on portable televisions or listening on transistor radios

July 1st- I witness a child get bit by a dog for the first time at my church’s Fourth of July weekend cookout. This caused me to develop a bit of a fear of dogs for the next couple of years, until I met other friends’ dogs who were friendly. Now I love dogs.

July 4th- Bob Ross, famous for his syndicated painting instructional program “The Joy Of Painting” passes away due to Lymphoma, an illness he had battled privately for a few years. Amazingly, Ross has become even more popular among Millennials today, who value his calm demeanor and love for nature in his artwork. Clips from “The Joy of Painting” episodes get millions of streams on YouTube each week.

July 5th- A Massive Thunderstorm hits town. Channel 19 loses it’s broadcast signal halfway through “Christie” episode, and the Indians 2-0 victory over the Texas Rangers is delayed twice by rain, and Jacob’s Field also suffers a power outage after a lightning strike near the stadium.

July 7th- The Wyndham Hotel opens to much fanfare in Playhouse Square on Euclid Avenue. The hotel still stands now 25 years later and is considered one of the finest in the city.

July 7th-9th- Steve Taylor headlined “Alternafest” a three day Christian alternative rock concert at Norwalk Alliance Church in Huron OH. Artists who performed included Steve Taylor, Starflyer 59, The 77’s, The Throes, The Prayer Chain, Sixpence None The Richer and Hoi Polloi. Boy I was I had been older than age eight and familiar with these artists back then. This had to be quite a festival! Sadly from what I can find, this was the first and last Alternafest.

July 9th- Vincent Drost, a Lakewood man who was a composer and musician, is stabbed and killed by five youths who were bored and looking for “something to do.” The horrific and senseless murder stirs fear in what was then, and still is now, considered to be a safe city. The teens responsible are all tried and found guilty of murder and manslaughter, and served time or a still serving time for their actions.

July 13th- The now famous and well documented midwest “Right Turn Derecho” slams NE Ohio out of the blue, coming off Lake Erie, wiping out power everywhere including my Parma home where it went out while my sister and I were watching an episode of the Three Stooges, (“Flat Foot Stooges”) I had recorded from Channel 55 the previous weekend. It also wiped out the Indians game versus Oakland downtown that night in the third inning of a 2-2 tie. This would be the only rainout in Cleveland that entire summer; though many games had long rain delays.

July 17th- On Bader Ave in Old Brooklyn, a home owned by William Cristwell explodes around 10:32am, damaging over 20 houses on the street. Cristwell survived despite suffering burns to over 90 percent of his body and spending months in the hospital. Investigations later pinpointed a gas leak in Cristwell’s home being the cause, and some still felt it was a suspicious explosion, perhaps intentionally set by the man himself, who had at the time recently suffered from depression. Cristwell was never charged with anything and eventually moved down to Florida to be near family.

August 1st-15th- Heather McLaughlin, a three year old on Cleveland’s West Side is murdered by the roommate and friend of her mother Misty McLaughlin, after she was put to bed on August 1st. After a two week long search, her body is found in a revine a mile from her home. The story captivated the local West Side community with many volunteers pitching in time to aid in the search.

August 9th- Jerry Garcia, leader of classic rock band The Grateful Dead dies from heart complications, ending the yearly run of touring the band had done since the 1960’s.

August 12th-26th- My first family car caravan road trip with my parents and grandparents to Colorado and back to Ohio takes place. We travelled to visit my Uncle, Aunt and cousin in the Denver area. It was a lot of fun, as I took turns riding in our family’s Dodge Caravan, and my grandparents Toyota, with my trusted cassette player next to me to listen to my favorite tunes on. We encountered a thunderstorm driving at night in Nebraska that featured some of the most majestic cloud to cloud lightning I have ever seen! It was epic! We would do this whole trip again in the same manner in 1998, and it also was fun, but there was nothing like this first one for me!

August 22nd- The first Wal-Mart in Cuyahoga County opens in Strongsville. Yes, you read that right! It is hard to believe that Wal-Mart really has only been the main Big Box store in America for the last 15 years or so.

August 31st- Miller’s Dining Room, the popular Lakewood family restaurant, burns down in the wee hours of the morning. The investigation seems to indicate a problem with the furnace in the basement of the building was the cause of the blaze. Sadly, the owners were never able to rebuild the restaurant, and apartments that were above, and the burned out building was eventually turn down, and an Auto Zone now sits on the site today.

September 1st- The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Opens and a full Labor Day weekend of rock concerts take place at Cleveland Municipal Stadium to commemorate the occasion including Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney and many others.

September 6th- Cal Ripken officially breaks Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played streak as he plays in his 2,131st straight baseball game. A sellout crowd at Camden Yards gives him a nearly 20 minute ovation after the top of the fifth inning when the game became official. Ripken reluctantly at the encouragement of his teammates took a victory lap around the ballparks periphery as Whitney Houston’s classic “One Moment In Time” player over the PA system. Many credit this as a major healing moment for players and fan relations still strained from the players strike that cancelled the 1994 playoffs and World Series, which had also bled over into wiping out 18 games of the 1995 season.

September 8th-Indians clinch first division in 41 years. The city celebrated jubilantly, and many home videos from folks who attended that night exist on YouTube.

Autumn then arrived, where the Indians marched to the World Series, the Browns opened what would become their final season in Cleveland before Art Model sold them to Baltimore, and I started third grade. That summer though was spectacular, and one that’s good fortune helped carry this town to the much finer reputation it has today.

Once again, any stories and memories you have from the summer or 1995 are ones I would love to hear! Maybe you were at one of the 12 walk off wins the Tribe had that year, or maybe you remember taking part in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame corranation celebration. Maybe you were a high school or college graduate that year or perhaps you got married over that amazing summer or remember some of the events I have listed. I would love to hear about it from your perspective! Any story is welcome! Share them if you are so inclined.

50 years ago today: A Victory American's Desperately Needed

Hard to believe that 50 years ago today, one of the coolest accomplishments in the history of our country took place. It was 1969 and it was a difficult time. The Vietnam War and the United State’s involvement in that war was extremely controversial. Anti War protests were everywhere and racial discrimination and bias was still extremely high. The country needed a source of hope, and a source of pride in winning something, anything really. 

Cue the space race with Russia! The Cold War was also still burning hot on paper in the 1960’s and as the US fought to keep up with the Russian space program. Russia was the first to put a man in outer space, and throughout the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects, NASA sought to beat Russia to the bigger prize, landing a man safely on the moon and bringing him back to Earth in one piece. This had been the goal since John F. Kennedy stated so in 1962. Apollo 11 was the mission that would accomplish this feat as the three man crew of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins would make their names in history.

That Sunday, July 20th, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the lunar module, Eagle, on the surface of the moon. Michael Collins remained on the shuttle Columbia orbiting the moon. Initially Armstrong was supposed to rest and wait to make the historic walk, but naturally he was too excited to wait. So at 10:39pm EST, Armstrong opened the hatch and began to descend the ladder to the  moon. At 10:56pm he planted his foot on the powdered surface and said the famous words “that’s one small step for a man and one giant leap for mankind” 

Aldrin joined him down the surface at 11:15pm where they planted the US flag, took some pictures and ran some scientific tests and spoke with President Richard Nixon via Houston. Finally a great joy could be felt back home on the soil of America! We had beaten the Russians to the moon! A time when our nation so badly needed a win, so badly needed a sign of hope that better days would be ahead of us, the crew of Apollo 11 did all of that with the ‘giant leap’ by an American Astronaut. 

Neil Armstrong also made Ohioans everywhere proud, as he was from the small town of Wapakoneta in west central Ohio. While I wasn’t alive back in 1969, I have heard the stories of those who were, and the tremendous excitement and wonder his steps gave folks. I also have always loved the fact that we did explore outer space. As a Christian, I believe God wants us to explore the vastness of the universe so we can see and marvel at how big He is, and how small we are. While it had it’s share of controversy in the 1960’s as many felt we could spend millions of dollars in better ways, and they had some legitimate points, I maintain that those resources were still well spent, and the landing on the moon was exactly the source of hope that each American needed to see at that point in history. 

One lesser known fact, Buzz Aldrin, a quiet but strong Christian and elder in his church, took communion privately on the moon from a kit given to him by his pastor. He felt there was no better way to show his thanks to God, for the opportunity to take part in something so amazing! NASA had stated they didn’t want any religious affiliated words spoken since the Apollo 8 crew had read the first chapter of Genesis during their televised trip around the moon on their mission, so Aldrin honored that at the time, but wrote about this in his autobiography. 

Another lesser known fact with an Ohio connection is then up and coming English rock band Led Zeppelin performed a show at a small venue in Warrensville Heights called the Musicarnival that Sunday evening. Cleveland based blues band The James Gang opened for them. After the show, the band went into a small building located on the site grounds and watched the moon landing together, sharing in the wonder of the historic event!

In recent times, President Trump has quietly restarted the Space Program and wants to begin exploring the reaches of our galaxy, with rumors of a goal of a manned flight to Mars in 2033. I hope that I live to see the day that happens. For today though, let’s reflect on the joyous event of 50 years ago, and remember the three gentlemen who made history, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.