The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly: Cleveland Indians: Heart-Pounding, Jaw-Dropping, and Gut-Wrenching Moments from Cleveland Indians History

By Mary Schmitt Boyer and Terry Pluto

Genuine fans take the best team moments with the less than great, and know that the games that are best forgotten make the good moments truly shine. This monumental book of the Cleveland Indians documents all the best moments and personalities in the history of the team, but also unmasks the regrettably awful and the unflinchingly ugly. In entertaining—and unsparing—fashion, this book sparkles with Indians highlights and lowlights, from wonderful and wacky memories to the famous and infamous. Such moments include the impressive playoff run in 2007 and the opening of Jacobs Field, but also the 23-2 loss to the Twins in 2003 and the debacle that was the “ten cent beer night” in 1974. Whether providing fond memories, goose bumps, or laughs, this portrait of the team is sure to appeal to the fan who has been through it all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Triumph Books
• Release date: May 1, 2008
• ISBN: 9781617491375

Book preview

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INTRODUCTION

The good. The bad. The ugly. That just about covers the 2007 Cleveland Indians’ season. So much good was overshadowed by the ugly ending, when the Indians built a 3–1 lead in games against the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series only to lose three straight games and their chance to advance to the World Series for the first time since 1997.

They were outscored in those three games, 30–5. If that wasn’t bad enough, they awoke on the morning of Game 7 to reports that pitcher Paul Byrd had spent $25,000 on human growth hormone. Byrd told reporters he had a doctor’s prescription for the drug to treat an adult growth hormone deficiency.

It was a disheartening end to what had been a terrific season. After all, the Indians did finish the regular season with a 96–66 record, tying those Red Sox for the best record in baseball. They won their first AL Central Division crown since 2001 and beat the archrival New York Yankees in the AL Division Series to advance to the ALCS for the first time since 1998.

C.C. Sabathia won the AL Cy Young Award, while Fausto Carmona finished fourth in the Cy Young voting after exploding onto the scene and finished with a 19–8 record and a 3.06 ERA. Rafael Bentancourt and Rafael Perez became two of the best set-up men in baseball, and closer Joe Borowski led the AL with 45 saves, even if he did always seem to do it the hard way.

Sabathia, center fielder Grady Sizemore, and catcher Victor Martinez were all named to the All-Star team. Sizemore won a Gold Glove and finished fourth in the league in runs scored with 118, fifth in walks with 101, and sixth in stolen bases with 33. Martinez had a career year with a .301 batting average, 114 RBIs, 25 home runs, and 40 doubles.

Eric Wedge was named AL Manager of the Year, and Mark Shapiro was named Executive of the Year.

Every move the team made seemed to work, whether it was bringing back 40-year-old Kenny Lofton or inserting rookie Asdrubal Cabrera at second base. With things going so well during the season, Wedge and designated hitter Travis Hafner each signed contract extensions.

Somehow the team whose first home series was snowed out and whose second home series was moved to the covered stadium in Milwaukee finished the season red hot.

Then came the collapse in Boston, where Sabathia, Carmona, and Hafner failed to come through and the Tribe’s best chance to tie the score at 3–3 in Game 7 was lost when third base coach Joel Skinner held up a streaking Lofton at third after a ball off the bat of Franklin Gutierrez caromed off the stands behind third base and wound up in left field. The Indians ended up losing the game, 11–2, but at the time the shift in momentum was palpable.

Indians fans who had gathered in Jacobs Field to watch the game in Fenway Park groaned. Their hopes had been dashed again. But they are a sturdy bunch. The pain from the loss will lessen as time goes on, and their hearts will heal. They will regain faith in their team just about the time spring training rolls around. Then it will be Tribe Time again.

THE GOOD

THE NEWEST STAR

Cleveland fans were on to Grady Sizemore long before the national media caught up.

Well, female Cleveland fans, at least.

Before Sizemore made the All-Star team and the cover of Sports Illustrated, his fan club, Grady’s Ladies, showed their devotion by wearing pink T-shirts, and Mrs. Sizemore T-shirts were one of the most popular items in the team’s gift shops.

Shortly after the Cleveland Browns drafted former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn in the spring of 2007, Cleveland’s Plain Dealer ran a funny story in its irreverent pdQ section about which of the two hunkiest dreamboats was a better catch. Sizemore won, partly because he is already an established star and partly because he’s a tad older and, theoretically, closer to wanting to settle down.

The article referred to Sizemore as a stud muffin and Quinn as beefcake. And just in case you’re wondering, the story was written by a man. A man who is a huge sports fan, but still…

Like many sports stars, Sizemore took full advantage when opportunity knocked at his door. He was slated for Triple A Buffalo in the 2005 season, but when Juan Gonzalez got hurt during spring training, Sizemore was called up. He had a breakout season with a .289 average in 158 games, 37 doubles, 11 triples, 22 home runs, and 22 stolen bases.

Then in the disappointing season of 2006, which started with so much promise and ended with a 78–84 record, Sizemore’s selection to the All-Star team was one of the first-half highlights, and he put together one of the best seasons in the club’s history. He led the Major League in runs scored with 134, and extra-base hits with 92 (the third highest total in team history and the highest total for the team’s leadoff hitter), and led the AL in doubles with 53. He was second in the league with 349 total bases. He became the first Indian to hit double figures in doubles, triples, home runs, and stolen bases in two seasons, and he was only the second major leaguer to post more than 50 doubles, 10 triples, 20 homers, and 20 steals in the same season.

He was a model of consistency, playing in every game and setting a team record for fewest double plays grounded into—two. His 419 total chances were the most in the majors and his 655 at-bats were the fifth highest in team history. He also was named the Indians’ Man of the Year by the Cleveland baseball writers.

Indians fans knew Grady Sizemore was a future star long before the national media caught on.

While pointing out all that in the team’s press guide, even the Indians admitted, Okay, we’re gushing now.

The funny thing was, when Sizemore came to the Indians on June 27, 2002, as part of the trade that sent pitchers Bartolo Colon and Tim Drew—along with cash to Montreal—he wasn’t the focal point. Instead, the media made more of promising minor league infielder Brandon Phillips or left-hander Cliff Lee.

General manager Mark Shapiro certainly knew what he was getting, though.

Each guy in the trade was an important piece, and the trade would not have been completed by us without all three included, said Shapiro, who also got veteran first baseman Lee Stevens in the deal. In fact, we were trying to get a fourth player added until Colon strained a muscle just before we completed the trade. More was made of Phillips and Lee because they were performing better and at higher levels (AAA and AA, respectively). Grady was having a mediocre season in A ball, but we loved his upside. He was the lone projection guy in the deal, but we felt he had a high upside. In all honesty, we felt Phillips was the surest thing in the deal. Looks like we were right on him but not on our time frame, unfortunately. He was the highest regarded prospect in the industry at the time of the trade, but Grady was no secret and was an important part of the deal.

After several seasons shuttling between Cleveland and its Triple A affiliate in Buffalo, in 2006 Phillips was traded to Cincinnati, where he became the Reds’ starting second baseman. Five days earlier, the Indians signed Sizemore to a $31.45 million, seven-year contract extension, including a club option that could keep him with the team through 2012.

If he continues to play as he has been, he’ll be a steal at that price. He was selected to his second All-Star Game in 2007, about six weeks after appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline, Why Sizemore Matters.

In the article, writer Tom Verducci quotes assorted baseball executives raving about Sizemore, including Shapiro.

To watch him play day in and day out is a rare treat, Shapiro told the magazine. All of us, from the front office to the players to the bat boys, are fortunate to see him every day. He is without a doubt one of the greatest players of our generation.

Shapiro likened Sizemore to New York Yankees star Derek Jeter because of his popularity, his approach, and his athleticism. (And like Jeter, Sizemore is biracial. His father is African American; his mother is white.)

INDIANS EXTRA-BASE HITS LEADERS

Albert Belle, 103, 1995

Hal Trosky, 96, 1936

Grady Sizemore, 92, 2006

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who picked Sizemore as a 2006 All-Star reserve, called the Indians center fielder the best player in our league and Superman. Toronto manager John Gibbons said, He’s the kind of player every manager wants. He can do it all, but what’s so great is he plays the game the right way and he gives your team energy every day. He’s a dirtbag. He’ll do whatever he can to beat you.

Like stealing home in a 9–3 victory at Toronto on August 26, 2005, with two strikes on Travis Hafner.

I didn’t know what he was doing, Hafner told reporters after the game. I thought maybe he had to run to the bathroom or something. If I had swung and hit Grady in the face, I would have had every woman in America mad at me.

Sizemore doesn’t seem overly impressed with the effect he seems to have on members of the female persuasion.

You can never complain about being liked by the fans, Sizemore told the Akron Beacon Journal. It’s kind of funny to see little girls with the [pink Mrs. Sizemore] T-shirts, but it’s more for the fans.

Then again, he doesn’t seem overly impressed with himself in general. If there is such a thing as a reluctant superstar, Sizemore is it.

I was at the All-Star Game with him last year [2006], Toronto third baseman Troy Glaus told Sports Illustrated, and I’m telling you, he did not say one word the entire time. Not one word. And it’s not because he’s a bad guy. He’s just that quiet.

Sizemore really was thrilled to make his first All-Star team.

HOT STREAK

One of the highlights of the Indians’ 2007 season was the 26-game hitting streak by Casey Blake, tied for the sixth longest streak in team history. It lasted from May 20 to June 18. Ironically, Blake went hitless as the Indians pounded the Philadelphia Phillies for 11 hits in a 10–1 victory. He was in the on-deck circle when Josh Barfield flied out to center for the third out in the eighth inning.

It was interesting, Blake told reporters after the game. When you don’t have a hit in a streak like this, the anxiety builds the whole game, especially when the game’s out of hand. You’re like, ‘Whatever I do isn’t going to matter, but I’d like to get a hit.’

Blake went 33 for 104 during the streak (.317), with seven home runs and 18 RBIs. Twelve times his hit came in the sixth inning or later.

Although it was fun while it lasted, Blake admitted he was no threat to Joe DiMaggio’s record 56-game hitting streak.

You want it to last as long as you can, but 56 games? Are you kidding me? Blake told reporters. I told myself, ‘What are you fretting about?’

It’s exciting, he told reporters. I never really thought about it. I’ve just been focusing on the season. Everyone should want to play well enough to make the All-Star team, but I didn’t expect this. It wasn’t one of my goals, something I wrote down in a book.

But a few days before he was named to the 2007 squad as a reserve, Sizemore said he wouldn’t be disappointed if he didn’t make it again.

I think it’s great if you make it, he said. If you don’t, it’s no big deal either. I haven’t even thought about it, to be honest with you. I don’t focus on that. There’s so much going on day to day in the baseball season, it’s the last thing on my mind. That’s all great. That’s all fun. But that’s not what I think about. That’s not what I enjoyed the most about being an All-Star. Being part of the game and playing with those guys. All that other stuff is stuff I’m not really accustomed to.

He’s referring to all the hype and hoopla that surround the game, including mass media sessions, parades over red carpets, and exaggerated introductions. The things he seemed happiest about were that he was voted onto the team by his peers—and that he would be joined by teammates Victor Martinez and C.C. Sabathia.

TRIVIA

Who is the only other major league player besides Grady Sizemore to hit at least 50 doubles, 10 triples, 20 homers, and 20 steals in the same season?

Find the answers on pages 159–160.

It will be nice to have somebody to talk to and share the experience with, said Sizemore, who turned down a chance to compete in the home-run derby the day before the All-Star Game. I didn’t know too many of those guys last year.

Sizemore grew up in a close family outside Seattle, in the northern suburb of Mill Creek in Snohomish County. Snohomish County also happened to be the home of Indians Hall of Fame center fielder Earl Averill, a native of Everett. In fact, according to Sports Illustrated, when The Herald recently compiled a list of the county’s top 50 athletes, Averill was number one and Sizemore was number 16.

Sizemore’s father, Grady Sizemore II, was an insurance adjuster who played baseball at Mars Hill College in North Carolina. His mother, Donna, was a bookkeeper. They have another son, Corey, two years younger than Grady. The boys were always playing one sport or another, and Grady usually won. He was a three-sport star at Cascade High School, but he worked on his studies, too, and never got the sort of big head so many prep stars do.

I don’t ever recall seeing Grady walk down the middle of the hallway and expecting the seas to part, former Cascade baseball coach Bob Smithson told the Akron Beacon Journal.

INDIANS TOP HITTING STREAKS

He was good enough in football that former University of Washington coach Rick Neuheisel offered him a scholarship to play quarterback for the Huskies. But when the Montreal Expos gave him a $2 million signing bonus, college—and football—took a back seat.

I’m sure he’d be in the NFL right now if he weren’t playing baseball, Shapiro told Sports Illustrated. He’s that kind of elite athlete. The game needs more like him.

THE INDIANS’ FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP

It never looked as if 1920 was going to be the Indians’ year.

Instead, it appeared it would be best remembered for the tragic death of shortstop Ray Chapman, who was hit in the head by a pitch from Carl Mays of the Yankees on August 16 in New York and died the next day—the only major league player ever fatally wounded during a game.

But the Indians regrouped, first using reserve infielder Harry Lunte and then calling up Joe Sewell from the minor leagues when Lunte hurt his leg, and continued to push toward the postseason. They had finished second to Boston and Chicago, respectively, in 1918 and 1919, and player-manager Tris Speaker had them one game ahead of Chicago in the last week of the 1920 regular season when seven players on the defending champion