Tag: sandy koufax

Memories Of All-Star Games And The Hometown Team

Tonight is the Mid-Summer Classic, Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, the highlight of many summers for us when we were younger, and unfortunately, the game has lost some of its luster due to a variety of things, mostly interleague play.

Another reason is you can see every team’s games now. That’s a good thing, but still, it affects the All-Star contest. Back when we became a fan of baseball, the All-Star Game and the World Series were the only time you got to see the great players in the National League.

And growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, the NL dominated play winning every game from 1963-1970 and 1972-1982. The Senior Circuit had Willie Mays, Henry Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, and Joe Morgan.

Still, as kids, the night of the game was sacred. If you were playing ball, you rushed home by 8 PM to watch all the great players. We remember a few nights where sleepovers were scheduled so you could watch the contest with your friends.

In 1965 (still a day game), the Cleveland Indians had two starters, CF Vic Davalillo and RF Rocky Colavito, Sam McDowell pitched in the game and took the loss in a 6-5 NL win. (The winning pitcher was Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson got the save!).

They were the last Cleveland players to start in an All-Star Game until Manny Trillo in 1983. Trillo was voted in because people knew him nationally because he played for the Phillies prior to being traded to the Tribe in the Von Hayes (five for one) deal.

So, as an Indian fan, our hope was that our player would get in the game. Sometimes they did, sometimes they didn’t, and many times it was a pinch-hitting appearance.

Of course, once the 90’s came, the Indians were all over the starting lineups. Kenny Lofton, Carlos Baerga, Albert Belle, Sandy Alomar Jr. were regulars in the AL batting order.

One painful memory was the 1970 game in which Ray Fosse’s career was ruined in a home plate collision with Rose on the last play. Fosse came into the game hitting .312 with 16 homers and 46 RBI (893 OPS) and was a great defensive catcher as well. He was the AL’s answer to Bench.

After the collision, which resulted in a shoulder injury (we believe Fosse said it was separated), his numbers in the second half fell off to .297 with only 2 home runs and 15 ribbies (713 OPS). Fosse played until 1979, won a couple of World Series rings with the A’s (’73 and ’74) and broadcasted games for Oakland for many years. But what could have been a great career was destroyed.

We have seen three games played in town. The ’81 game which was marred because it was the first game played after the work stoppage, the ’97 contest during the “Summer of Sandy” when Sandy Alomar came into the game hitting .375 and in the midst of a 30-game hitting streak and then hit the game winning homer to claim the MVP.

And of course, 2019, when Shane Bieber introduced himself to the country, striking out the side in a 4-3 AL win and winning the MVP for the game. Bieber was just 24 and in his second season in the bigs and won the Cy Young Award the next year in the COVID-shortened season.

It’s not the same today for many reasons, but it’s still an enjoyable evening for baseball fans. The only bad thing is we have to wait until Friday for another game. That can be painful.

This Year, Spring Training Doesn’t Hold The Same Excitement

We have made no bones about the fact that baseball is our favorite sport. And usually, this time of year has us excited. Spring training is about to begin, and like many fans, we put together potential lineups in our head and think about what young prospects could make a difference for the Guardians.

We don’t have that same feeling this winter. 

Part of it is the sports itself and how it is covered. When MLB Network first came out, we loved it. A station that talked nothing about what used to be the “national pastime.”

Much of the winter was spent showing old games, where we could show our children players like Sandy Koufax, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Roberto Clemente, and even Mark “The Bird” Fidrych. 

Now, the network has turned into group think, where no one has diverse opinions and much of the talk is solely about sabremetric statistics, which we do pay attention to, but we are starting to see “analytics” as a justification to make a decision. 

For example, the Guardians played Gabriel Arias at shortstop most of the last two months because he has an outstanding exit velocity, meaning he hits the ball hard. The problem for Arias though, is he rarely hits it. 

None of the guys we grew up playing baseball with think Arias is a good player. None. 

There is a place in the sport for these numbers, but it would be okay if someone talked about runs scored, RBI, and disagreed that a good player should make the Hall of Fame. 

Besides, how many times can you watch Little Big League?

But it is the local situation that really has us not looking forward to the season with the same zeal. 

The Cleveland Guardians won the AL Central Division in 2022, and at the all-star break last season, were still in the race. Then, at the trading deadline, they moved one of their starting pitchers, even though they had two starters injured, and moved one of their middle of the order bats. 

When the division leading Twins failed to pull away in August, and Terry Francona announced he was going to retire at the end of the season, they did claim three pitchers to bolster the staff to make a belated run.

It failed.

The Guardians’ offense is the chief problem, ranking 12th in the American League in runs scored. It would seem to be the area where the club could improve and vault into the post-season in 2024. However, the organization did nothing. 

Yes, we know, in fact, we all know about the broadcast deal with Bally Sports. We all know because the ownership through the media tells fans about it all the time. We have said this often, if the people who pay the bills put as much energy in trying to make the team better and/or get more fans to the park as they do making excuses why they can’t spend money, the Guardians would be better off.

The team couldn’t even make a big announcement that the equipment truck was leaving for Arizona yesterday, a glimmer of spring hope in northeast Ohio, until several media outlets reported it was happening. 

We lived through the Vernon Stouffer years, the Nick Mileti years, the Gabe Paul years, etc., and through the naivety of youth, still believed the Indians could contend. Fifty years later, and nothing has changed. 

It used to be because the old decrepit base park that the team couldn’t compete. Now we have Progressive Field, and outside of the first ten years it was built, the excuse is the same. 

We understand the finances of the game is a problem, and smaller markets are at a disadvantage, but we are certain the family who owns the Guardians is doing quite well. A good businessman finds another way. 

We still love baseball, but we feel let down by it. We are sure someone will read this and say “go root for another team!”, but we grew up with the Cleveland Indians, and we are born and bred here. 

The owners are the stewards of the franchise. Yet they continue to let us down. Fifty years from now, will there be fans like the guys we grew up with?