Progressive Field
Cleveland, OH
July 8, 2013
Detroit Tigers Vs Cleveland Indians
"In case you haven't noticed, and judging by the attendance you haven't, the Indians have managed to win a few ball games, and are threatening to climb out of the cellar!"
Harry Doyle, "Major League"
Day Four, July 8: Football, A Visit With "The Captain" and a Rainy Night in Cleveland"
A cool breeze blew across the room and made me shiver. I snuggled down deeper into the covers to try and fall back asleep, but the sunlight streamed through the curtains and I knew for sure, I was awake and nothing was going to change that.
I yawned, stretched, opened my eyes and peered out from underneath the blankets. Tony, Nick, Ryan and Rob were all curled up in beds and sleeping bags, happily passed out in different spots around the room. Quietly, I got up and made my way around the room, trying not to step on anyone stretched out across the floor. Yesterday was a long day and after the shenanigans of the previous evening, there was no reason for anyone to be up yet. After all, we'd been through a lot: a 235-mile trek between Cincinnati and Canton, which included two ballgames in two cities (Cincinnati and Columbus), a two-hour drive to Canton and, finally, a cranky, hungry, uncooperative check-in girl at the motel across the street, which led us to a different place to spend the night.
I chuckled to myself at all that we had been through when something reached out and grabbed my ankle.
"What the hell?" I yelped a little louder than I wanted.
Rob rolled over, Nicky mumbled and Tony let out a snore. That left only one possible person responsible for jump-starting my heart.
"RYAN," I hissed at him.
"Yes?"
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I wanted to know.
"You mean besides the obvious?" he said.
I shook my head; this was getting me nowhere.
"Well if you're this awake, I think you should get up and help me start packing away our stuff. We've got a long day ahead of us and I want to get as much done as possible now."
All I heard was a fake snoring sound.
"That's what I thought," I said to my little wisenheimer.
I shook my head, laughed to myself and went about the task of taking a shower, getting dressed and packing away my stuff. By the time I was done, Ryan had gotten up, picked out his clothing and was moving about.
"Done sleeping, Mr. Funny-man?" I asked.
"I am sure I have no idea what you mean," he said, walking past me into the shower.
I saw that he had packed up his gear, laid out his clothing for the day and was ready to get rolling. He really was a lot more like me than I wanted to admit, I thought to myself as I went about gently waking the others.
After getting everything together, having a great breakfast in the dining area and packing the car, we were ready to hit the road for the first stop of the day. The N.F.L. Hall of Fame.
Now, Ryan and I are not the biggest football fans, in fact it's not even in the top two sports on our list, but this was an opportunity that we may never have had again. In fact, that's how it was presented to me when Tony and I sat down, over beers and burgers, to plan the itinerary. He said that he and Nick really wanted to go and that they might never be in Canton again. There was no way I could argue with that logic and it seemed like a good idea. I'm glad he brought it up, it was a fun morning.
The N.F.L. Hall of Fame is located at 2121 George Halas Drive NW, in Canton, Ohio. It was opened in September of 1963, with 17 inductees in the inaugural class. Canton, Ohio, was chosen as the location because the N.F.L. originated there in 1920 and at that time, one of the first successful N.F.L. teams, the Canton Bulldogs was based there. The hall has exhibits that showcase the birth of the N.F.L though today's game, interactive exhibits that allow for a hands-on experience, the Lombardi Trophy, special sections dedicated to the history of the Super Bowl and the actual induction room, which houses the busts of all those who have been enshrined. After having been to Cooperstown and Toronto I was more than intrigued to see how the N.F.L. had done their Hall of Fame. |
| The Boys at the NFL HOF |
parking lot, it seemed to tower above us and take up an enormous amount of space. After taking some pictures outside, we went in to purchase our passes. The lady behind the register overheard us talking about being in Cleveland last in the day, so she suggested buying a joint pass for both the NFL Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as it would come out cheaper than purchasing them individually. Always looking to save a few dollars, we readily agreed.
Once inside we were handed maps to locate the attractions and pointed in the direction of the first room, which housed many up-close photos that had been taken throughout the history of the game. The pictures were amazingly detailed and showed the fierce determination on the faces of the players, as they played out their games. There were also some very good shots of games played in all sorts of weather conditions, which showed just how tough it can be to play this brutal sport.
Upon leaving the photo room we wandered down a narrow hall that had giant replica photos of players throughout the history of the game. The five of us all took attempts at naming the players with varied success. I would think that Tony and Nick got the most right, Rob and I pretty even and Ryan not really caring. he was out of his element and at certain times that would show through. It's not that he didn't enjoy where he was, but football is not exactly our favorite sport and the historical aspect of the game didn't really capture his imagination.
As Tony and Nick walked around, studying everything very carefully, Ryan, Rob and I meandered at our own pace. We looked at everything, but not in an in-depth way unless something caught our attention.
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| Ry and Jim Thorpe |
"What do you know about Jim Thorpe?" I asked.
"I knew he was a famous American Indian, who won Olympic Gold Medals, played basketball, baseball and football and might be America's best athlete," he told me.
"Impressive," I told him, with a smile. "So that's why you want your picture taken with him?"
"Nope," he said. "I want my picture taken with him because it ties into the baseball trip."
Facepalm...
By this time, Rob had put a post on Facebook saying where we were and had tagged me in it. My friend Renee, who happens to be one of Ryan's favorite soccer coaches, saw it and told us that her grandfather played for the Canton Bulldogs and had his picture somewhere in the building. I mentioned this to Ryan, made a phone call to Renee's husband, Bruce, who called a few people and gave me some info on where to look for the photo. This would keep Ryan engaged for quite a while.
For the next 30 minutes Ryan and Nick trolled through interactive, Internet-like, NFL archives. They searched multiple exhibits, looking for names, years, teams' pictures and records, but in the end came up empty. Ryan finally decided to ask a staff member for help, and after another few minutes we learned that the photo was most likely off exhibit, as they do tend to rotate the memorabilia from time to time. The boys were frustrated, Ryan especially so as he wanted to get a picture for Renee, but they realized they did a thorough search before having to call it quits.
For the rest of the time in the exhibit area we saw memorabilia from the undefeated 1972 Dolphins, the
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| Tony, Tebowing |
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| Ryan and Nick, Talking, Football Style |
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| Coach Parcells |
Next up was the video theatre where we were shown a movie on what it's like to be "on the sidelines" at the Super Bowl. The boys enjoyed it, but I think they were looking for something on the history of the game, not an insight to sideline action during America's most watched sporting event.
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| Ryan and I With Lombardi Trophy |
All in all, we spent about 3 hours in the Hall of Fame. It was an interesting morning and we were glad we did it, but I could tell that Ryan was getting antsy to move on. On our way out the door we were told that we could tour Fawcett Stadium (where the Hall of Fame Game is played every year), which is located right behind the Hall of Fame.
Fawcett Stadium was built in 1937 and today seats about 22,400. It is owned and operated by the Canton City School District and is host to many high school and college games, as well as being the site of the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. Today, Fawcett Stadium is the home for two high school teams (McKinley and Timken), as well as two colleges (Walsh and Malone Universities).
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| Going for the Field Goal |
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| Ryan and Rob Pose After a TD |
After about 5 minutes of being on that field, in that heat and humidity, I
was soaked. It further confirmed my belief that anyone that plays this game, in this kind of weather, in full gear, is some kind of lunatic. The kids were having a blast running around, catching touchdown passes, running for first downs and kicking field goals (to be honest, the adults were as well), but we could see the weather was taking its toll on everyone, so we decided to call it quits and head back to the car for something to drink and a snack.
"Is it time to go 'there' yet?" Ryan asked.
"That's where we're headed next," I told him.
"There" was what he and I had been waiting for all morning. It was a place I both looked forward to seeing and dreaded, at the same time.
The car grew quiet as we drove through the streets of Canton, toward our next destination. We all knew where we were going, who we were "seeing" and how things ended up like this. It was like we were all lost in our own bit of quiet reflection, Tony and I for someone we had "grown up with" and Rob and the boys from someone they had only heard about, but felt a kinship with nonetheless.
Growing up, my favorite player was Graig Nettles. He was the guy I pretended to be, whether it was playing organized ball, or just a pick-up game on my side yard, in the streets, or on the town diamonds. But coming in a close second was the Yankee Captain, Thurman Munson. I loved his fire, his determination and his only knowing how to play the game one way, 100% at all times.
I was ten years old on August 2, 1979. My family was spending time down the Jersey Shore, and as I settled in to watch the 10 PM news with my father I was jolted awake from a half sleep state by the words:
"The sporting world is rocked tonight with the death of Yankees' catcher Thurman Munson. Munson perished in a plane crash in Ohio, this afternoon, while practicing takeoffs and landings in his plane..."
It couldn't be, he must have made a mistake, Thurman Munson isn't dead. These were the words screaming in my head at that moment. Unfortunately, I was wrong, he was gone. I was speechless, numb, sick and I did what many people did upon hearing the news; I broke down and cried.
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| NY Daily News, 8/3/1979 |
As the years went by, and my love of the game grew, my appreciation of Munson grew. I read everything I could get my hands on about his life and death. One of the best articles that detailed that fateful day came from Wayne Coffey of the "New York Daily News," on the 25th anniversary of his death. A few years after that, former Yankees' P.R. man Marty Appel put out the definitive biography on the former Yankees' captain. It was always my goal to visit his grave, and this trip allowed for that to happen.
We pulled into Sunset Hills Burial Park and quickly realized we had no idea of where we were going. I had heard that the cemetery was big, but I wasn't prepared for this. I quickly pulled over and asked a worker for directions and five minutes later we drove down into a quiet, shaded, cul-de-sac, ringed with trees and shrubs.
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| The Captain's Resting Place |
The grave marker itself is a square granite base, with a headstone standing on top. The base bears the inscription of Munson's life dates:
MUNSON
THURMAN LEE
THURMAN LEE
JUNE 7, 1947
AUGUST 2, 1979
While the headstone bears an etched carving of Munson, in his Yankees uniform, holding a bat, and the inscription:
AUGUST 2, 1979
While the headstone bears an etched carving of Munson, in his Yankees uniform, holding a bat, and the inscription:
THURMAN LEE MUNSON
CAPTAIN OF THE NEW YORK YANKEES
1976-1979
The back of the headstone simply had a number 15 etched into the granite.
"Daddy," Ryan said quietly. "He has your birthday."
"Yes, he did," I replied just as quietly.
"Was he the best you ever saw?" Ryan asked.
"No, but to me he was always the guy that played the game the right way and took pride in his work," I told him.
"Was he your favorite catcher?" Nick asked.
"Still is," I said.
"His empty locker is in the Yankees' Museum, in the Stadium," Ryan said aloud, to no one in particular.
"It was left empty, as a memorial, all those years at the old Stadium," I said. "They decided to move it to the museum so the fans could see it, when the new Stadium was built."
We stayed for about half an hour, quietly taking pictures, some of us remembering games from our youth, others thinking about what they had been told about the former captain. Right before we were about to leave, Ryan rushed into the van to get something.
"I have an idea," he told the rest of us.
When he came back, he had one of my old, well-worn Yankees' hats in his hand.
"I think we should leave this," he told me. "You've been waiting to come here since you were younger than me. This way, a part of you will always be here."
I was amazed at his thought process. This had never even occurred to me, yet here was my insightful twelve-year-old coming up with just the right gesture to try and soothe a wound that had never really closed. I couldn't have been more proud.
"That's a perfect idea," I told him, as I took the hat and dabbed at the corners of my now "leaking" eyes.
"But, I want you to be the one to put it up there."
"Why me?" he asked.
"Because it was your idea and this makes it about us, not just me. It's something we'll always share and the fact that you came up with such a great idea shows me that you understand what it means to me."
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| The Cap We Left In Memory |
The sense of reverential quiet lasted about five minutes, before I heard a familiar refrain from the back.
"When are we having lunch?" Nick asked.
"Yeah, I'm starved," Ryan let us know.
" I have an idea, make a right here," Rob said. "I'm taking you guys out to lunch to the place we've been talking about, I saw one on the way in."
"Where?" the boys asked, almost in unison.
"Where?" the boys asked, almost in unison.
"Steak and Shake," Rob replied. "You'll love it."
Steak and Shake is a restaurant chain located in the mid-western, eastern and southern sections of the country, known for their diner style motif and famous for their burgers and shakes. The company, which was founded by Gus Belt, a U.S. Marine veteran, in 1934, in Illinois, has grown to about 500 restaurants today.
When we walked in, it was like stepping back in time. The place was decorated in a traditional 1950s burger joint style, complete with waitresses and short order cooks dressed as if they stepped out of a "Happy Days" episode. The boys had quizzical looks on their faces, until they opened up the menus. At that point, Rob realized he had hit gold with his choice of lunch spots.
There were so many choices of burgers, singles, doubles, triples, and the toppings were enough to make my head spin. This was before I even got to looking at the shakes, which looked to be something out of an ice cream lovers dream.
Nick and Tony settled on regular cheeseburgers with fries, while Ryan had a Western BBQ 'N Bacon (topped with American cheese, hickory smoked bacon,sauteed onions and drenched in a BBQ sauce) with garlic fries, I had a Nacho Cheese Double (which was two burgers with red tortilla strips, jalapenos and nacho cheese sauce) with Parmesan cheese and herb fries and Rob ordered a bacon double with cracked sea salt and pepper fries. For drinks Nick, Tony, Ryan and I each ordered a mint chocolate chip shake, while Rob had the salted caramel pretzel one.
Lunch was more amazing than I can begin to describe. The burgers were cooked to perfection and the toppings only added to the mouth-watering deliciousness. Ryan's BBQ burger had a nice balance of smoky sweet sauce and salty bacon and onions, with melted cheese that dripped off with every bite. His garlic fries were cooked to just the right crispiness and there was enough garlic to flavor them, without overpowering the taste of the potatoes. My burger had the right blend of jalapenos to create a "burn," but not enough to make it uncomfortable, while the tortilla strips and cheese added the paradox of crunch and gooeyness. My Parmesan fries had a distinct flavor that I have never encountered before, while Rob's salt and pepper ones had just enough bite to leave you craving more, without having too much of either of the flavors. The shakes were undoubtedly the best I have ever had. Thick, rich, creamy and filled with mint chips, they were better designed for a spoon than a straw, while Rob's salted caramel pretzel was the perfect blend to satisfy the craving for both salt and sweetness.
After everyone gorged themselves, Rob surprised both boys with old-fashioned shake glasses as a souvenir
and we headed to our next stop: my friend Paul's house, about an hour away. He and his two sons would be joining us for that night's Indians/Tigers' game and it would give us a chance to catch up, after about 20 years of not seeing one another.
I grew up in Tenafly, a small little bedroom community about 10 miles from the George Washington Bridge, in northern New Jersey. It was here that I spent the first twenty years of my life, went to school, got into the occasional trouble and made a lot of good friends. Paul Malanga was definitely one of them.
I met Paul my freshman year in high school. To be honest, I can't remember how we met, or who introduced us, but we both loved baseball and the music of Bruce Springsteen. Now, back in those days I could be a little more of a pain in the ass than I am now, which Paul was about to find out.
As a senior, he was more than ready to finish up high school and head on off to college. I, on the other hand, was more interested in hanging out with an upperclassman every chance I got and poor Paul was the one I latched on to. I would follow him around the school every chance I got, asking inane questions and trying to make conversation. It got so bad that he would eventually hide out in the bathroom if he saw me coming down the hall, just to get a little peace and quiet. Eventually we came to a happy medium and spent the rest of the year and the summer talking baseball and music, before he headed off to school in Ohio.
After he left for college, we would get together during his breaks and over the summers, when he came back home and wasn't working. But eventually he moved back out to Ohio and we lost touch for a number of years, before reconnecting via Facebook.
Once we had our itinerary set for this trip I knew I had to get Paul and his family to the Cleveland game with us, but he had much more in mind. After telling him our plans, it took all of three seconds for him to offer up a night at his house, which I was very happy to accept. Once again, the generosity of a friend gave our trip a comfortable warm, feeling that made it all the more special.
Paul's house was set back, about 200 yards, off the road and was the perfect picture of the quaint country home; his dog even greeted us as we pulled into the driveway. I rang the doorbell and instantly the years melted away as my buddy came out and grabbed me in a big bear hug. After I introduced him to Ryan, Rob, Tony and Nick, he returned the favor by introducing us to his beautiful wife, Diane, and his two sons, Matt and Dan. Diane was the epitome of charm and hospitality, while the boys, both of whom bore a ridiculous resemblance to their father, showed off their impeccable manners and character by grabbing our bags, taking them upstairs and then coming back down and engaging us all in conversation.
After a few minutes of getting to know one another, Paul and the boys (Diane was staying home for a quiet evening) hopped in the van with us and we all headed towards Cleveland. At the beginning, the conversation centered around remembering the old days, talking about our families, discussing baseball and music and finally settling on the Indians and their history . Ryan, of course, was all ears as he loved hearing the background on all the different teams and their players.
There were so many choices of burgers, singles, doubles, triples, and the toppings were enough to make my head spin. This was before I even got to looking at the shakes, which looked to be something out of an ice cream lovers dream.
Nick and Tony settled on regular cheeseburgers with fries, while Ryan had a Western BBQ 'N Bacon (topped with American cheese, hickory smoked bacon,sauteed onions and drenched in a BBQ sauce) with garlic fries, I had a Nacho Cheese Double (which was two burgers with red tortilla strips, jalapenos and nacho cheese sauce) with Parmesan cheese and herb fries and Rob ordered a bacon double with cracked sea salt and pepper fries. For drinks Nick, Tony, Ryan and I each ordered a mint chocolate chip shake, while Rob had the salted caramel pretzel one.
Lunch was more amazing than I can begin to describe. The burgers were cooked to perfection and the toppings only added to the mouth-watering deliciousness. Ryan's BBQ burger had a nice balance of smoky sweet sauce and salty bacon and onions, with melted cheese that dripped off with every bite. His garlic fries were cooked to just the right crispiness and there was enough garlic to flavor them, without overpowering the taste of the potatoes. My burger had the right blend of jalapenos to create a "burn," but not enough to make it uncomfortable, while the tortilla strips and cheese added the paradox of crunch and gooeyness. My Parmesan fries had a distinct flavor that I have never encountered before, while Rob's salt and pepper ones had just enough bite to leave you craving more, without having too much of either of the flavors. The shakes were undoubtedly the best I have ever had. Thick, rich, creamy and filled with mint chips, they were better designed for a spoon than a straw, while Rob's salted caramel pretzel was the perfect blend to satisfy the craving for both salt and sweetness.
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| Steak and Shake |
After everyone gorged themselves, Rob surprised both boys with old-fashioned shake glasses as a souvenir
and we headed to our next stop: my friend Paul's house, about an hour away. He and his two sons would be joining us for that night's Indians/Tigers' game and it would give us a chance to catch up, after about 20 years of not seeing one another.
I grew up in Tenafly, a small little bedroom community about 10 miles from the George Washington Bridge, in northern New Jersey. It was here that I spent the first twenty years of my life, went to school, got into the occasional trouble and made a lot of good friends. Paul Malanga was definitely one of them.
I met Paul my freshman year in high school. To be honest, I can't remember how we met, or who introduced us, but we both loved baseball and the music of Bruce Springsteen. Now, back in those days I could be a little more of a pain in the ass than I am now, which Paul was about to find out.
As a senior, he was more than ready to finish up high school and head on off to college. I, on the other hand, was more interested in hanging out with an upperclassman every chance I got and poor Paul was the one I latched on to. I would follow him around the school every chance I got, asking inane questions and trying to make conversation. It got so bad that he would eventually hide out in the bathroom if he saw me coming down the hall, just to get a little peace and quiet. Eventually we came to a happy medium and spent the rest of the year and the summer talking baseball and music, before he headed off to school in Ohio.
After he left for college, we would get together during his breaks and over the summers, when he came back home and wasn't working. But eventually he moved back out to Ohio and we lost touch for a number of years, before reconnecting via Facebook.
Once we had our itinerary set for this trip I knew I had to get Paul and his family to the Cleveland game with us, but he had much more in mind. After telling him our plans, it took all of three seconds for him to offer up a night at his house, which I was very happy to accept. Once again, the generosity of a friend gave our trip a comfortable warm, feeling that made it all the more special.
Paul's house was set back, about 200 yards, off the road and was the perfect picture of the quaint country home; his dog even greeted us as we pulled into the driveway. I rang the doorbell and instantly the years melted away as my buddy came out and grabbed me in a big bear hug. After I introduced him to Ryan, Rob, Tony and Nick, he returned the favor by introducing us to his beautiful wife, Diane, and his two sons, Matt and Dan. Diane was the epitome of charm and hospitality, while the boys, both of whom bore a ridiculous resemblance to their father, showed off their impeccable manners and character by grabbing our bags, taking them upstairs and then coming back down and engaging us all in conversation.
After a few minutes of getting to know one another, Paul and the boys (Diane was staying home for a quiet evening) hopped in the van with us and we all headed towards Cleveland. At the beginning, the conversation centered around remembering the old days, talking about our families, discussing baseball and music and finally settling on the Indians and their history . Ryan, of course, was all ears as he loved hearing the background on all the different teams and their players.
Indians' History: League Park Til Mid-Century:
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| League Park |
The history of the Cleveland Indians dates back to the mid 1890s, when the team wasn't even located in Cleveland, but rather Grand Rapids, Michigan. At that time it was known as the Rustlers and played in the Western League, but moved to Cleveland in 1900 and renamed the Cleveland Lake Shores. It was at this time that Ban Johnson, who owned the league, changed the name to American League, but the group of teams in it were still considered minor league teams. In 1901, the American League broke away from its counterpart, the National League, and announced it would become a competing major league. It was also at this time that the Cleveland franchise changed its name from Lake Shores to Bluebirds.
In 1901 the fledgling American League, with eight franchises (Baltimore, Boston, Chicago White Stockings, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Washington), began play. The Bluebirds were playing their home games in League Park, which they would call home until 1946.
League Park was the original Cleveland Baseball Stadium, and hosted the Cleveland Spiders (1891-1899), the many incarnations of the Indians, the Buckeyes (Negro Leagues) and the Rams of the N.F.L. (1937, 1942, 1944-1945). The park opened in 1891 and was located at Lexington Ave and East 66th Street. It was able to accommodate 9,000 fans until 1921, when the seating capacity rose to 21,414 and by the time it closed in 1946 was seating 22,500. The dimensions of the park reflected the "Deadball Era", with Left-Field being 375 feet from Home Plate, Left-Center jumping to 415, Center-Field expanding to 460 feet, while Right-Center tapered off to 317 and falling off to 290 down the Right-Field line. The Indians would play here exclusively until 1932, when they moved some of their games to the newer and larger Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
The players on the Bluebirds were none too fond of the teams name, thinking it not "tough" enough for a baseball team, so they tried to unofficially change the name to Broncos for the 1902 season, but it never really caught on.
The team suffered from money problems for the first two years of its existence, which almost caused a relocation to either Pittsburgh or Cincinnati, but when Philadelphia A's star Napoleon (Nap) Lajoie was traded to the Bluebirds, attendance started to dramatically pick up. Lajoie was so popular that he was almost immediately named team captain and, in 1903, after a newspaper write-in campaign, the team's name was changed to the Naps, in his honor.
The team named Lajoie player-manager in 1905 and they improved in the standings, finishing a half game back for the pennant in 1908, but were back to their losing ways when he resigned from the position in 1909. He did, however, stay on as a player, though even that didn't help. Not even the return to Cleveland of the great Cy Young (1909) helped, and when ace pitcher Addie Joss died of tubercular meningitis in 1911 the team never recovered and spent the majority of the next ten years in or below third place. Even the tremendous hitting of Lajoie and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson couldn't keep the team afloat.
Between 1912 and 1915 changes were afoot for the Cleveland franchise. First there was a name change, to Molly McGuire's in 1912, (in reference to the coal miners who were seen as heroes for trying to unionize), and then in 1915 Lajoie was sold back to the A's, after he couldn't get along with manager Joe Birmingham. The franchise finished dead last in 1914 and 1915.
During the 1915 season, the team changed it's name for the final time. A new name was settled upon after owner Charles Sommers asked for help from the local newspapermen and they chose Indians, in reference to the Boston Braves, who went from last place on July 4th the year before, to winning the World Series. A legend that made the rounds for many years was that the franchise was honoring a Native American, Louis Sockalexis, who had played in Cleveland in the late 1890s. This however was untrue.
By this time, Somers was having financial difficulties and was forced to sell "Shoeless" Joe to the Chicago White Sox, in 1915, for $31,000. This was one of the largest cash transactions for a player at the time, but it didn't stop the hemorrhaging of money and Sommers was forced to sell the team at the end of the 1916 season to a Chicago railroad magnate named James "Jack" Dunn. At this time, the team would acquire three players that would make a big impact in the coming years; pitchers Stan Coveleskie, Jim Bagby and center- fielder Tris Speaker, who would become the player-manager in 1919, when the Indians would finish in second place behind the Chicago White Sox.
1920 saw the Indians again chasing the White Sox, who were plagued all year long by accusations that they had "thrown" the 1919 World Series to Cincinnati, but before that came to a boil something far more disastrous (up until then) happened: a player was killed during a game.
On August 16th, with the Indians trailing Chicago, they came to New York, to play a series against the Yankees at the Polo Grounds. In the top of the fifth inning, Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman came to the plate, facing Yankees' submarine-style pitcher, Carl Mays. At this time in baseball history, it was perfectly legal to scuff-up/stain-up a ball with dirt, tobacco juice or sandpaper, which led to the ball being both hard to see for the batter and even harder to control for the pitcher. This practice is believed to have played a direct impact on the day's event.
According to people at the ballpark that day, Chapman was known to hang over the plate, but he never attempted to get out of the way of Mays' pitch. Witnesses say that the sound of the ball striking Chapman's skull was so loud that Mays thought it had been hit to him, so fielded the ball and threw on to Wally Pipp, at first base, for the out.
Chapman never took a step out of the batters box, instead collapsing to the ground with blood flowing out of his left ear. The umpire immediately called for medical assistance and eventually Chapman was able to stand. However he could not speak coherently and was unable to walk on his own for more than a few steps. Chapman was helped off the field and taken to St. Lawrence Hospital, where he died twelve hours later from a fractured skull.
The Indians won the game, 4-3, but at a large price. Joe Sewell replaced Chapman at shortstop and went on to have a Hall of Fame career, which ironically concluded years later with the Yankees. In tribute to Chapman the Indians' players wore black arm bands and a bronze plaque was designed in his honor. The plaque, which reads "He Lives In The Hearts Of All That Knew Him," was dedicated and hung in League Park, moved to Municipal Stadium, and now resides in Heritage Park in Progressive Field.
A month later, with the Indians fighting for the pennant with the Yankees and the White Sox, the "Black Sox Scandal" finally boiled over. Rumors of having "thrown" the 1919 World Series had been dogging the Sox since the previous winter, and in late September of 1920 a Grand Jury was called to investigate. Even with the two teams in a virtual deadlock, White Sox owner Charles Comiskey suspended eight of his players (Eddie Cicotte, Oscar "Happy" Felsch, Arnold "Chick" Gandil, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Fred McMullin, Charles "Swede" Risberg, George "Buck" Weaver and Claude "Lefty" Williams), in an attempt to "get in front" of the negative publicity. After the suspensions, the Indians went on to overtake the White Sox and hold off the Yankees, in winning its first American League Pennant and facing off against the Brooklyn Robins in the World Series.
The 1920 World Series was played in a best of nine format, with the Indians, led by the pitching of Coveleskie (three wins) and Bagby (one win), winning Games 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7 to capture their first Championship. The Series also marked the first World Series grand slam (Cleveland's Elmer Smith), the only World Series triple play (unassisted by Cleveland's Bill Wambsganss) and the first World Series homer by a pitcher (Cleveland's Jim Bagby), all occurring in Game 5. It would also mark the last World Series, until 1980, to feature two teams that had never won a championship. Unfortunately for Cleveland, it would also be their last championship for twenty-eight years.
The decade of the 1920s was not a kind one for Cleveland. The players that brought them to the heights of 1920, Bagby, Speaker, Colveleskie were aging and there was a new powerhouse in the game. The New York Yankees, led by super-star Babe Ruth, were shattering offensive records and winning multiple championships, while the Indians, except for two second-place finishes in 1921 and 1926, would find themselves continual cellar-dwellers.
By the 1930s the Indians had scratched their way to the middle of the pack, never finishing too low, but never above third or fourth place. In 1932, the team decided to move its home games from League Park to the new Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
The reasoning behind the need for a new stadium was a simple one; the city of Cleveland thought that a new ballpark would improve commerce in the downtown area and help attract more fans to the game, bringing more money to the team. The official groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 30, 1930 and the stadium was opened a year later, on July 1, 1931. Its first sporting event, a boxing heavyweight championship match between Max Schmeling and Young Stribling, was held two days later.
The stadium was built primarily for baseball, but was also home to the N.F.L's Cleveland Browns (1946-1995) and Cleveland Rams (1937, 1939-1941 and 1945), the A.F.L.'s Cleveland Rams (1936), the North American Soccer League's Cleveland Stokers (1967-1968) and the NCAA's "Great Lakes Bowl", in 1947.
As far as seating was concerned, Municipal Stadium did have the ability to pack in the patrons for both baseball and football. At the time of its opening, in 1931, the park sat 78,811 fans for a ballgame and while the seating capacity would fluctuate over the years, it would never dip below 74,000. For football, which always had more seats, Municipal Stadium would seat anywhere from 83,000 (1932) to 78,512 (1995). Though seats were added and subtracted over the years, the field dimensions never changed; 322 feet to Left-Field, 385 to Left-Center, 400 to Center, 385 to Right-Center and 322 in Right.
The first Indians' game held here was on July 31, 1932, when the Indians lost a 1-0 game to the Philadelphia A's and Lefty Grove. This game brought out over 80,000 fans, which at the time became a Major League record. The team would play all of its home games at Municipal Stadium through the 1933 season, but as the Great Depression deepened, the attendance decreased and the Indians moved most of their games back to League Field. Starting in 1936, however, the team decided to split its schedule between the two parks, which would last until they formally moved back to Municipal Stadium after the 1936 season for Sunday and holiday games. By 1939, they were playing night games there as well, because League Park did not have lighting to allow for this newest trend in baseball. By 1940, the team would be playing most of it's games here and would officially call Municipal Stadium home after the 1946 season.
The team itself was a middling one for the decade of the 1930s. As previously mentioned, they never finished above 3rd and only fell to fifth once, in 1936. They were also under .500 one time during this span as well, in 1933, when they finished 75-76. During this time, however, they would bring in a pitcher whose name would become synonymous with the franchise forever: Bob Feller.
Feller was born on an Iowa farm, in 1918 and groomed to be a ballplayer at an early age. His father, William, changed his crop from corn to wheat, as it was less intensive and he could play catch with young Bob every day. By the age of eight, he was throwing curve-balls and by ten he was playing American Legion Baseball with much older men and William had built a baseball diamond on the farm to allow for more time for his son. By the time Bob reached high school he was being scouted intensely by Major League teams and by the age of sixteen, in 1936, he was signed by the Indians and brought right up to Cleveland.
Feller made his first appearance against the Washington Senators on July 19, 1936, at the age of seventeen, and a month later he made his first professional start, against the St Louis Browns. In that game, Feller struck out the first three batters in the game and went on to record fifteen that afternoon. Two weeks later, he tied a Major League record by fanning seventeen in a game. He would finish the season 5-3 with 76 strike-outs in 62 innings, before heading back to high school for his senior year.
Feller would graduate from high school the following April, which was broadcast nationally over the radio. He was undoubtedly the most famous person under twenty in the nation at this time. Unfortunately, an arm injury shelved him for the first half of the season, but he came back strong in the second half, finishing 9-7 with 150 strike-outs in 148 innings. Over the next two years Feller would go 41-20 with 486 strike-outs. Unfortunately, he alone could not change the Indians' fortunes and the team struggled when he did not pitch.
As the 1940s began Feller was clearly the ace of the league and pitched the Indians within one game of the American League pennant, when he provided 27 of the team's 89 wins, even throwing a no-hitter on his opening start. Unfortunately, he lost the last game of the season to the Tigers, who claimed the title by one game over Cleveland.
The team fell flat in 1941, finishing fourth with a 75-79 record, with Feller providing exactly one third of the team's wins. This would be the last time the fans of Cleveland would see Feller until August of 1945, as he would enlist in the United States Navy on December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The war years would not be kind to the Indians as they also lost Ken Keltner and Ray Mack to military service as well. During this time the team went 302-304 and finished fourth, third, sixth and fifth respectively.
1946 brought Feller back for a full year, as well as a new owner, Bill Veeck, who teamed with investors such as Bob Hope and former Tigers' star Hank Greenberg to purchase the franchise. Veeck was known for his promotional stunts that fans would love, but fellow owners would despise. One of his first major changes was to take the team out of the smaller League Park and move it back into the huge Municipal Stadium on a full time basis. The team's fortunes didn't change at once; even though Feller would once again go twenty games over .500 in 1946/1947 (46-26), they finished fourth and sixth, but they did start to add players that would take them to the next level. One such player was Larry Doby.
Doby, who played for the Negro League team Newark Eagles, became the second man to break the color barrier, eleven weeks after Jackie Robinson did so with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Doby, who at the age of 23, played a flawless center-field and became the first player to go directly from the Negro Leagues to the Major Leagues. He would join a team that already had pitchers Feller, Bob Lemon and Gene Berden, third baseman Ken Keltner, second baseman Joe Gordon and outfielder Lou Boudreau, and make it ready to make the jump to the next level.
The 1948 season would see the Indians battle the Boston Red Sox from Opening Day to the final game of the season for the American league pennant. The Indians would win the pennant by one game on the strength of a "down year" for Feller, who finished with 19 wins, but it was "rookie Satchel Paige," who Veeck brought to Cleveland in July, who pushed them over the top.
Paige had been an ace pitcher in the Negro Leagues for over twenty years by the time he was called to
Cleveland. Baseball historians suggest he might have been the greatest pitcher that ever played the game, but he was 42 by the time he was given a shot. Had baseball integrated a decade earlier, Paige most certainly would have been one of, if not the, first black player to come to the Major Leagues. Despite the injustice of the times, Paige took the mound for his first start on July 15, 1948 and proceeded to beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 8-5. Paige would finish the year 6-1, with a 2.48 ERA, with 2 shutouts and 43 strike-outs in almost 73 innings pitched. Considering the Indians needed all six of his wins to finish one game ahead of Boston (after a one game playoff), the "old man" was a necessary pickup and Veeck had the last laugh on the other owners that thought Paige would be another of Veeck's publicity stunts.
The 1948 World Series would pit the Indians against the other team from Boston, the Braves, who finished 91-62 and 6.5 games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Braves were led by star pitchers Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain, who won 39 games between them, as well as pitcher Johnny Antonelli and infielders Alvin Dark and Eddie Stanky. This Series was the first that would be broadcast nationally on television and would be the only World Series from 1947 until 1959 to not include one of the three New York teams.
The Braves shocked the Indians with a 1-0 victory in Game 1, where Sain out-pitched Feller, but the Indians came back to win Games 2, 3 and 4 before the Braves won Game 5, again beating Feller. Game 6 saw the Indians jump out to a 4-1 lead and hold on for a 4-3 Series-winning victory. The two teams each scored 17 runs, but the Indians spread them out, while the Braves scored 11 in one game, which was the difference in the series. Cleveland had its second World Series Championship, but no one could know at the time that it would be their last.
1949 and 1950 saw the Indians return to the previous decade's form, as opposed to the previous year's. In 1949 the team stayed in the race for most of the year, but they could not replicate their 1948 magic and eventually fell to third place. This was also Veeck's last year as team owner, as he was going through a messy divorce and was forced to sell the team to an insurance magnate, Ellis Ryan. 1950 was even worse as the team fell back to fourth place and was never really in contention all year.
1951-1953 saw the Indians' bounce back and finish in second each year, but they couldn't overtake the New York Yankees, who were in the midst of five straight World Series Championships (1949-1953). Feller, by this time, was entering the twilight of his career, going 22-8, 9-13 (the first losing season of his career) and 10-7.
In 1954, the Indians set a record that has yet to be broken with a winning percentage of .721. The team went 111-43 and needed every win they could garner as they outlasted the Yankees, who finished with 103. The 1954 team, comprised of players such as pitchers Feller, Bob Lemon, Early Wynn and Mike Garcia, outfielders Minnie Minosa and Larry Doby and infielders Luke Easter and Bobby Avila, were the prohibitive favorites against the National League Champion New York Giants.
The Giants made it to the Series having held off the Brooklyn Dodgers, who finished 5 games back. The Giants were back in the Series for the second time since 1951, having lost to the Yankees, and were led by centerfielder Willie Mays, pitchers Johnny Antonelli, Sal Maglie, Hoyt Wilmhelm and Don Liddle, as well as infielders Alvin Dark, Whitey Lockman and outfielder Monte Irvin.
Game One seemed to set the tone for the Series and is most remembered for "The Catch", by Willie Mays. In the top of the eighth inning, the score was tied 2-2, with Cleveland batter Vic Wertz at the plate and runners on first and second. The Indians' batter, Wertz, worked the count to 2-1 and drove Maglie's next pitch into the deepest part of center-field, for what was a sure triple and possible inside-the-park home run. Giants outfielder Willie Mays turned his back to the plate, ran at a full sprint for the farthest reaches of the cavernous center-field and made an improbable running, over-the-shoulder, catch 420 from home plate, before firing the ball back into the infield keeping the runners from scoring. This play saved the game and is widely credited as being the turning point in the Series, which the Giants would go on to win in a four game sweep. It would be the last time the Indians would see a World Series game, without a ticket, for over forty years.
The Indians were looking to build off their 1954 season and rinse the bad taste of being swept out of the
World Series out of their mouth, but the New York Yankees had other plans. Though the Indians won 93 games in 1955 and 88 in 1956, they came in second to the Yankees both times. 1955 and 1956 also marked the last two years for Bob Feller as well. The fire-balling right-hander went 4-4 and 0-4 in his last two years, pitching primarily out of the bull-pen and announced his retirement on December 28th, 1957. Feller would leave the game with a record of 266-162, an ERA of 3.25, a winning percentage of .621, 12 one hitters and 2,581 strikeouts. He would be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame with Jackie Robinson in 1962, as the first first-ballot Hall of Famers since the original class of 1936. An era of Indians' baseball had officially ended.
Between Feller's retirement and 1994 the team saw very little success on the field. They would see only two seasons in which they placed as high as third (2nd in 1959 and 3rd in 1968), while they finished fourth seven times, fifth eight times, and sixth or below eighteen times. The problems all stemmed from the front office, which continually traded away young talent and got very little, if anything, in return.
After the 1957 season, the Indians hired Frank Lane to be their general manager. Lane had traded away Roger Maris to the Kansas City A's (1958), Minnie Minoso to the White Sox for Norm Cash (1958), then trade Cash (before he ever played a game for Cleveland), to Detroit (still 1958). But the one that Lane would never be forgiven for occurred in 1960, when he shipped off Rocky Colavito.
Colavito was a fan favorite in Cleveland in 1960, he had been the A.L. Home Run Champion the year before and his hard work, fan-friendly attitude and fun-loving nature endeared him to the city. (In fairness to Lane, he did trade him for the A.L. Batting Champion, Harvey Kuenn, of the Tigers.) Colavito would go on to hit thirty home runs four times and make three All Star Teams in Detroit and Kansas City, while Kuenn would play one season for Cleveland before being moved to San Francisco for Johnny Antonelli and Willie Kirkland. Years later, a Cleveland writer, Terry Pluto, would pen a book on the many years of ineptitude of the Indians, entitled "The Curse of Rocky Colavito."
If this wasn't bad enough, Lane, later that year, traded managers with the Tigers, sending Joe Gordon to Detroit in exchange for Jimmy Dykes. Lane was shown the door after the 1961 season, but the poor trades that had doomed the team for years continued. In 1965, Cleveland sent Tommy John to the White Sox (1965) and a year later sent 1966 Rookie of the Year Tommy Agee there as well, which brought back Colavito.
By the 1970s ownership issues, as well as bad trades, were hampering the team. In 1963, Daley sold the team to an investment group headed by Lane's replacement G.M., Gabe Paul. Paul in turn, sold the team three years later to Vernon Stouffer, who was famous for his frozen food empire. Unfortunately, Stouffer had some serious financial setbacks, which left him cash poor, and the team was rumored to be heading to New Orleans. In 1972, after a group led by Cleveland shipping baron George Steinbrenner and former Indian Al Rosen was rejected by Stouffer in their bid to purchase the team, it was sold to a group led by Cleveland Barons and Cleveland Cavaliers' owner, Nick Mileti. Steinbrenner went on to purchase the New York Yankees and bring them back to prominence, leaving Cleveland fans to wonder what might have been.
Regardless of who owned the team during the 1970s, the Indians continued to trade away players who would become stars for other teams. Dennis Eckersley was sent to Boston; Chris Chambliss, Dick Tidrow and Graig Nettles were sent to the Yankees and bolstered their World Championship core in 1977 and 1978; and Buddy Bell was shipped off to the Texas Rangers. The one trade that did work out for Cleveland was when they sent fireball pitcher "Sudden" Sam McDowell to San Francisco for future Hall of Famer Jim "Gaylord" Perry. Perry would win 39% of Cleveland's games during his tenure (1972-1975), but his inability to get along with management led to his being sent out of town, to Texas, during the 1975 season. Perry would be Cleveland's last 20-game winner, until Cliff Lee in 2008.
The one bright spot for Cleveland, during the dark days of the 70s, was the hiring of M.L.B.'s first black manager, Frank Robinson, in 1975. In his three years at the helm, Robinson guided the Indians to a 231-248 record, before being let go after 1977.
There was little more to cheer for in the 1980s, as the team continually finished in the lowest third of theMajor League," which lampooned the organization for its three decades of ineptitude.
American League and sported a record of 710-848. There were a few highlights, such as, Len Barker's perfect game against Toronto and the emergence of 1980 A.L. Rookie of the Year "Super" Joe Charboneau. Charboneau won over the city not just with his on-field play, but with his off-field eccentricities as well. He was rumored to open beer bottles with his eye sockets, dyed his hair all sorts of weird colors, did his own dental work and once fixed a broken nose with a pair of pliers and a shot of whiskey. Unfortunately, he suffered from chronic back injuries and was out of the game after the 1983 season, while Barker was also dogged by injuries and never became the dominant starter the Indians had hoped for. Things hit rock bottom when one Cleveland sportswriter wrote that the best thing that came out of the Indians' organization since the 1950s was the comic movie "
The first half of the 1990s offered very little on-field relief for the Indians as they would finish fourth twice, sixth once and seventh once, but changes were on the near horizon. In 1989 the Indians traded with the Padres and brought back catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. and Carlos Baerga. Alomar would go on to be the 1990 Rookie of the Year and the first ever rookie starting catcher for the All Star Team, while Baerga would become a three-time All Star during his time in Cleveland. Alomar and Baerga would be joined by Albert Belle, veterans Dennis Martinez, Orel Hershiser, Eddie Murray and youngsters Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and Charles Nagy to form the nucleus of a team that would rocket Cleveland back to the top by the middle of the decade. They would also be getting a new home, by 1994, as well.
Throughout the decade of the 1980s, the owners had been pushing for a new home for the Indians and by 1990 Cuyahoga County passed a tax on the sale of alcohol and cigarettes, which would be used to fund new homes for the Indians and the N.B.A's Cavaliers. After two years of negotiations ground was broken in January of 1992 and was completed two and a quarter years later, in April of 1994.. The facility was named Jacobs Field, after owners Richard and David Jacobs, who paid $91 million of the total cost ($175 million) to fund the project.
The stadium was hailed as a masterpiece of architectural engineering and followed closely on the heels of Camden Yards, which had opened in Baltimore a few years earlier. The field is 12 acres of Kentucky Bluegrass and is ringed with 19 "toothbrush-style" lighting towers, (six behind first base, six behind third base, four in right-field and three behind the scoreboard. The ballpark is three-tiered and has seats everywhere except center-field (where there is nothing), left-field (where there are bleachers) and from dugout to dugout on the second and third tiers (luxury boxes, more on that later). Unlike most ballparks, Jacobs Field has the home team's dugout on the third base side.
There have been some renovations to the park; in 1997, 488 seats were added to the end of the bleachers; in 2004 a huge video board 36 feet tall by 149 feet wide (the largest at the time) was installed and a new out-of-town scoreboard was installed along the left field wall; and in 2007, the team became the first in the Major League to install solar panels and they converted a picnic area beyond the left-field wall into "Heritage Park," which serves as a living history to the franchise, featuring plaques, dedicated bricks and other historical markers.
The fans loved the new park and came out in droves to see it. In fact, between the park itself and the team that the Indians put out on the field, Jacobs Field sold out every game from June 12, 1995 to April 4, 2001, 455 straight games. The highest attendance was calculated at 45, 274 (1997) and the lowest was 8,726 (2011). The team flourished in their new home and gave the fans something to be proud about. In their first season at "The Jake," the Indians drew slightly less than two million fans and finished second in their division, one game behind the Chicago White Sox. Unfortunately, the season was cut short, and the World Series was cancelled, due to a players' strike in August.
1995 was a shortened season, as MLB and the player's union came together to end the labor dispute and start the season at the end of April. 1995 also served as the first year in which the new Wild Card system was being used, but it wouldn't be needed by the Indians, who breezed through the regular season with 100 wins, easily outdistancing the next highest team, Atlanta, with 90. The Indians dispatched the Red Sox in three games in the first-ever ALDS, while the Mariners came back to beat the Yankees in five. The Indians then beat Seattle four games to two in the ALCS. to move on to their first World Series, against the Braves who had swept both the Dodgers and the Reds in their two series, since 1954.
The Indians got on the board first in Game 1, but Atlanta tied the score in the second. The Braves would score two more in the seventh and that would be all they needed, as Greg Maddux would pitch a two-hit complete game victory and give the Braves a 1-0 lead in the series.
In Game 2, the Indians would again score the first runs of the game, two in the second, before the Braves would tie it up in the third and go ahead in the sixth with two more runs. The big play of the game came when Manny Ramirez was picked off first, in the eighth inning with the Indians down by one. The Braves would take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.
The Indians fought back, taking Games 3 and 5, but they proved no match for Atlanta, who finished off Game 6 with a 1-0, one hit, shut-out and took their first World Series crown since 1957, which would make them the first team to win three championships for three different cities (Boston in 1914 and Milwaukee in 1957). It is also worth noting that even though Atlanta won in six games, five of them had been decided by one run, which showed that despite losing Cleveland could have just as easily have prevailed.
In 1996 the Indians, once again, led all of baseball with 99 wins. They were determined to not only get back to the World Series, but win it for the first time since 1948. However, in the first round of the playoffs, the ALDS, the Indians ran face-first into the Baltimore Orioles, who upset them in four games. A World Series return would have to wait.
In 1997, the Indians took a step back, but still won their third straight AL Central Division crown and took on the defending World Champion New York Yankees in the ALDS. The series was a see-saw affair that saw the two teams tied at two games apiece, after Sandy Alomar, Jr. homered to tie it the eighth inning of Game 4 and Omar Vizquel won it on a single in the bottom of the ninth, heading into the fifth and deciding contest. The Indians jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but the Yankees pulled to within one, before Jose Mesa got Bernie Williams to fly out to deep center-field to end the game and the series. The Indians would then upset the AL leading Baltimore Orioles in six games to return to the Fall Classic, where they would face the Florida Marlins.
The Marlins were a heavy underdog, as they squeaked into the playoffs as a Wild Card and marched through the Giants in a three-game sweep and then upset the favorite Atlanta Braves in six. Florida would become the youngest franchise ever (five years) to reach the World Series and the first to do so as a Wild Card.
Despite being the prohibitive favorite the Indians found themselves playing from behind, losing Games 1, 3 and 5, but rebounding to tie the series with wins in Games 2, 4 and 6 and forcing a deciding Game 7, in Florida.
The Indians jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but couldn't hold it as the Marlins would score one in the seventh and another, with one out in the bottom of the ninth, to tie it. Neither team would score in the tenth and in the bottom of the eleventh the Marlins won, on an Edgar Renteria two-out single over the outstretched glove of Indians' pitcher, Nagy. Once again the Indians had fallen just short.
In 1998 and 1999 the Indians would again win the Central Division, but would fall short in the playoffs. In '98 they were beaten by a Yankees' team that would go on and win the World Series with a record of 125-50, while in 1999 they would blow a two-games-to-none lead over the Boston Red Sox and lose the ALDS, three games to two.
After a "down year" in 2000 (Cleveland would finish second in the AL Central), the Indians would bounce back to finish first in the AL Central, but they ran into a Mariners' team that would finish the year with 116 wins, and be bounced out of the playoffs in five games.
After the 2001 playoffs the Indians started on a rebuild, which would see new GM Mark Shapiro trade away popular veterans such as Roberto Alomar and Bartolo Colon for youngsters that included Alex Escobar, Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner and Coco Crisp, while Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez had already left the organization. Between 2002 and 2006 the Indians would finish anywhere from fourth to second place and never make the playoffs.
In 2007 the Indians had a banner year, going 96-66 and finishing first in the AL Central and when they beat the Yankees in the ALCS and went up three games to one over the Red Sox in the ALCS it seemed the team was riding high. Unfortunately that was the high water mark, as Boston climbed out from the hole, came back to win the ALCS and then the World Series. Though they were disappointed, the Indians felt they were now back to where they were a decade before. Sadly, this was not to be.
Between 2008 and 2012 the team would again finish in the middle of the pack, anywhere from second to fourth, and this would be considered another "rebuilding" era. During this time, the Indians would change GM's (Shapiro would become the organization's president, while Chris Antonelli would move to the GM's office), as well as managers (Eric Wedge being replaced with Manny Acta, who was eventually replaced by past hero Sandy Alomar, Jr. who gave way to Terry Francona for the 2013 season) and players. On the way out were stars such as Cliff Lee, C.C. Sabathia, Victor Martinez and Shin-Shoo Choo, while coming back were Nick Swisher, Michael Bourne, Bryan Shaw, Matt Albers, Jason Giambi and Scott Kazmir. Also during this time (2008), the name of the park was changed as well. On January 11, it was announced that insurance company Progressive had purchased the naming rights to the park, so the Indians would now be playing at Progressive Field. The name was originally going to be Progressive Park, but it was quickly found out that another facility in Iowa was using that moniker, so Progressive Field it was.
As we pulled into downtown Cleveland, Paul noted that "The Tribe" was in second place and fighting the
powerful Detroit Tigers, who we were seeing that night, for the AL Central lead. It was going to be a fun night.
Tony D'Angelo
Much to Ryan's unhappiness, I made him stop outside the gate to get his picture taken with the giant statue of Bob Feller. After realizing he wasn't getting in (I held the tickets), he acquiesced and took the picture with me. Amazingly enough, he then wanted a picture with Nick as well. I shook my head and laughed as we entered the ballpark and got our bobbleheads.
"Wow, look at that," he said, pointing.
"Did you know the Indians had a batter killed in a game?" he asked incredulously.
As we stood behind home plate and looked out over the field, the ball
park looked cavernous. It was 325 feet down the left-field line, but looking up at the huge scoreboard made it seem that we were at the bottom of a canyon. It is 370 to left-center, 405 to center and 410 to deepest center, but the city of Cleveland over the back wall makes it look even further out. Right-center was 375 and tapered to 325 down the right-field line, but looking up at those massive three decks again made me feel very small.
After taking a group shot, I decided I needed one with my buddy. So,
Paul and I posed for the first picture of the two of us taken in over twenty years. All in all, I think we look pretty good and it's a picture I'll always treasure.
Thankfully what Ryan wanted was on our side of the ballpark; unfortunately a line of six people took 30 minutes to go through. Needless to say, I was cranky and ill-tempered when we go to the front of the line, but seeing this, Rob stepped in front of me and placed the order so I didn't really have to speak. As I watched the man create this monster concoction, I could see exactly why it appealed to my son. A half-pound grilled pork and beef hot dog, smothered in spicy pulled pork and topped with coleslaw and served with a humongous amount of chips. Once our order was filled, we trudged back upstairs to our seats and barely made it back before the first pitch was thrown.
"Hey," I heard as I bit down a second time. "The plan was for you to get one bite. If you wanted more than
that, you should have gotten one for yourself too."
"Hey, Swisher's playing right field," he motioned towards Nick Swisher, jogging to his position.
As Swisher took his place in right-field, for the top of the second inning, the five of us stood up.
"NI-ICK SWISH-ER," clap, clap, clap, clap, clap..
"NI-ICK SWISH-ER," clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.
"NI-ICK SWISH-ER," clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.
We were the only ones chanting, so the Cleveland fans didn't know what to make of us, but apparently it worked as Swisher turned around. He scanned the crowd, saw me thump the Yankees' logo on my left breast, smiled, pointed at us and gave a smart, crisp, military salute, just as he always did for the fans at Yankee Stadium.
"Did you see that?" Nicky said, awestruck.
"He saw us, he heard us," Ryan said, equally dumbfounded.
"That was waaaaaay cool," Rob said to the boys as he high-fived them.
The Indians' fans around us were abuzz. They smiled, joked, high-fived the boys and just when everything started to die down, Ryan started up a "LETS GO INDIANS" chant at the top of his lungs, which set off the whole section. At that moment, I do believe they adopted us as one of their own.
As the top of the second started, a light mist began to fall. It wasn't heavy enough to bother us, at first, but enough to make us concerned, as we knew heavier stuff was on the way.
The Tigers got on the board in the second when Victor Martinez stroked a one out double to left and Jhonny Peralta followed that up with another double, this one to center, scoring Martinez. A one-run deficit was not enough to dampen the crowd's enthusiasm and they were determined to help the Indians get on the board in the bottom of the inning.
After Swisher grounded out, both Brantley and Avila singled. However, things did not look good as the next batter, Mark Reynolds, whiffed for the second out of the inning. The rain started to fall a little heavier as Lonnie Chisenhall strode to the plate and we all agreed we were leaving our seats and going under the overhang after the inning to try and stay dry. We didn't have to wait long, as the rain grew so heavy that the game was halted for twenty minutes and we sought cover immediately.
After the delay, Scherzer came back out to finish the inning. As Chisenhall looked at the first pitch, for a strike, the Indians pulled a double steal, putting runners on second and third. A single would bring both in and give Cleveland the lead, and that's just what happened as Chisenhall punched the ball to right field. The next batter, Yan Gomes, flew out to right, but the damage was done, the Indians had the lead and the crowd was going wild.
The teams traded zeros in the third, but with one out in the top of the fourth Tigers' left-fielder Matt Tuiasosopo homered into the right field stands to tie the game. Little did we know, but this would be the last scoring done by either team for quite a while.
Both teams had their chances, whether it was from walks, hits or batters hit by pitches, but no one could bring in the go-ahead run.
After the sixth inning, we decided to head back up the section and under cover as the drizzle had turned back into rain and we were soaking wet and getting chilled. We grabbed our stuff and found some standing room for the five of us. Ryan and Nick, however, were not interested in moving just yet. They had seen the "Indians' Girls" come out to throw t-shirts to the crowd and keep them engaged. Imagine our surprise when both boys came back with shirts and smiles. Who doesn't love free stuff?
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Swisher came to the plate and the boys were hoping for a big blast that would give the Indians the lead, heading into the ninth. What they got, however, was a lesson in what not to do at the plate.
Swisher sent a ball, softly, down the third base line. Expecting it to roll foul, he stood in the batter's box, instead of running to first. Unfortunately for him, the ball stayed fair and catcher Pena ran halfway to third, grabbed the ball, ran back and tagged a stunned Swisher, for the out.
"What the hell was that?" Ryan wanted to know, dumbstruck.
"Why didn't he run?" Nicky countered with.
"You know what that would get you on our team back home?" I asked them both.
"Benched," they both said, at the same time.
"What a dope," Tony said to Rob, who just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
Right at this moment, the boys decided they had to have ice cream in an Indians' helmet. Tony obliged them, but the only pace to get this was on the main level, behind home plate. So, off they went to get their treat, while Rob and I held our warm, dry, standing spots.
The Tigers did nothing in the top of the ninth, going down 1-2-3, but the Indians had a chance to win in in the bottom of the inning. Tony and the boys returned just in time for the Indians' at bat, but Tony was not a happy camper at having to have gone all that way for ice cream.
"I can't believe there's no ice cream up here for the kids," he complained.
"You're preaching to the choir," I told him. "We went through the same thing when we wanted the dog at the beginning of the game. It's almost like they are telling us that we can't afford the 'good food' being that we're not paying for a premium seat. Not cool."
We settled back in to watch the bottom of the ninth, but we were all annoyed.
Reynolds singled to lead off the inning and was immediately replaced by pinch runner Drew Stubbs. Everyone in the building was expecting Stubbs to be off at the first possible moment, but Indians manager Francona kept him anchored to the bag. Five pitches into the at bat, Tigers catcher Pena was charged with a passed ball and Stubbs trotted down to second.
"Why the hell didn't he have him steal?" Tony wondered aloud. "He would have been on third with the passed ball and there would be no outs. A sac fly would then win the game."
They boys were now screaming at the top of their lungs, chanting "LETS GO TRIBE, LETS GO TRIBE", with the rest of the crowd. Ryan quickly ran over to the arts and crafts station and made up a poster that said just that. Apparently THAT is why you have an arts and crafts station at the ballpark.
No sooner had the words come out of Tony's mouth, when Chisenhall lofted a fly ball to center that would have won the game, but was now only an out. That sent Tony into a rant about Francona over-managing and costing himself a win. The next two batters struck out and flied out to kill the rally and send the game to extras. Free baseball is always good and this was no exception.
A good team will always take advantage of a second chance and the Tigers were no exception. In the top of the tenth, after Austin Jackson grounded out and Torii Hunter struck out, Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder both worked walks.
"This doesn't bode well," I said to Ryan. "Martinez is a line drive hitter, with power, and they only need a single to take the lead."
Just call me "Kreskin." Martinez laced a double into center-field, scoring both Cabrera and Fielder and giving the Tigers a 4-2 lead.
As the Indians came to bat in the bottom of the tenth, I wanted to start getting everyone close by. The game was either going to be won by the Tigers, or the Indians would walk-off with a win. I just didn't see this game going any further than the tenth. I turned to look at Rob and noticed that he only had one bag of souvenirs at his feet.
"Where's the second bag of stuff?" I asked.
"It's at my feet," he told me.
"No, it's not. There's only one bag there. Where'd the other one go?"
We looked around. We asked Tony, who was standing a few yards away, he had no idea. Someone had stolen one of the bags with the kids stuff in it. I went nutty.
"It's not bad enough we had to walk half way to Moscow to get a God-damn hot dog, or an ice cream helmet, but now some scumbag steals all the bobbleheads, the scorecards and the programs. Are you fucking kidding me?" I ranted.
Tony and Rob were mad as well, but they finally calmed me down to a level where I was merely incensed. We watched the Indians bring the winning run to the plate, with two outs, but Aviles struck out swinging to end the game.
I was pissed. The loss was bad enough, but we were cold, wet, tired and some jackwagon had stolen the kids' stuff on top of all that. I immediately sought out a security guard and told him what happened. They called ahead to guest services, gave them the run-down and sent us down there.
On our way down, we met up with Paul and the boys and told them what had happened. Amazingly enough, the same thing had happened to their bobbleheads, which further stoked my anger. I was in quite the mood when we arrived at guest services. The people there were as gracious as could be and replaced everything they could, but could not even get us two bobbleheads for the younger boys.
We walked back to the car, trying to put the disappointment of the loss and the thefts behind us. I was still mad, but it was fading. We would be going back to Progressive in the morning for a tour, and I would take it up with them again at that time.
The ride home took about an hour. The weather was poor and I didn't want to go too fast on unfamiliar roads. There was lots of yawning from the backseat, which turned into snoring when Nick fell asleep and the adults talked music, baseball and days gone by. I was in a better mood by the time we got back to Paul's.
When we got home, Diane and her mother were both up waiting for us. We sent the younger kids upstairs to clean up and get ready for bed, while we stayed behind and talked for about a half an hour. When I got upstairs, Ryan was still awake, waiting for me.
"Daddy, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," I told him.
"Why were you so mad that someone stole the stuff? The only thing we paid for was the scorecard, everything else was free."
I didn't have to pause before giving him my answer.
"Because it was your stuff and someone stole it from you. What we spent, or didn't spend, is not the reason I'm mad. Someone knew it wasn't theirs and they took it anyway, I would have been mad enough had it been mine, but this was yours and that really pissed me off. They stole from you, you're my kid, it upset you and that upset me. Does that make sense?"
"Perfect sense. Thank you"
"For what?" I asked.
"For always looking out for me, you're the best dad in the world."
All of a sudden he jumped down from the bed, gave me a huge hug and held on tight.
" I love you too, now get back to bed," I told him.
I didn't want him to see, or feel that my eyes were a little wet.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is located on Lake Erie, in the downtown section of Cleveland. It was established in 1983 and was opened on September 1, 1995. Many cities were considered, such as Detroit (home of Motown), New York, Cincinnati (home of King Records) and Memphis (home of Sun Studios and Stax Records), before Cleveland was chosen, because DJ Alan Freed supposedly coined the term "rock & roll" and promoted the new music, along with the fact that the first ever rock & roll concert (Freed's "Moondog Coronation Ball"), supposedly happened here on Friday, March 21, 1952.
When we walked in, Ryan was amazed at the size of the replica guitar, with all the signatures on it. We spent
about five minutes just looking for recognizable names and he found more than I ever expected.
The first thing Ryan did was grab a set of headphones and listen to Robert Johnson sing the blues. He then went from artist to artist doing the same, but decided in the end he preferred Johnson over all of them.
Ryan really started to get excited when we came to the individualexhibits. Bands such as the Beatles, the Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and the Doors would make his eyes light up and start him singing songs that he knew, to show us he knew who they were. His three favorite exhibits were; Springsteen (no surprise there), where we saw different stage outfits and guitars; Led Zeppelin, which was represented by a John Paul Jones outfit and a Jimmy Page guitar; and the Doors, where he found it fascinating that they had some of Jim Morrison's handwritten notes, on Doors stationary.
Once we got to the inductee floor, we saw the statue given to each new member and all searched the signature wall for our favorite artists, which included Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bruce Springsteen, Buddy Holly, Guns 'N Roses, the Doors, Ritchie Valens and Led Zeppelin.
By the time we got to the Rolling Stones' exhibit, the boys were a little antsy, but still interested. Ryan thought they were a little flamboyant with the costumes and the many different guitars, but decided that wouldn't make him not want to see them, or listen to their music.
On the way down to the gift shop, he grabbed my elbow and told me I had to take a picture of something he
found. As I turned the corner to see what he was so interested in, I had to laugh. Staring me right in the face was a life-sized photo of Grace Potter, on stage. I could see exactly what interested him. Apparently my son was growing up in more ways than one. It wouldn't be the first time on this trip he noticed a good-looking girl. Tony, Rob and I laughed, but made sure not to embarrass him.
The "Christmas Story" house is an actual home in the Tremont section of
Cleveland. It was used in the exterior shots of the neighborhood in the movie and was purchased by a developer and turned into a museum in 2004. The house is open to the public, for a small fee, and has been restored to look exactly as the inside of the house in the movie, leg lamp in the front window and all.
We stayed for a few minutes, looked around, and then headed back to the heart of the city, where we would be taking the ballpark tour. Ryan decided that it would be great fun to recite as many lines from the movie as he could remember on the way back. We all joined in for about five minutes, but then it grew old...to all but Ryan. He finally knocked it off when Nick bopped him over the head with a pillow.
We were then taken downstairs, under the stadium, to visit the indoor batting
cages. Here we saw one of the Indians taking some hacks in the cage, while rehabbing an injury. The boys thought it was really cool to see a major leaguer going through his routine and so did we.
Great Lakes Brewing Company is located at 2516 Market Avenue, in downtown Cleveland and is a full service brew-house and restaurant. You have your choice of indoor or outdoor dining and there are two floors to the restaurant, a bar area and a gift shop on the premises.
I can tell you that each of these meals was superb in it's makeup, flavor and presentation. The ribs had a smoky tang to them and the meat just melted off the bone, while the pulled pork sandwich had a slight bite to it, but that was offset by the coleslaw heaped on top. The Margherita pizza had a rich cheesy flavor, with a hint of basil and olive oil and a crisp, yet not charred crust and the grits were flavored with smoked Gouda, scallions and chorizo, while overflowing with tiger shrimp. I didn't get much of Ryan's burger, as I was afraid of getting my fingers too close to those teeth, but the smoky bacon was offset nicely by the fried onions and the tangy BBQ sauce. The pretzel bun was the perfect bread for this burger, because it soaked up the BBQ sauce, but never became damp and soggy.
The Toledo Mud Hens are the AAA team, in the International League, and serve as the affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. The Mud Hens have a long and storied history, dating back to 1886. At that time, the team was known as the "Swamp Angels" and played their games at Bay View Park, which was located near marshland that housed American Coots, which is a water fowl that also goes by the name Mud Hen, so the local press started calling the team that and it stuck.
From 1902-1907, the Mud Hens were a Single-A team and played in Armory Park and were in the American Association. From 1908-1945, they were a Double-A and Triple-A organization, affiliated with the New York Giants (1930), Cleveland Indians (1931, 1976-1977), Detroit Tigers (1934-1935, 1949-1951, 1987-Present), St. Louis Browns (1936-1948), Milwaukee Braves (1953-1955), New York Yankees (1955-1956), Philadelphia Phillies (1974-1975) and Minnesota Twins (1978-1986), while playing games at Swayne Field from 1909-1955, and Ned Skeldon Stadium from 1965-2001.
Because of scant success throughout their history, the Mud Hens were relocated to West Virginia during the 1952 season and another ball club came to Toledo. This club fared little better and was disbanded after three seasons. In 1965 baseball returned to Toledo, in the form of another Mud Hens team, and has been here ever since. The team has won division titles in 1967, 2002 and 2005-2007, while winning International League Championships in 1968, 2005 and 2006.
Over the years, some notable players who have come through Toledo, on their way to the Major Leagues were, Casey Stengel, Jim Thorpe, Joe McCarthy, Dazzy Vance, Hack Wilson, Bobby Murcer, Kirby Puckett and Kirk Gibson.
In early 2000 it was determined that the Mud hens needed a new home, so finances were secured, land was granted in downtown Toledo (406 Washington Street, two blocks from the Maumee River), Fifth Third Bank purchased the naming rights, and in 2002, Fifth Third Field was opened. The stadium seats 10,300 fans, and its dimensions are a symmetrical 320 to left-field, 400 to center and 320 to right. The ballpark hosted the 2006 AAA All Star Game and Home Run Derby and was rated as one of the best minor league parks in the country, by "Newsweek". In 2007 ESPN rated it one of the best places to see a game.
As we entered the park, the tarp was still on the field and it was announced that the game would start about 40 minutes late, as they prepared the field. This served us perfectly as it allowed us to stretch our legs, take some pictures, get our souvenirs and grab a bite and a drink, all before opening pitch.
I just kept walking.
"Last seat on the right," I said, ushering them into our row.
"No way!" Nick said, out loud.
"This is amazing," Ryan said, looking at me.
"Wow," was all Tony could say.
"Meh, they're OK," Rob said, sarcastically.
We sat down, four rows of the field, on the third base side, right above the Louisville Bats' dugout.
"Hey, we saw Louisville when we were in Columbus," Nick said to Tony.
"So, are they following us, or are we following them?" Tony wanted to know.
Nick gave his father a look that could only be construed as, "You didn't really ask that, did you?".
I just smiled and settled in for the first pitch.
The last thing we needed was another Motel 6 adventure on this trip. The first one was more than we were willing to deal with and we needed to make sure tonight went smoothly.
Bats 5, Mud Hens 3
Tony Packo's Cafe is a restaurant that began in the Hungarian section of Toledo, back in 1932. The signature dish is the "Hungarian Hot Dog," which is a sausage, twice the diameter and length of a conventional dog, covered in a spicy chili and mustard mix. Packo's became so popular in the Toledo area that they have adopted the slogan, "The place where man bites dog." The founder of the business, Tony Packo, passed away at age 55, in 1963, and the business was then run by his daughter, Nancy, until her passing in 2003.
Packo's shot to worldwide fame in the 1970s and 80s, when the restaurant was mentioned in multiple
episodes of the hit TV show, M*A*S*H, by character Maxwell Klinger, played by Toledo native Jamie Farr. Packo's would provide their signature dish to the M*A*S*H set on a regular basis and the actors and actresses have visited the restaurant many a time and provided signed memorabilia for the walls.
As we waited for the dogs, I grabbed my beer and wandered around the restaurant to see the memorabilia on the walls and the gift shop. There were many M*A*S*H pictures as well as historical photos of Toledo and its sports teams over the years. I even found a photo of the New York Islanders having Packo's as part of a Stanley Cup celebration in the early 80s.
By the time I got back to the table, the food had arrived. I couldn't believe the size of the portions, but readily dug in. It was as good as I had ever imagined it to be. The dogs, served on a warm buttered bun, had a garlicky taste, which was well complemented by the chili, onions, cheese and mustard, and the sausage casing had the perfect amount of "snap" in each bite. The chili had just enough "kick" to make you shake your head, but not enough to make it too hot and the "bite" of the onions, mixed with the blended cheeses made for a perfect balance.
"What the hell was that?" Tony asked, with a hint of worry in his voice.
League Park was the original Cleveland Baseball Stadium, and hosted the Cleveland Spiders (1891-1899), the many incarnations of the Indians, the Buckeyes (Negro Leagues) and the Rams of the N.F.L. (1937, 1942, 1944-1945). The park opened in 1891 and was located at Lexington Ave and East 66th Street. It was able to accommodate 9,000 fans until 1921, when the seating capacity rose to 21,414 and by the time it closed in 1946 was seating 22,500. The dimensions of the park reflected the "Deadball Era", with Left-Field being 375 feet from Home Plate, Left-Center jumping to 415, Center-Field expanding to 460 feet, while Right-Center tapered off to 317 and falling off to 290 down the Right-Field line. The Indians would play here exclusively until 1932, when they moved some of their games to the newer and larger Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
The players on the Bluebirds were none too fond of the teams name, thinking it not "tough" enough for a baseball team, so they tried to unofficially change the name to Broncos for the 1902 season, but it never really caught on.
The team suffered from money problems for the first two years of its existence, which almost caused a relocation to either Pittsburgh or Cincinnati, but when Philadelphia A's star Napoleon (Nap) Lajoie was traded to the Bluebirds, attendance started to dramatically pick up. Lajoie was so popular that he was almost immediately named team captain and, in 1903, after a newspaper write-in campaign, the team's name was changed to the Naps, in his honor.
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| Napoleon Lajoie |
Between 1912 and 1915 changes were afoot for the Cleveland franchise. First there was a name change, to Molly McGuire's in 1912, (in reference to the coal miners who were seen as heroes for trying to unionize), and then in 1915 Lajoie was sold back to the A's, after he couldn't get along with manager Joe Birmingham. The franchise finished dead last in 1914 and 1915.
During the 1915 season, the team changed it's name for the final time. A new name was settled upon after owner Charles Sommers asked for help from the local newspapermen and they chose Indians, in reference to the Boston Braves, who went from last place on July 4th the year before, to winning the World Series. A legend that made the rounds for many years was that the franchise was honoring a Native American, Louis Sockalexis, who had played in Cleveland in the late 1890s. This however was untrue.
By this time, Somers was having financial difficulties and was forced to sell "Shoeless" Joe to the Chicago White Sox, in 1915, for $31,000. This was one of the largest cash transactions for a player at the time, but it didn't stop the hemorrhaging of money and Sommers was forced to sell the team at the end of the 1916 season to a Chicago railroad magnate named James "Jack" Dunn. At this time, the team would acquire three players that would make a big impact in the coming years; pitchers Stan Coveleskie, Jim Bagby and center- fielder Tris Speaker, who would become the player-manager in 1919, when the Indians would finish in second place behind the Chicago White Sox.
1920 saw the Indians again chasing the White Sox, who were plagued all year long by accusations that they had "thrown" the 1919 World Series to Cincinnati, but before that came to a boil something far more disastrous (up until then) happened: a player was killed during a game.
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| Ray Champman |
According to people at the ballpark that day, Chapman was known to hang over the plate, but he never attempted to get out of the way of Mays' pitch. Witnesses say that the sound of the ball striking Chapman's skull was so loud that Mays thought it had been hit to him, so fielded the ball and threw on to Wally Pipp, at first base, for the out.
Chapman never took a step out of the batters box, instead collapsing to the ground with blood flowing out of his left ear. The umpire immediately called for medical assistance and eventually Chapman was able to stand. However he could not speak coherently and was unable to walk on his own for more than a few steps. Chapman was helped off the field and taken to St. Lawrence Hospital, where he died twelve hours later from a fractured skull.
The Indians won the game, 4-3, but at a large price. Joe Sewell replaced Chapman at shortstop and went on to have a Hall of Fame career, which ironically concluded years later with the Yankees. In tribute to Chapman the Indians' players wore black arm bands and a bronze plaque was designed in his honor. The plaque, which reads "He Lives In The Hearts Of All That Knew Him," was dedicated and hung in League Park, moved to Municipal Stadium, and now resides in Heritage Park in Progressive Field.
A month later, with the Indians fighting for the pennant with the Yankees and the White Sox, the "Black Sox Scandal" finally boiled over. Rumors of having "thrown" the 1919 World Series had been dogging the Sox since the previous winter, and in late September of 1920 a Grand Jury was called to investigate. Even with the two teams in a virtual deadlock, White Sox owner Charles Comiskey suspended eight of his players (Eddie Cicotte, Oscar "Happy" Felsch, Arnold "Chick" Gandil, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Fred McMullin, Charles "Swede" Risberg, George "Buck" Weaver and Claude "Lefty" Williams), in an attempt to "get in front" of the negative publicity. After the suspensions, the Indians went on to overtake the White Sox and hold off the Yankees, in winning its first American League Pennant and facing off against the Brooklyn Robins in the World Series.
The 1920 World Series was played in a best of nine format, with the Indians, led by the pitching of Coveleskie (three wins) and Bagby (one win), winning Games 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7 to capture their first Championship. The Series also marked the first World Series grand slam (Cleveland's Elmer Smith), the only World Series triple play (unassisted by Cleveland's Bill Wambsganss) and the first World Series homer by a pitcher (Cleveland's Jim Bagby), all occurring in Game 5. It would also mark the last World Series, until 1980, to feature two teams that had never won a championship. Unfortunately for Cleveland, it would also be their last championship for twenty-eight years.
The decade of the 1920s was not a kind one for Cleveland. The players that brought them to the heights of 1920, Bagby, Speaker, Colveleskie were aging and there was a new powerhouse in the game. The New York Yankees, led by super-star Babe Ruth, were shattering offensive records and winning multiple championships, while the Indians, except for two second-place finishes in 1921 and 1926, would find themselves continual cellar-dwellers.
Municipal Stadium:
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| Municipal Stadium |
By the 1930s the Indians had scratched their way to the middle of the pack, never finishing too low, but never above third or fourth place. In 1932, the team decided to move its home games from League Park to the new Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
The reasoning behind the need for a new stadium was a simple one; the city of Cleveland thought that a new ballpark would improve commerce in the downtown area and help attract more fans to the game, bringing more money to the team. The official groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 30, 1930 and the stadium was opened a year later, on July 1, 1931. Its first sporting event, a boxing heavyweight championship match between Max Schmeling and Young Stribling, was held two days later.
The stadium was built primarily for baseball, but was also home to the N.F.L's Cleveland Browns (1946-1995) and Cleveland Rams (1937, 1939-1941 and 1945), the A.F.L.'s Cleveland Rams (1936), the North American Soccer League's Cleveland Stokers (1967-1968) and the NCAA's "Great Lakes Bowl", in 1947.
As far as seating was concerned, Municipal Stadium did have the ability to pack in the patrons for both baseball and football. At the time of its opening, in 1931, the park sat 78,811 fans for a ballgame and while the seating capacity would fluctuate over the years, it would never dip below 74,000. For football, which always had more seats, Municipal Stadium would seat anywhere from 83,000 (1932) to 78,512 (1995). Though seats were added and subtracted over the years, the field dimensions never changed; 322 feet to Left-Field, 385 to Left-Center, 400 to Center, 385 to Right-Center and 322 in Right.
The first Indians' game held here was on July 31, 1932, when the Indians lost a 1-0 game to the Philadelphia A's and Lefty Grove. This game brought out over 80,000 fans, which at the time became a Major League record. The team would play all of its home games at Municipal Stadium through the 1933 season, but as the Great Depression deepened, the attendance decreased and the Indians moved most of their games back to League Field. Starting in 1936, however, the team decided to split its schedule between the two parks, which would last until they formally moved back to Municipal Stadium after the 1936 season for Sunday and holiday games. By 1939, they were playing night games there as well, because League Park did not have lighting to allow for this newest trend in baseball. By 1940, the team would be playing most of it's games here and would officially call Municipal Stadium home after the 1946 season.
The team itself was a middling one for the decade of the 1930s. As previously mentioned, they never finished above 3rd and only fell to fifth once, in 1936. They were also under .500 one time during this span as well, in 1933, when they finished 75-76. During this time, however, they would bring in a pitcher whose name would become synonymous with the franchise forever: Bob Feller.
Feller was born on an Iowa farm, in 1918 and groomed to be a ballplayer at an early age. His father, William, changed his crop from corn to wheat, as it was less intensive and he could play catch with young Bob every day. By the age of eight, he was throwing curve-balls and by ten he was playing American Legion Baseball with much older men and William had built a baseball diamond on the farm to allow for more time for his son. By the time Bob reached high school he was being scouted intensely by Major League teams and by the age of sixteen, in 1936, he was signed by the Indians and brought right up to Cleveland.
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| Feller Uncorks One |
Feller would graduate from high school the following April, which was broadcast nationally over the radio. He was undoubtedly the most famous person under twenty in the nation at this time. Unfortunately, an arm injury shelved him for the first half of the season, but he came back strong in the second half, finishing 9-7 with 150 strike-outs in 148 innings. Over the next two years Feller would go 41-20 with 486 strike-outs. Unfortunately, he alone could not change the Indians' fortunes and the team struggled when he did not pitch.
As the 1940s began Feller was clearly the ace of the league and pitched the Indians within one game of the American League pennant, when he provided 27 of the team's 89 wins, even throwing a no-hitter on his opening start. Unfortunately, he lost the last game of the season to the Tigers, who claimed the title by one game over Cleveland.
The team fell flat in 1941, finishing fourth with a 75-79 record, with Feller providing exactly one third of the team's wins. This would be the last time the fans of Cleveland would see Feller until August of 1945, as he would enlist in the United States Navy on December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The war years would not be kind to the Indians as they also lost Ken Keltner and Ray Mack to military service as well. During this time the team went 302-304 and finished fourth, third, sixth and fifth respectively.
1946 brought Feller back for a full year, as well as a new owner, Bill Veeck, who teamed with investors such as Bob Hope and former Tigers' star Hank Greenberg to purchase the franchise. Veeck was known for his promotional stunts that fans would love, but fellow owners would despise. One of his first major changes was to take the team out of the smaller League Park and move it back into the huge Municipal Stadium on a full time basis. The team's fortunes didn't change at once; even though Feller would once again go twenty games over .500 in 1946/1947 (46-26), they finished fourth and sixth, but they did start to add players that would take them to the next level. One such player was Larry Doby.
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| Doby Plaque In "Heritage Park" |
The 1948 season would see the Indians battle the Boston Red Sox from Opening Day to the final game of the season for the American league pennant. The Indians would win the pennant by one game on the strength of a "down year" for Feller, who finished with 19 wins, but it was "rookie Satchel Paige," who Veeck brought to Cleveland in July, who pushed them over the top.
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| Paige Plaque In "Heritage Park" |
Cleveland. Baseball historians suggest he might have been the greatest pitcher that ever played the game, but he was 42 by the time he was given a shot. Had baseball integrated a decade earlier, Paige most certainly would have been one of, if not the, first black player to come to the Major Leagues. Despite the injustice of the times, Paige took the mound for his first start on July 15, 1948 and proceeded to beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 8-5. Paige would finish the year 6-1, with a 2.48 ERA, with 2 shutouts and 43 strike-outs in almost 73 innings pitched. Considering the Indians needed all six of his wins to finish one game ahead of Boston (after a one game playoff), the "old man" was a necessary pickup and Veeck had the last laugh on the other owners that thought Paige would be another of Veeck's publicity stunts.
The 1948 World Series would pit the Indians against the other team from Boston, the Braves, who finished 91-62 and 6.5 games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Braves were led by star pitchers Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain, who won 39 games between them, as well as pitcher Johnny Antonelli and infielders Alvin Dark and Eddie Stanky. This Series was the first that would be broadcast nationally on television and would be the only World Series from 1947 until 1959 to not include one of the three New York teams.
The Braves shocked the Indians with a 1-0 victory in Game 1, where Sain out-pitched Feller, but the Indians came back to win Games 2, 3 and 4 before the Braves won Game 5, again beating Feller. Game 6 saw the Indians jump out to a 4-1 lead and hold on for a 4-3 Series-winning victory. The two teams each scored 17 runs, but the Indians spread them out, while the Braves scored 11 in one game, which was the difference in the series. Cleveland had its second World Series Championship, but no one could know at the time that it would be their last.
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| 1948 World Champions |
1951-1953 saw the Indians' bounce back and finish in second each year, but they couldn't overtake the New York Yankees, who were in the midst of five straight World Series Championships (1949-1953). Feller, by this time, was entering the twilight of his career, going 22-8, 9-13 (the first losing season of his career) and 10-7.
In 1954, the Indians set a record that has yet to be broken with a winning percentage of .721. The team went 111-43 and needed every win they could garner as they outlasted the Yankees, who finished with 103. The 1954 team, comprised of players such as pitchers Feller, Bob Lemon, Early Wynn and Mike Garcia, outfielders Minnie Minosa and Larry Doby and infielders Luke Easter and Bobby Avila, were the prohibitive favorites against the National League Champion New York Giants.
The Giants made it to the Series having held off the Brooklyn Dodgers, who finished 5 games back. The Giants were back in the Series for the second time since 1951, having lost to the Yankees, and were led by centerfielder Willie Mays, pitchers Johnny Antonelli, Sal Maglie, Hoyt Wilmhelm and Don Liddle, as well as infielders Alvin Dark, Whitey Lockman and outfielder Monte Irvin.
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| The Catch |
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| Feller Plaque In "Heritage Park" |
World Series out of their mouth, but the New York Yankees had other plans. Though the Indians won 93 games in 1955 and 88 in 1956, they came in second to the Yankees both times. 1955 and 1956 also marked the last two years for Bob Feller as well. The fire-balling right-hander went 4-4 and 0-4 in his last two years, pitching primarily out of the bull-pen and announced his retirement on December 28th, 1957. Feller would leave the game with a record of 266-162, an ERA of 3.25, a winning percentage of .621, 12 one hitters and 2,581 strikeouts. He would be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame with Jackie Robinson in 1962, as the first first-ballot Hall of Famers since the original class of 1936. An era of Indians' baseball had officially ended.
Between Feller's retirement and 1994 the team saw very little success on the field. They would see only two seasons in which they placed as high as third (2nd in 1959 and 3rd in 1968), while they finished fourth seven times, fifth eight times, and sixth or below eighteen times. The problems all stemmed from the front office, which continually traded away young talent and got very little, if anything, in return.
After the 1957 season, the Indians hired Frank Lane to be their general manager. Lane had traded away Roger Maris to the Kansas City A's (1958), Minnie Minoso to the White Sox for Norm Cash (1958), then trade Cash (before he ever played a game for Cleveland), to Detroit (still 1958). But the one that Lane would never be forgiven for occurred in 1960, when he shipped off Rocky Colavito.
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| Rocky Colavito |
If this wasn't bad enough, Lane, later that year, traded managers with the Tigers, sending Joe Gordon to Detroit in exchange for Jimmy Dykes. Lane was shown the door after the 1961 season, but the poor trades that had doomed the team for years continued. In 1965, Cleveland sent Tommy John to the White Sox (1965) and a year later sent 1966 Rookie of the Year Tommy Agee there as well, which brought back Colavito.
By the 1970s ownership issues, as well as bad trades, were hampering the team. In 1963, Daley sold the team to an investment group headed by Lane's replacement G.M., Gabe Paul. Paul in turn, sold the team three years later to Vernon Stouffer, who was famous for his frozen food empire. Unfortunately, Stouffer had some serious financial setbacks, which left him cash poor, and the team was rumored to be heading to New Orleans. In 1972, after a group led by Cleveland shipping baron George Steinbrenner and former Indian Al Rosen was rejected by Stouffer in their bid to purchase the team, it was sold to a group led by Cleveland Barons and Cleveland Cavaliers' owner, Nick Mileti. Steinbrenner went on to purchase the New York Yankees and bring them back to prominence, leaving Cleveland fans to wonder what might have been.
Regardless of who owned the team during the 1970s, the Indians continued to trade away players who would become stars for other teams. Dennis Eckersley was sent to Boston; Chris Chambliss, Dick Tidrow and Graig Nettles were sent to the Yankees and bolstered their World Championship core in 1977 and 1978; and Buddy Bell was shipped off to the Texas Rangers. The one trade that did work out for Cleveland was when they sent fireball pitcher "Sudden" Sam McDowell to San Francisco for future Hall of Famer Jim "Gaylord" Perry. Perry would win 39% of Cleveland's games during his tenure (1972-1975), but his inability to get along with management led to his being sent out of town, to Texas, during the 1975 season. Perry would be Cleveland's last 20-game winner, until Cliff Lee in 2008.
The one bright spot for Cleveland, during the dark days of the 70s, was the hiring of M.L.B.'s first black manager, Frank Robinson, in 1975. In his three years at the helm, Robinson guided the Indians to a 231-248 record, before being let go after 1977.
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| One of The Greatest Baseball Movies |
American League and sported a record of 710-848. There were a few highlights, such as, Len Barker's perfect game against Toronto and the emergence of 1980 A.L. Rookie of the Year "Super" Joe Charboneau. Charboneau won over the city not just with his on-field play, but with his off-field eccentricities as well. He was rumored to open beer bottles with his eye sockets, dyed his hair all sorts of weird colors, did his own dental work and once fixed a broken nose with a pair of pliers and a shot of whiskey. Unfortunately, he suffered from chronic back injuries and was out of the game after the 1983 season, while Barker was also dogged by injuries and never became the dominant starter the Indians had hoped for. Things hit rock bottom when one Cleveland sportswriter wrote that the best thing that came out of the Indians' organization since the 1950s was the comic movie "
The first half of the 1990s offered very little on-field relief for the Indians as they would finish fourth twice, sixth once and seventh once, but changes were on the near horizon. In 1989 the Indians traded with the Padres and brought back catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. and Carlos Baerga. Alomar would go on to be the 1990 Rookie of the Year and the first ever rookie starting catcher for the All Star Team, while Baerga would become a three-time All Star during his time in Cleveland. Alomar and Baerga would be joined by Albert Belle, veterans Dennis Martinez, Orel Hershiser, Eddie Murray and youngsters Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and Charles Nagy to form the nucleus of a team that would rocket Cleveland back to the top by the middle of the decade. They would also be getting a new home, by 1994, as well.
Throughout the decade of the 1980s, the owners had been pushing for a new home for the Indians and by 1990 Cuyahoga County passed a tax on the sale of alcohol and cigarettes, which would be used to fund new homes for the Indians and the N.B.A's Cavaliers. After two years of negotiations ground was broken in January of 1992 and was completed two and a quarter years later, in April of 1994.. The facility was named Jacobs Field, after owners Richard and David Jacobs, who paid $91 million of the total cost ($175 million) to fund the project.
Jacobs Field:
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| "The Jake" |
Jacobs Field, or "The Jake" as it became known to fans, opened on April 4, 1994 with the Indians defeating the Seattle Mariners 4-3, in 11 innings and President Bill Clinton throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Sandy Alomar Jr. got the first hit, Eric Anthony of Seattle hit the first home run and Eric Plunk was the winning pitcher.
The stadium was hailed as a masterpiece of architectural engineering and followed closely on the heels of Camden Yards, which had opened in Baltimore a few years earlier. The field is 12 acres of Kentucky Bluegrass and is ringed with 19 "toothbrush-style" lighting towers, (six behind first base, six behind third base, four in right-field and three behind the scoreboard. The ballpark is three-tiered and has seats everywhere except center-field (where there is nothing), left-field (where there are bleachers) and from dugout to dugout on the second and third tiers (luxury boxes, more on that later). Unlike most ballparks, Jacobs Field has the home team's dugout on the third base side.
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| Scoreboard in Left-Field |
The fans loved the new park and came out in droves to see it. In fact, between the park itself and the team that the Indians put out on the field, Jacobs Field sold out every game from June 12, 1995 to April 4, 2001, 455 straight games. The highest attendance was calculated at 45, 274 (1997) and the lowest was 8,726 (2011). The team flourished in their new home and gave the fans something to be proud about. In their first season at "The Jake," the Indians drew slightly less than two million fans and finished second in their division, one game behind the Chicago White Sox. Unfortunately, the season was cut short, and the World Series was cancelled, due to a players' strike in August.
1995 was a shortened season, as MLB and the player's union came together to end the labor dispute and start the season at the end of April. 1995 also served as the first year in which the new Wild Card system was being used, but it wouldn't be needed by the Indians, who breezed through the regular season with 100 wins, easily outdistancing the next highest team, Atlanta, with 90. The Indians dispatched the Red Sox in three games in the first-ever ALDS, while the Mariners came back to beat the Yankees in five. The Indians then beat Seattle four games to two in the ALCS. to move on to their first World Series, against the Braves who had swept both the Dodgers and the Reds in their two series, since 1954.
The Indians got on the board first in Game 1, but Atlanta tied the score in the second. The Braves would score two more in the seventh and that would be all they needed, as Greg Maddux would pitch a two-hit complete game victory and give the Braves a 1-0 lead in the series.
In Game 2, the Indians would again score the first runs of the game, two in the second, before the Braves would tie it up in the third and go ahead in the sixth with two more runs. The big play of the game came when Manny Ramirez was picked off first, in the eighth inning with the Indians down by one. The Braves would take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.
The Indians fought back, taking Games 3 and 5, but they proved no match for Atlanta, who finished off Game 6 with a 1-0, one hit, shut-out and took their first World Series crown since 1957, which would make them the first team to win three championships for three different cities (Boston in 1914 and Milwaukee in 1957). It is also worth noting that even though Atlanta won in six games, five of them had been decided by one run, which showed that despite losing Cleveland could have just as easily have prevailed.
In 1996 the Indians, once again, led all of baseball with 99 wins. They were determined to not only get back to the World Series, but win it for the first time since 1948. However, in the first round of the playoffs, the ALDS, the Indians ran face-first into the Baltimore Orioles, who upset them in four games. A World Series return would have to wait.
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| Plaque From The Concourse |
The Marlins were a heavy underdog, as they squeaked into the playoffs as a Wild Card and marched through the Giants in a three-game sweep and then upset the favorite Atlanta Braves in six. Florida would become the youngest franchise ever (five years) to reach the World Series and the first to do so as a Wild Card.
Despite being the prohibitive favorite the Indians found themselves playing from behind, losing Games 1, 3 and 5, but rebounding to tie the series with wins in Games 2, 4 and 6 and forcing a deciding Game 7, in Florida.
The Indians jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but couldn't hold it as the Marlins would score one in the seventh and another, with one out in the bottom of the ninth, to tie it. Neither team would score in the tenth and in the bottom of the eleventh the Marlins won, on an Edgar Renteria two-out single over the outstretched glove of Indians' pitcher, Nagy. Once again the Indians had fallen just short.
In 1998 and 1999 the Indians would again win the Central Division, but would fall short in the playoffs. In '98 they were beaten by a Yankees' team that would go on and win the World Series with a record of 125-50, while in 1999 they would blow a two-games-to-none lead over the Boston Red Sox and lose the ALDS, three games to two.
After a "down year" in 2000 (Cleveland would finish second in the AL Central), the Indians would bounce back to finish first in the AL Central, but they ran into a Mariners' team that would finish the year with 116 wins, and be bounced out of the playoffs in five games.
After the 2001 playoffs the Indians started on a rebuild, which would see new GM Mark Shapiro trade away popular veterans such as Roberto Alomar and Bartolo Colon for youngsters that included Alex Escobar, Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner and Coco Crisp, while Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez had already left the organization. Between 2002 and 2006 the Indians would finish anywhere from fourth to second place and never make the playoffs.
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| Plaque in Right-Field Concourse |
Between 2008 and 2012 the team would again finish in the middle of the pack, anywhere from second to fourth, and this would be considered another "rebuilding" era. During this time, the Indians would change GM's (Shapiro would become the organization's president, while Chris Antonelli would move to the GM's office), as well as managers (Eric Wedge being replaced with Manny Acta, who was eventually replaced by past hero Sandy Alomar, Jr. who gave way to Terry Francona for the 2013 season) and players. On the way out were stars such as Cliff Lee, C.C. Sabathia, Victor Martinez and Shin-Shoo Choo, while coming back were Nick Swisher, Michael Bourne, Bryan Shaw, Matt Albers, Jason Giambi and Scott Kazmir. Also during this time (2008), the name of the park was changed as well. On January 11, it was announced that insurance company Progressive had purchased the naming rights to the park, so the Indians would now be playing at Progressive Field. The name was originally going to be Progressive Park, but it was quickly found out that another facility in Iowa was using that moniker, so Progressive Field it was.
As we pulled into downtown Cleveland, Paul noted that "The Tribe" was in second place and fighting the
powerful Detroit Tigers, who we were seeing that night, for the AL Central lead. It was going to be a fun night.
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| Hello Cleveland |
Starting Line-Up, 7/8:
Robert Zoch
Jim Kulhawy
Matt Malanga
Paul Malanga
Dan Malanga
Dan Malanga
Nick D'Angelo
Ryan Kulhawy
We pulled off the highway and parked downtown, about three blocks from the Stadium. The walk over was filled with conversation, jokes and laughs as everyone seemed to be having fun. Ryan and Nick were having a conversation with Matt and Dan about their baseball playing, while Paul, Rob, Tony and I were discussing baseball days of our youth.
As we turned the corner, and the stadium came into sight, we were amazed to see the number of fans already lined up outside the gate. This evening was "Omar Vizquel Bobblehead Night" and it seemed that the entire city of Cleveland had come out for the game. The boys were a little concerned about missing out on the give away, so after about twenty minutes of impatiently standing around Ryan started asking if there was any way to get into the stadium now. Everyone was relieved to find out that if we took a five minute walk down "Rally Alley" (the alleyway behind the center-field gate that led to the right-field gate), we would come to the right-field entrance where we could get in, get our bobbleheads and mill around the ballpark. So, off we went.
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| Ryan, Me and Bob Feller |
Being inside Progressive Field prior to game-time was like being at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, because even though you are inside, the only place open to you is the outer concourse behind center-field. The rest of the park opens one hour before first pitch.
Though you can not wander the rest of the park until an hour before game time, there is plenty to see in the area you do have access to. In 2007, the Indians spent over $1 million dollars creating "Heritage Park", behind the center-field fence. "Heritage Park" is a two-story, outdoor, team hall of fame, which contains 12 monuments (upstairs), 27 plaques and 38 bricks (downstairs), representing the team's famed players and memorable moments. It is a beautiful facility and a must when visiting.
As we walked through the monuments in the upstairs portion of this outdoor Indians' museum, Ryan quickly fell into "history mode." The first thing he noticed was a giant photo wall of Bob Feller, which led from the concourse level down a flight of steps.
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| Bob Feller Wall in "Heritage Park" |
"You know who that is, right?" I asked.
"I'm going with Bob Feller," he retorted.
"Nice job," I said, surprised he got it on the first try.
"Well, I can read you know," he laughed and pointed at the name at the top of the wall, of Feller in his Indians' uniform.
"Fargin wisenheimer," I said to no one, as he was already down the stairs and looking at the plaques.
"Fargin wisenheimer," I said to no one, as he was already down the stairs and looking at the plaques.
As we walked through "Heritage Park" I nudged Rob and motioned to Ryan.
"He's reading all the plaques," Rob noticed immediately.
"I think he's ready for that trip to Cooperstown," I said.
I smiled to myself. Last year at this time he would have glossed over and looked, but not read. Now, he was absorbing all the details of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Cy Young, Rocky Colavito, Herb Score, Bob Feller, Al Rosen, Bob Lemon, Nap Lajoie, Satchel Paige, Larry Doby and a plethora of others.
"Daddy, c'mere," I hear him call me from across the room.
"What the word, little bird?" I asked.
The look I got told me all I needed to know about his feelings for that phrase.
"No good?" I asked.
"Um.....NO!," he said emphatically. "Or at least not so others can hear, please."
I chuckled, remembering that he was in that "no man's land" of still wanting dad close, yet trying to find his own independent comfort zone. I promised myself to be more aware of what I was saying, as I didn't want to embarrass him. I had just been given another indication on how he'd grown up since last summer, when we started this trip.
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| Ray Chapman Plaque For "Heritage Park" |
"Yup," I told him, " and the pitcher was a Yankee, Carl Mays."
"It says that he was hit in the head by a pitch. Why didn't they wear helmets?"
"Because no one ever had, " I told him. "It's even dumber when you consider that they still didn't, for another 40-some-odd years after that happened."
"Because no one ever had, " I told him. "It's even dumber when you consider that they still didn't, for another 40-some-odd years after that happened."
"That's just stupid," he said, shaking his head.
"Agreed," I said, putting my hand on his shoulder as we walked to the stairs and looked over the Bob Feller timeline wall, before realizing that we could now get in to the rest of the park and heading up the stairs to join the others, who were waiting.
As we walked down the left field concourse the grounds crew started to take the tarp off the field and groom the infield for the game. It was not raining, but the sky had been threatening all afternoon. We were just hoping that the rain that was predicted would hold off and that we would get the game in.
"Look," Ryan said to Nick. "That's a cool beer stand."
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| Greatest Beer Sign Ever |
Only my kid would notice the beer stand, but he was right, it was cool. It was a stand alone beer stand, with
Great Lakes Brewing Company beers for sale, and against a yellow wall was painted the phrase "ROUNDING THIRD AND HEADING FOR FOAM." What else could we do but get a beer there.
Great Lakes Brewing Company beers for sale, and against a yellow wall was painted the phrase "ROUNDING THIRD AND HEADING FOR FOAM." What else could we do but get a beer there.
As we walked around the inside of the stadium it became apparently clear that although this was one of the "newer" stadiums in the game, it seemed outdated. Once you got to the dugout areas, it was like walking in the concourse of the old Yankee Stadium, all brick and concrete, with no view of the field. I was a little taken aback, especially since all the places we had so far been, were so open and had great sight-lines.
As we walked around the inner concourse, we noticed that there were pictures and paintings of the memorable moments throughout Indians history. We saw a placard of 1995 ALCS hero Kenny Lofton, another from the 1997 ALDS where Alomar had homered off of Rivera and the Indians had gone on to beat the Yankees (I quickly averted my gaze), as well as some great paintings of the stadium during the 1997, 2001 and 2007 ALCS.
After stopping off at the clubhouse store, we wandered behind home plate to get some pictures of the ballpark. The security guard questioned us as to where we were going, but before I could break into our story, Ryan beat me to the punch. He looked at me and I nodded that it was OK, so he launched right into our story, where we had been and where we were headed after this. The gentleman was so taken with him that he personally escorted us to the best location in the house and made sure no one would bother us. It amazed me, once again, at how grown-up my son was becoming and while I loved to watch it, a little piece of me hoped he would stay a little boy for at least a while longer.
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| Left-Field |
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| Right-Field |
park looked cavernous. It was 325 feet down the left-field line, but looking up at the huge scoreboard made it seem that we were at the bottom of a canyon. It is 370 to left-center, 405 to center and 410 to deepest center, but the city of Cleveland over the back wall makes it look even further out. Right-center was 375 and tapered to 325 down the right-field line, but looking up at those massive three decks again made me feel very small.
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| Center-Field |
"Hey look," Nick said, while pointing to left field. "That looks like the 'Green Monster,' at Fenway."
Sure enough, when looking out, the left-field wall was larger than the rest. After asking an usher, we were told that it is 19 feet tall and is, in fact, known as the "Little Green Monster," to honor the oldest stadium in the Major Leagues.
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| Paul and I, After 20 Years |
Paul and I posed for the first picture of the two of us taken in over twenty years. All in all, I think we look pretty good and it's a picture I'll always treasure.
"OK, time to eat," Ryan declared, heading back up the stairs to the main concourse. I knew this was coming, but I didn't think it would be so soon. After all, he had eaten like a piggy at breakfast and Steak and Shake earlier in the day.
Takes after his father I see," Paul laughed.
"You don't even know the half of it," Rob responded.
"Ryan," I called. "No food til we get situated, so let's head to our seats."
That settled, Paul, Dan and Matt headed to their seats as we went to ours. We had all hoped to sit together, but when buying the tickets Paul didn't know his boys were coming, so they had different seats and we would all meet up after the game. As they headed off to find their seats, we made our way to ours. Though I didn't know it at the time, this would become quite the adventure.
As I mentioned earlier, the luxury boxes at Progressive Field run the height of the second and third tiers and go from third base dugout to first base dugout, behind home plate. This didn't really enter my thought process until we tried to reach our seats, in the right field terrace level. At other ballparks, we could just walk up to that level and walk around until we reached our seats. But Progressive was anything but its name. As we tried to find our way to our level it became increasingly clear we could not do so, because there was no direct path. Elevators could access the luxury suites, but once there you could not exit the elevator into the ballpark without a suite level ticket. We tried, at different entrances, more than one time and were frustratingly sent back down to the main level. Finally, Tony walked up to a policeman and asked how we could get to our seats and he told us we had to go all the way out to the right-field pavilion, go upstairs and walk back towards home plate to get to our section. Needless to say, none of us were impressed.
Once we reached the mezzanine level, the kids saw that there was a "baseball play area." Not as nice as the one in Great American Ballpark (this one was indoors, behind concrete walls and away from the field of play), the "Kids' Clubhouse" was built in 2012 and has an arts and crafts area (yes, I did type arts and crafts), a climbing wall, a mini field where kids can practice fielding and sliding, and a batting cage where they can get their "hacks" in. It seems like a great idea, but it "feels" like it's more for kids that have no interest in the game and should be taken away so as not to annoy those around them. There are large windows where parents can watch the game while keeping an eye on their kids, but it had more of a minor league feel to it.
By this time, the boys were getting very hungry and couldn't contain it much longer. It was time for some food and they knew just what they wanted, but they didn't want to go and get it, so Rob and I volunteered to get the food, while Tony and the boys hung out at the kids' clubhouse.
Concessions:
Now, Progressive Field is like any other ballpark in the basics that it serves hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken fingers and french fries but we had decided long ago that we were going to find the most local cuisine to try. After all, anyone can get a dog and a beer, or soda, but we wanted more than that and had done our homework well.
There were stands like the "Food Network Specialty Dogs and Sliders," which serve giant dogs and mini burgers with any combination of toppings, such as pulled pork, sauerkraut, baked beans, Fritos, shredded cheeses, bacon chunks and shredded sausage and peppers; Major League Pizza, which offered pizzas with names from the hit movie; Nachos Deluxe, where you could get any kind of topping on a plate of nachos; the Kids' Zone, which specialized in kids food like mac and cheese, PB&J and chicken fingers; and Pinozone's Gourmet Bratwurst. It seemed to me, that most of the foods served in Progressive Field were some variation of hot dog, or cooked sausage. There is a buffet eatery in right field, called the Budweiser Patio, but I was told it was mostly for private parties and corporate events, as opposed to being open to the public.
As far as snacks and desserts were concerned, the ballpark had mostly standard fare; ice cream, Dippin' Dots, cotton candy, peanuts, Cracker Jacks, Pierre's Ice Cream, which served gourmet ice cream and Strickland's Frozen Custard, which had good ice cream, but was limited in its inventory.
There were, however, plenty of places to get a drink. You couldn't walk ten feet without smacking into a beer stand, such as Beer Express, the Bud Bar, the Energy Bar (which served wine, beer and mixed drinks), the Great Lakes Beer station (FANTASTIC local craft beer) and the Honey Brown and Seagram's Beer Bar.
Being that I knew exactly what Ryan wanted (the Cleveland Dog), I figured it would be a quick and easy fix. Boy, was I wrong. Apparently, upstairs where we were the only thing you could get were "kid friendly" foods, i.e, hot dogs, chicken fingers, mac and cheese and PB&J. Now, if I was dealing with a hungry six-year-old this might have gone over well, but our boys ate like adults and this just wouldn't cut it. Apparently we were headed back downstairs, which if you remember the aggravation coming upstairs, was not going to make me happy. But, back downstairs we went.
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| The Cleveland Dog |
Ryan, who was ravenous, gave me about .03 seconds to sit down before he began pawing at his dinner. Tony looked over and couldn't believe his eyes.
"He's not gonna eat that whole thing, is he?" he asked doubtfully.
"Challenge accepted," Ryan said before taking the first bite.
"Gimme that," I said laughing. "I went all the way to East Jabib to get this, I get the first bite."
"Fine," Ryan said, grudgingly handing over the Great Dane of the hot dog world.
The first bite was truly amazing. The dog had a grilled garlic smoky taste, which mixed very well with the spice of the pulled pork and the creaminess of the coleslaw. The bun was toasted and buttery and I could tell right away that I better take a second bite, as this would not last long once it got into Ryan's hands.
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| Dinner Time |
that, you should have gotten one for yourself too."
"I've altered the plan," I said through a full mouth. "Pray I don't alter it further."
"Nice 'Star Wars' reference," he said smiling.
I handed over the dog, wiped my mouth and turned to tell Rob how great it was. When I looked back to see how Ryan was enjoying his "taste of Cleveland", I laughed watching him put the last bite into his mouth.
"Good stuff?" I asked.
"It was OK," he smiled and winked.
We laughed, I gave him a big hug and we all settled in as the game began.
The Game:
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| First Pitch |
The Indians took the field to a tremendous roar from the home crowd. This was a big series, and tonight would be a challenge as Detroit's starter, Max Scherzer, had yet to lose a game this season, but the crowd was letting the Indians know right away that they were behind them.
The Indians' starter, Scott Kazmir, gave them plenty to cheer about when he set the Tigers down 1-2-3 in the top of the first. The Indians were coming to bat and you could feel the excitement in the building.
As the Indians came to the plate against Scherzer, Ryan struck up a conversation with the young couple who were sitting next to us. Ryan was in his Clippers T-shirt from the night before, but I was in a Yankees shirt, which started the conversation. It was fun to listen to my son, again, talk about what we were doing, where we had been, what he most liked and what he was looking forward to, with someone who was genuinely interested in talking to him.
After the Tigers set the Indians down in order, Ryan looked over at me and had an idea.
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| Nick Swisher Patrols Right-Field |
"Yup, he plays there and first base," Rob reminded him.
"I bet he'd never expect a roll call, like when he played in Yankee Stadium. Let's give him one," he smiled.
"That's a great idea," I told him.
Now, for those that don't know, the "Roll Call" is a Yankee Stadium tradition where the folks in the bleachers start chanting out a player's name, which is then picked up by the rest of the Stadium, until that player recognizes them with a wave, a salute or a tip of the cap. Nick Swisher absolutely loved this tradition and always responded to his chanted name with a grandiose salute to the crowd. It would be too perfect, especially with me being decked out in a Yankees' shirt. The only questions were; would he hear us and how would he respond?
As Swisher took his place in right-field, for the top of the second inning, the five of us stood up.
"NI-ICK SWISH-ER," clap, clap, clap, clap, clap..
"NI-ICK SWISH-ER," clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.
"NI-ICK SWISH-ER," clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.
We were the only ones chanting, so the Cleveland fans didn't know what to make of us, but apparently it worked as Swisher turned around. He scanned the crowd, saw me thump the Yankees' logo on my left breast, smiled, pointed at us and gave a smart, crisp, military salute, just as he always did for the fans at Yankee Stadium.
"Did you see that?" Nicky said, awestruck.
"He saw us, he heard us," Ryan said, equally dumbfounded.
"That was waaaaaay cool," Rob said to the boys as he high-fived them.
The Indians' fans around us were abuzz. They smiled, joked, high-fived the boys and just when everything started to die down, Ryan started up a "LETS GO INDIANS" chant at the top of his lungs, which set off the whole section. At that moment, I do believe they adopted us as one of their own.
As the top of the second started, a light mist began to fall. It wasn't heavy enough to bother us, at first, but enough to make us concerned, as we knew heavier stuff was on the way.
The Tigers got on the board in the second when Victor Martinez stroked a one out double to left and Jhonny Peralta followed that up with another double, this one to center, scoring Martinez. A one-run deficit was not enough to dampen the crowd's enthusiasm and they were determined to help the Indians get on the board in the bottom of the inning.
After Swisher grounded out, both Brantley and Avila singled. However, things did not look good as the next batter, Mark Reynolds, whiffed for the second out of the inning. The rain started to fall a little heavier as Lonnie Chisenhall strode to the plate and we all agreed we were leaving our seats and going under the overhang after the inning to try and stay dry. We didn't have to wait long, as the rain grew so heavy that the game was halted for twenty minutes and we sought cover immediately.
After the delay, Scherzer came back out to finish the inning. As Chisenhall looked at the first pitch, for a strike, the Indians pulled a double steal, putting runners on second and third. A single would bring both in and give Cleveland the lead, and that's just what happened as Chisenhall punched the ball to right field. The next batter, Yan Gomes, flew out to right, but the damage was done, the Indians had the lead and the crowd was going wild.
The teams traded zeros in the third, but with one out in the top of the fourth Tigers' left-fielder Matt Tuiasosopo homered into the right field stands to tie the game. Little did we know, but this would be the last scoring done by either team for quite a while.
Both teams had their chances, whether it was from walks, hits or batters hit by pitches, but no one could bring in the go-ahead run.
After the sixth inning, we decided to head back up the section and under cover as the drizzle had turned back into rain and we were soaking wet and getting chilled. We grabbed our stuff and found some standing room for the five of us. Ryan and Nick, however, were not interested in moving just yet. They had seen the "Indians' Girls" come out to throw t-shirts to the crowd and keep them engaged. Imagine our surprise when both boys came back with shirts and smiles. Who doesn't love free stuff?
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Swisher came to the plate and the boys were hoping for a big blast that would give the Indians the lead, heading into the ninth. What they got, however, was a lesson in what not to do at the plate.
Swisher sent a ball, softly, down the third base line. Expecting it to roll foul, he stood in the batter's box, instead of running to first. Unfortunately for him, the ball stayed fair and catcher Pena ran halfway to third, grabbed the ball, ran back and tagged a stunned Swisher, for the out.
"What the hell was that?" Ryan wanted to know, dumbstruck.
"Why didn't he run?" Nicky countered with.
"You know what that would get you on our team back home?" I asked them both.
"Benched," they both said, at the same time.
"What a dope," Tony said to Rob, who just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
Right at this moment, the boys decided they had to have ice cream in an Indians' helmet. Tony obliged them, but the only pace to get this was on the main level, behind home plate. So, off they went to get their treat, while Rob and I held our warm, dry, standing spots.
The Tigers did nothing in the top of the ninth, going down 1-2-3, but the Indians had a chance to win in in the bottom of the inning. Tony and the boys returned just in time for the Indians' at bat, but Tony was not a happy camper at having to have gone all that way for ice cream.
"I can't believe there's no ice cream up here for the kids," he complained.
"You're preaching to the choir," I told him. "We went through the same thing when we wanted the dog at the beginning of the game. It's almost like they are telling us that we can't afford the 'good food' being that we're not paying for a premium seat. Not cool."
We settled back in to watch the bottom of the ninth, but we were all annoyed.
Reynolds singled to lead off the inning and was immediately replaced by pinch runner Drew Stubbs. Everyone in the building was expecting Stubbs to be off at the first possible moment, but Indians manager Francona kept him anchored to the bag. Five pitches into the at bat, Tigers catcher Pena was charged with a passed ball and Stubbs trotted down to second.
"Why the hell didn't he have him steal?" Tony wondered aloud. "He would have been on third with the passed ball and there would be no outs. A sac fly would then win the game."
They boys were now screaming at the top of their lungs, chanting "LETS GO TRIBE, LETS GO TRIBE", with the rest of the crowd. Ryan quickly ran over to the arts and crafts station and made up a poster that said just that. Apparently THAT is why you have an arts and crafts station at the ballpark.
No sooner had the words come out of Tony's mouth, when Chisenhall lofted a fly ball to center that would have won the game, but was now only an out. That sent Tony into a rant about Francona over-managing and costing himself a win. The next two batters struck out and flied out to kill the rally and send the game to extras. Free baseball is always good and this was no exception.
A good team will always take advantage of a second chance and the Tigers were no exception. In the top of the tenth, after Austin Jackson grounded out and Torii Hunter struck out, Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder both worked walks.
"This doesn't bode well," I said to Ryan. "Martinez is a line drive hitter, with power, and they only need a single to take the lead."
Just call me "Kreskin." Martinez laced a double into center-field, scoring both Cabrera and Fielder and giving the Tigers a 4-2 lead.
As the Indians came to bat in the bottom of the tenth, I wanted to start getting everyone close by. The game was either going to be won by the Tigers, or the Indians would walk-off with a win. I just didn't see this game going any further than the tenth. I turned to look at Rob and noticed that he only had one bag of souvenirs at his feet.
"Where's the second bag of stuff?" I asked.
"It's at my feet," he told me.
"No, it's not. There's only one bag there. Where'd the other one go?"
We looked around. We asked Tony, who was standing a few yards away, he had no idea. Someone had stolen one of the bags with the kids stuff in it. I went nutty.
"It's not bad enough we had to walk half way to Moscow to get a God-damn hot dog, or an ice cream helmet, but now some scumbag steals all the bobbleheads, the scorecards and the programs. Are you fucking kidding me?" I ranted.
Tony and Rob were mad as well, but they finally calmed me down to a level where I was merely incensed. We watched the Indians bring the winning run to the plate, with two outs, but Aviles struck out swinging to end the game.
Final Score:
Tigers 4, Indians 2
Smyly (W), 4-0
Benoit (S), 7
Albers (L), 2-1
Post-Game Wrap Up:
I was pissed. The loss was bad enough, but we were cold, wet, tired and some jackwagon had stolen the kids' stuff on top of all that. I immediately sought out a security guard and told him what happened. They called ahead to guest services, gave them the run-down and sent us down there.
On our way down, we met up with Paul and the boys and told them what had happened. Amazingly enough, the same thing had happened to their bobbleheads, which further stoked my anger. I was in quite the mood when we arrived at guest services. The people there were as gracious as could be and replaced everything they could, but could not even get us two bobbleheads for the younger boys.
We walked back to the car, trying to put the disappointment of the loss and the thefts behind us. I was still mad, but it was fading. We would be going back to Progressive in the morning for a tour, and I would take it up with them again at that time.
The ride home took about an hour. The weather was poor and I didn't want to go too fast on unfamiliar roads. There was lots of yawning from the backseat, which turned into snoring when Nick fell asleep and the adults talked music, baseball and days gone by. I was in a better mood by the time we got back to Paul's.
When we got home, Diane and her mother were both up waiting for us. We sent the younger kids upstairs to clean up and get ready for bed, while we stayed behind and talked for about a half an hour. When I got upstairs, Ryan was still awake, waiting for me.
"Daddy, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," I told him.
"Why were you so mad that someone stole the stuff? The only thing we paid for was the scorecard, everything else was free."
I didn't have to pause before giving him my answer.
"Because it was your stuff and someone stole it from you. What we spent, or didn't spend, is not the reason I'm mad. Someone knew it wasn't theirs and they took it anyway, I would have been mad enough had it been mine, but this was yours and that really pissed me off. They stole from you, you're my kid, it upset you and that upset me. Does that make sense?"
"Perfect sense. Thank you"
"For what?" I asked.
"For always looking out for me, you're the best dad in the world."
All of a sudden he jumped down from the bed, gave me a huge hug and held on tight.
" I love you too, now get back to bed," I told him.
I didn't want him to see, or feel that my eyes were a little wet.
Day Five, July 9th: Rock & Roll, Christmas in July and Mud Hens:
The next morning came way too early for my liking, but we had another full day and had to get started. As I walked down the hall to take a shower, I could smell the aroma of brewed coffee coming from the kitchen. I quickly showered, got dressed, woke Ryan, packed our stuff and headed downstairs to the kitchen.
Once there, I found Diane and her mom busy making a huge country breakfast. There was coffee, fruit salad and the fixins for the biggest omelets I would ever have. Ryan was in heaven and as the rest of the gang meandered down we all got busy stuffing our faces.
After breakfast we said our goodbyes and thanked Paul, Diane and the boys for being such great hosts. It was a little sad leaving, but we promised not to let another twenty years go by before we saw one another again.
Our first stop of the day was back at Progressive Field. We were hoping to take the early tour, before heading over to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and then lunch at the Great Lakes Brewing Company. Unfortunately, the early tour was sold out, so we bought tickets for the later one and headed over to the Hall of Fame. I wasn't how we had planned our day, but we were able to make changes on the fly.
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| Rock & Roll HOF |
There are seven levels to the Hall, the first being in the lower level, which houses exhibits dedicated to history of the genre (blues, gospel, folk, country, rhythm and blues and country), the major cities that have had a major impact on the music (Memphis, New York, Liverpool, Detroit, San Francisco, London, Seattle and Cleveland, among others), as well as individual artists, such as Elvis, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and many others. There are also exhibits on the 1950s, Cleveland's musical history and DJs that spun the records, as well as two theaters that play movies on the history of rock & roll.
The first floor is the Hall's main entrance and includes a stage that hosts performances during the year. The second floor has interactive kiosks that showcase the songs that shaped the music and artifacts from notables such as Les Paul and Alan Freed.
The third floor holds the actual Hall of Fame, which showcases the inductees' signature wall, a theatre that shows movies on the many induction ceremonies over the years and an exhibit from the latest class that was inducted. The fourth floor is known for the Foster Theatre, which shows 3D movies and is used for special events.
The top two floors are reserved for acts that are on temporary exhibit, which can range from three to six months at a clip. Some notables over the years have been the Beatles, Elvis, Bruce Springsteen, Women in Rock, the Supremes, John Lennon and, while we visited, the Rolling Stones.
If you are serious about tackling all the Hall has to offer, I would say to leave a good four to five hours to wander around and experience everything. We had three and a half before our tour of Progressive Field started, which was perfect because we didn't know how interested the boys would be and how long their attention span would hold out.
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| Ry and I With The Giant Guitar |
When we walked in, Ryan was amazed at the size of the replica guitar, with all the signatures on it. We spent
about five minutes just looking for recognizable names and he found more than I ever expected.
After walking in, we were told to go and purchase our tickets from the large booth with Led Zeppelin painted on the side, but since we had already purchased the all-inclusive passes at the N.F.L. Hall of Fame the day before, we went right downstairs.
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| Listenin' To The Blues |
As we walked a little father we saw the Elvis Exhibit, which included "The King's" Lincoln Mark V car, a giant Vegas "ELVIS" sign and one of his on-stage jumpsuits. Both kids agreed that they would never go out in public, let alone perform a concert wearing that.
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| Jim Morrison's Notes |
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| BRUUUUUUUCE |
Once we got to the inductee floor, we saw the statue given to each new member and all searched the signature wall for our favorite artists, which included Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bruce Springsteen, Buddy Holly, Guns 'N Roses, the Doors, Ritchie Valens and Led Zeppelin.
By the time we got to the Rolling Stones' exhibit, the boys were a little antsy, but still interested. Ryan thought they were a little flamboyant with the costumes and the many different guitars, but decided that wouldn't make him not want to see them, or listen to their music.
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| Grace Potter |
found. As I turned the corner to see what he was so interested in, I had to laugh. Staring me right in the face was a life-sized photo of Grace Potter, on stage. I could see exactly what interested him. Apparently my son was growing up in more ways than one. It wouldn't be the first time on this trip he noticed a good-looking girl. Tony, Rob and I laughed, but made sure not to embarrass him.
As we all walked back to the car Ryan told me he wanted to learn more about the history of rock & roll and the artists that have made such great music. Rob told him that he would lend us a DVD set about this very subject, which thrilled Ryan to no end.
It was right about this time that Rob leaned over and said he found some-place he thought we'd like to go, before heading back to Progressive Field for the tour. I agreed, but didn't tell the others as it would be a surprise.
After winding our way through the backstreets, to the outskirts of the city, I pulled up in front of a very familiar-looking house.
"Hey," Ryan called out. "That's the 'Christmas Story' house. I didn't know that was around here."
"Neither did I," I told him. "Rob found it and thought it would be a great surprise."
"It is. It's one of my favorite movies."
"It is. It's one of my favorite movies."
"You think the leg lamp is really in the window?" Tony asked.
"Why don't we go have a look," I said, getting out of the car.
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| "A Christmas Story" House |
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| "Fra-gee-Lay, It Must Be Italian" |
The "Christmas Story" house is an actual home in the Tremont section of
Cleveland. It was used in the exterior shots of the neighborhood in the movie and was purchased by a developer and turned into a museum in 2004. The house is open to the public, for a small fee, and has been restored to look exactly as the inside of the house in the movie, leg lamp in the front window and all.
We got to Progressive Field a bit early, so the kids wandered around the clubhouse store, while I sought out someone to complain to about the previous night's thefts. I was put in touch with someone who took down my name and number and said they would call me in a few weeks, when they were expecting another shipment in. Slightly mollified, I returned to the group, just as the tour was beginning.
Our tour started out on the main level where we were given a very detailed oral history of the team, the ballpark and baseball in Cleveland.
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| Indians' Player Takes His Hacks |
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| Ry and I In The Indians' Dugout |
cages. Here we saw one of the Indians taking some hacks in the cage, while rehabbing an injury. The boys thought it was really cool to see a major leaguer going through his routine and so did we.
From the batting cages, we were taken to the dugout, where we got to see the field from the Indians' viewpoint and take a few pictures. Tony kept hoping we would run into Nick Swisher, especially after giving him the "Roll Call" the night before. Ryan hoped so too, but for a completely different reason; he wanted to know why Swish hadn't run out that ball down the line, in the eighth inning. For that reason alone, I prayed we didn't see him.
From the dugout we circled the field, along the warning track, and saw the bullpens, before heading back inside to visit the luxury dining rooms, the players' private parking lot and the press room. |
| Rob and Ryan Look For Swisher |
From start to finish, the tour took about an hour and a half, was fun, informative and just what I had expected. Ryan, however, was not impressed.
"What's the matter with you?" I asked.
"Well, it wasn't like Yankee Stadium," he told us.
"Very few things are," Rob offered.
"Here we didn't get to do as much," he went on.
"What was different?" Nick wanted to know.
"Well, at Yankee Stadium, they took us to Monument Park, the Yankees' Museum, let us in the locker room and showed us Mr. Steinbrenner's box," Ryan said, matter-of-factly.
"Well, today is a game day, so they're not letting us in the locker room," I reminded him.
"OK, what about the rest of what I said?" he wanted to know.
I thought for a minute and realized he was right. We weren't allowed to go to "Heritage Park," or see the suites, which struck me as kind of funny.
"You know what, you're right," I told him. "Let's ask why."
So we searched out an Indians official who told us the suites were being readied for the evening's game, but that you had to have a game ticket to visit "Heritage Park."
While walking back to the car we all agreed that the suite and locker room restrictions were perfectly understandable, but the fact they wouldn't take you to "Heritage Park," while on a paid tour was just downright puzzling.
Realizing it was lunchtime, and we still had to drive to Toledo for that night's game, made us step quick. We drove across the city to another place Rob had found us, where we could meet up with Rob's friend Keisha, and her son Kaleb, and wash down some food with local craft beers.
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| Brewing Vats |
Great Lakes opened in 1988, by Patrick and Daniel Conway, in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood. In its first year of operation, the brewery produced about 1,000 bottles of hand-bottled and kegged beer. Since inception, Great Lakes has produced many award winning beers, such as; Dortmunder Gold Lager, Eliot Ness Amber Lager, Burning River Pale Ale, Commodore Perry IPA and Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. They also craft seasonal beers like; the Lake Erie Monster, Rye of the Tiger, Nosferatu and Alchemy Hour Double IPA. There are also many, many more beers that can only be purchased at the brewing company location, as well.
This was just our kind of place, I could tell the moment we walked in. The adults all ordered a different beer, which we would pass around so that everyone could taste, and then grabbed the menus, to see what was going to be our lunch.
"I'm having the Old World Burger," Ryan announced, before I had even opened my menu. "It's got smoked bacon, fried onions, Edmund Fitzgerald BBQ sauce, on a pretzel bun."
We all just laughed, knowing his appetite and dove into our menus. Rob had the shrimp and grits, Tony and Nick split a Margherita pizza and some ribs and I had a pulled pork sandwich. Once the food came we ate buffet style, sharing with one another. Ryan, who I didn't think would appreciate this, loved the idea, but made sure he got at least half his burger.
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| A Light Lunch |
After we scavenged every last crumb and downed a few more pints (except me, as I was driving), we said goodbye to Keisha and Kaleb and waddled to the van to make the hour-and-a-half trek to Toledo. There was so much we had done today, yet we still had a game to go to and then back in the van to drive to Michigan for the night.
Before I pulled into traffic Nick was passed out, once again on top of Ryan, in the back seat. Tony's eyes were at half-mast and Rob was manning the CD player. Once we got on the highway, I lost all four of them and was left alone with the traffic, the weather and my thoughts.
I found it funny how we decided to see a game in Toledo. One night, the previous winter, I had been watching an episode of M*A*S*H when Ryan walked in the room.
"What's that team on that guy's cap?" he asked, pointing to Klinger.
"That's the Toledo Mud Hens," I told him.
"Are they a real team, or one they made up for the show?" he wanted to know.
"They're real," I told him. "They play in Toledo, Ohio."
"Where in Ohio is Toledo?" he asked.
I could see where this was headed, but I was going to let him play it out.
"It's past Cleveland, but before Detroit," I told him.
"So what you're saying is that we have to pass through it, to get to Detroit?"
" Yes, sir," I said, smiling.
" Yes, sir," I said, smiling.
"Well, if it's on the way....," he left the rest hanging out there in the air.
"Do you want to go to Toledo?" I asked, smiling.
"Well, if you insist," he laughed. "Hey mommy, we're going to see Klinger's team, the Muddy Hens."
"Mud Hens," she corrected.
"Mud Hens," she corrected.
"That's what I said," he told her.
I was driven out of my revelry by the sound of rain, pouring down on the roof. I slowed the van down, took stock of my bearings and saw that there was no one in front of me for about 25 yards. Good thing, because within 30 seconds the sky opened up and a wall of water that would have sunk the Poseidon dropped down on me and I couldn't see more than five feet in front of the car. I slowed down to a crawl and pushed forward. I wasn't aware of any rain that was in the forecast and was now worried that we'd have a problem with the game in Toledo. But just as quickly as the rain hit me, it slowed down, eventually turning to a light mist.
An hour later, we pulled into Toledo, I woke Rob and asked him to help me find Fifth Third Field. ten minutes later we pulled into the lot across the street from the park and I just started laughing.
"Ryan, look," I said, pointing.
"Holy crap, that's real too," he laughed.
Nick, Tony and Rob had no idea what we were talking about, so we had to explain.
In a different episode of M*A*S*H, Klinger had Hungarian hot dogs shipped to Korea, from his favorite restaurant in Toledo, Packo's. Standing right before us, across from the ballpark, was Packo's At The Park Hungarian hot dog restaurant.
"We have to go there," Ryan insisted.
"You can't possibly be hungry again," Tony said.
"I'm starving," was the response that I knew was coming.
"After the game, I promise," I told him. "Do you want to call your mother and tell her it's real?"
He took the phone, made the call, laughed with Nicole and promised to have a hot dog for her. Never in my wildest dreams did I think the place was real. "Why didn't I think to look it up?" I wondered. I had no answers for my own question, so we walked to will call, got our tickets and headed into the park.
Starting Lineup:
Jim Kulhawy
Robert Zoch
Anthony D'Angelo
Nick D'Angelo
Ryan Kulhawy
Ryan Kulhawy
From 1902-1907, the Mud Hens were a Single-A team and played in Armory Park and were in the American Association. From 1908-1945, they were a Double-A and Triple-A organization, affiliated with the New York Giants (1930), Cleveland Indians (1931, 1976-1977), Detroit Tigers (1934-1935, 1949-1951, 1987-Present), St. Louis Browns (1936-1948), Milwaukee Braves (1953-1955), New York Yankees (1955-1956), Philadelphia Phillies (1974-1975) and Minnesota Twins (1978-1986), while playing games at Swayne Field from 1909-1955, and Ned Skeldon Stadium from 1965-2001.
Because of scant success throughout their history, the Mud Hens were relocated to West Virginia during the 1952 season and another ball club came to Toledo. This club fared little better and was disbanded after three seasons. In 1965 baseball returned to Toledo, in the form of another Mud Hens team, and has been here ever since. The team has won division titles in 1967, 2002 and 2005-2007, while winning International League Championships in 1968, 2005 and 2006.
Over the years, some notable players who have come through Toledo, on their way to the Major Leagues were, Casey Stengel, Jim Thorpe, Joe McCarthy, Dazzy Vance, Hack Wilson, Bobby Murcer, Kirby Puckett and Kirk Gibson.
Fifth Third Field:
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| Left-Field |
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| Right-Field |
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| Center-Field |
As we entered the park, the tarp was still on the field and it was announced that the game would start about 40 minutes late, as they prepared the field. This served us perfectly as it allowed us to stretch our legs, take some pictures, get our souvenirs and grab a bite and a drink, all before opening pitch.
As we walked to our seats, Nick and Ryan kept asking where we were sitting.
"Just follow me," I told them with a smile
"Here?" Ryan said, eyes becoming wide."Just follow me," I told them with a smile
I just kept walking.
"Last seat on the right," I said, ushering them into our row.
"No way!" Nick said, out loud.
"This is amazing," Ryan said, looking at me.
"Wow," was all Tony could say.
"Meh, they're OK," Rob said, sarcastically.
We sat down, four rows of the field, on the third base side, right above the Louisville Bats' dugout.
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| Yes, These Were Our Actual Seats |
"Hey, we saw Louisville when we were in Columbus," Nick said to Tony.
"So, are they following us, or are we following them?" Tony wanted to know.
Nick gave his father a look that could only be construed as, "You didn't really ask that, did you?".
I just smiled and settled in for the first pitch.
The Game:
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| First Pitch |
"Who are we watching for?" Ryan asked as Pat Misch finished up his warm-up tosses for the Hens.
We had been talking to my friend Jim Boothe, who lived outside Detroit and was joining us there the next day, and he told us to watch out for Mud Hens' outfielder Nick Castellanos, as this would be the next "big name" called up to Detroit.
As I was responding to Ryan's questions, Misch fielded a ground ball from lead-off hitter Billy Hamilton, and promptly threw it away for an error. Before the next batter had a strike on him, Hamilton stole second and then went to third on an infield grounder. Neftali Soto doubled the runner home and then went to third, himself, on a throwing error by the Mud Hens' shortstop. The next batter bounced into an inning-ending double-play, so no further damage was done, but it was not an auspicious beginning for the Hens.
The Hens' first batter, Avisail Garcia started the bottom of the first off with a single, but then was picked off first, becoming the first out of the inning. Two batters later, the inning was over.
"They don't look so good," Nick said to Rob.
"Still early yet, they'll be OK," Rob told him.
It was at this time that Ryan remembered the disaster with Motel 6 in Canton two nights before and suggested that we call over there to let them know we'd be in after 10 PM.
"Great idea, Ryan," Tony told him and made the call.
The last thing we needed was another Motel 6 adventure on this trip. The first one was more than we were willing to deal with and we needed to make sure tonight went smoothly.
As we turned back to watch the game, the Mud Hens imploded. The lead-off batter, Dennis Phipps, flied out to right, but then the wheels came off. Felix Perez and Nevin Ashley both singled and when Jason Donald grounded to third, we all were thinking inning ending double-play. We were all wrong. The third baseman, Mike Cervenak, fielded the ball and then threw it away, allowing Perez to score and the other two to reach second and third. Then Hamilton singled to center, bringing in another run, while Donald moved to third. After a short coaching visit at the mound, Buriss hit a sac fly to center, driving in another run, 4-0 Louisville. The Hens got the last out of the inning, but the damage was certainly done.
"Still a long way to go," I told the boys.
They both looked at me and shook their heads.
The Hens went down 1-2-3, in the bottom of the second, as did the Bats in the top of the third. The Hens singled to start the bottom of the third, but the next three batters couldn't do anything and the inning ended with the runner stranded on first. The fans were growing impatient. They were not rewarded in the fourth, as Cervenak was charged with another error, but the Hens got out of it with the help of fly ball and ground ball outs to keep the score at 4-0.
"Something good's gonna happen," Tony said, turning to the boys. "I can feel it. I'm telling you, I can feel it."
Toledo had a one-out single, but that was all, in the bottom of the fourth.
"Must have been gas, have you tried farting?" Ryan asked Tony, sarcastically.
"Don't encourage him, it'll be worse than the game," Nick said laughing.
The Bats scored another, making it 5-0, in the top of the fifth. A lead-off single, a wild pitch another single and a fielder's choice scored the run and the crowd let out another groan.
"I can't wait for Packo's hot dogs," Ryan told me mid-inning.
"Watch the game," I responded.
"Do you really want to watch any more of this?" he asked.
"I'll get some ice cream," I said. "C'mon, Z, we'll get a beer too."
Rob liked the sound of that, so we grabbed some brews for the adults and some Toledo Mud Hen ice cream helmets for the boys. We got back to our seats just in time for the bottom of the fifth and that's when the fun began.
Danny Dorn homered to lead off the inning, finally giving the fans something to cheer about. Ryan decided to break into the chorus of "Danny Boy" and before he'd finished the Hens had singled and doubled, putting runners on second and third with one out. The next three batters hit the ball hard, but two of the three went for outs to end the inning, but not before two more runs had scored, making it 5-3.
"We've got a game again," the guy next to Ryan looked over and smiled.
"We need more ice cream," Nick insisted. "They scored three times after you brought some back, if we get another they'll take the lead.
"It doesn't work that way," I told him.
"Don't break the karma," Ryan insisted, looking for a way to get more food.
"Not gonna happen," I told him.
"If they lose, it's on you," he said, sitting back down, unhappily.
For the next three and a half innings, neither team could do anything. The Bats had a walk and a single, while the Hens had two walks and two singles, but no one could push across another run. The score would remain 5-3, heading to the bottom of the ninth. The kids enjoyed every minute of the game, and laughed, danced, sang and shouted during the many stoppages in play and between innings. Nick even got a ball from one of the players as he entered the dugout between innings.
Unfortunately, the Hens went down 1-2-3, the last two by strikeout, to end the game. I knew what was coming and sure enough, it did.
Final Score:
Bats 5, Mud Hens 3
Rogers, Ch (W), 1-1
Wheelan (H), 5
Diaz, Jo (S), 5
Misch (L), 3-7
Post-Game Wrap Up:
"You broke the karma," Ryan told me before I could get a word out.
"I think it had more to do with the errors and the wild pitch," I told him.
"I think we needed more ice cream," Nicky chimed in.
"Well, then you wouldn't have had room for Packo's," I reminded them.
"Um, hello, are ya new?" Ryan asked. "If you can buy it, we can eat it. Let's go, it's hot dog time."
We walked out of the park and across the street to Packo's. Ryan, as always, was starving and to be honest, I was a bit hungry myself. So, we sauntered inside, grabbed a bar table and waited for the bartender to take out order.
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| Tony Packo's |
Tony Packo's Cafe is a restaurant that began in the Hungarian section of Toledo, back in 1932. The signature dish is the "Hungarian Hot Dog," which is a sausage, twice the diameter and length of a conventional dog, covered in a spicy chili and mustard mix. Packo's became so popular in the Toledo area that they have adopted the slogan, "The place where man bites dog." The founder of the business, Tony Packo, passed away at age 55, in 1963, and the business was then run by his daughter, Nancy, until her passing in 2003.
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| Jamie Farr Eats At Packo's |
episodes of the hit TV show, M*A*S*H, by character Maxwell Klinger, played by Toledo native Jamie Farr. Packo's would provide their signature dish to the M*A*S*H set on a regular basis and the actors and actresses have visited the restaurant many a time and provided signed memorabilia for the walls.
Packo's menu is full of foods, such as a smoked sausage, hot beef sandwich or chicken sandwich, chicken paprikas, stuffed cabbage rolls and roast beef platters, but there was only one thing that we were realistically going to get, actually two: hot dogs and bowls of chili.
Now, Nick and Tony weren't as hungry as the rest of us, so they split a dog and a bowl of chili. I went with my own bowl and two dogs, topped with onions and cheese, but Rob and Ryan took top dog, sharing the MOAD (Mother of All Dogs). The MOAD is the size of four hot dogs, covered in chili, onions, cheese and served with a side of jalapenos and Rob and Ryan decided to wash this down with a bowl of chili, smothered in onions and cheese.
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| Cast of M*A*S*H Enjoying Packo's |
As we waited for the dogs, I grabbed my beer and wandered around the restaurant to see the memorabilia on the walls and the gift shop. There were many M*A*S*H pictures as well as historical photos of Toledo and its sports teams over the years. I even found a photo of the New York Islanders having Packo's as part of a Stanley Cup celebration in the early 80s.
By the time I got back to the table, the food had arrived. I couldn't believe the size of the portions, but readily dug in. It was as good as I had ever imagined it to be. The dogs, served on a warm buttered bun, had a garlicky taste, which was well complemented by the chili, onions, cheese and mustard, and the sausage casing had the perfect amount of "snap" in each bite. The chili had just enough "kick" to make you shake your head, but not enough to make it too hot and the "bite" of the onions, mixed with the blended cheeses made for a perfect balance.
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| THE MOAD |
I settled back, stuffed, and watched Rob and Ryan go to town. Ryan kept up, bite for bite and spoon for
spoon until it was no more, which impressed me to no end. We paid our bill, headed to the car and started the forty-five minute drive to the night's destination, Southgate, Michigan. Of course the conversation turned to Ryan and his cast iron stomach.
spoon until it was no more, which impressed me to no end. We paid our bill, headed to the car and started the forty-five minute drive to the night's destination, Southgate, Michigan. Of course the conversation turned to Ryan and his cast iron stomach.
"Aren't you worried about all he's eaten?" Nick asked me.
"Nope, I'm worried about the rest of you," I told him.
"Why us?" Tony wondered aloud.
"Cause my butt's gonna be like a howitzer, in about twenty minutes," Ryan said, laughing.
"Aw, crap," was Tony's response.
"No, that'll be tomorrow," Ryan laughed, again.
"I call first one in the bathroom," Nick said, half joking.
"You'll have to get up earlier than you have so far," I warned him.
The last forty-five minutes of our day were spent in relative silence, broken only by Ryan's "air cannon" and the gags and laughs that emanated from the rest of us. If it wasn't obvious that this was a "guy's trip" before, it was now.
We pulled into the Motel 6 in Southgate between 12:30 and 1:30 AM. Nick, again, was asleep across Ryan as we went through the drive-through check-in and proceeded to our room. After unloading the car, I threw Ryan in the shower first and Tony and I sorted through all the souvenirs and made a bag for each kid. Rob and Nick were already laying down in the sleeping bags when I came out of the shower and Tony cracked three beers for us.
We toasted a great trip, so far, and thought back on all we'd done since leaving last Friday. The boys asked for a sip of beer and after conferring we all agreed that one small one wouldn't hurt them. So, we poured a small shot for each kid into a plastic cup and toasted our adventure before turning out the lights. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, we would get into Detroit as early as possible, see a lot of the city, have Jim Boothe join us for the Tigers' game, then take the "Detroit Coney Challenge" and, finally, make the four-and-a-half hour trek to Pittsburgh, where we would crash at my friend Pam's house. I turned out the lights and we all said our good-nights.
"FRRRUUUMMMP"
"What the hell was that?" Tony asked, with a hint of worry in his voice.
Ryan just started laughing.
"FRRRUUUMMMP," we heard again.
"Oh good God," I heard Rob say.
"He's farting," Nicky screamed.
"I warned you," was all I could get out before stuffing my head under the pillows to escape the cloud I knew was coming.
I laughed and rolled over; sleep was coming quickly, and it had been a long day. There were a few more complaints about the stench that was permeating the room, but they soon died down and darkness overtook me. I couldn't wait to get to "The Motor City," we had another big day ahead of us, but first I needed rest.
Next Stop:
July 10, 2013
Detroit, MI
Detroit, MI
Comerica Park
Chicago White Sox Vs Detroit Tigers
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