July 20- Cleveland Indians

I’m not even sure where to start with this cap, but I do know what I want to talk about when I look at it. Since 2007 there has been a rumor floating around that the Cleveland Indians have been trying to phase out the iconic, but racist logo that has been a staple of the team since 1947. The reason why I can only use the word theory is because there is no concrete evidence to support it, only speculation and conspiracy theories… or so we’re led to believe. Sportswriters have periodically alleged that the Cleveland Indians are gradually phasing out the logo. A sportswriter for the New York Times suggested this in 2007, noting that Chief Wahoo enjoyed a much-diminished presence in Cleveland's home stadium. Sportswriter Craig Calcaterra wrote about his suspicions of a phase-out when he observed that the team used an alternate logo on their scoreboard, and the Journal News of New York has alleged the team is "so embarrassed by their grinning Indian logo that they've all but banished it from Jacobs Field". Changes to the batting helmets in 2013 led to renewed speculation of a phase-out. Sportswriters have speculated that a slow phase-out allows the team to avoid a negative short-term reaction; however, Indians president Mark Shapiro and other team spokespeople have said there are no plans for a phase-out. No matter what your opinion of this matter is, here are a few facts which may persuade you that the phase out is all… well, I don’t know really.

One thing that I can attest for is that I am a huge fan of this logo from merely an artistic perspective. Yes, I will admit that it’s pretty racist; however, the connotations have a much more innocent background. Legend has it that the team honored Louis Sockalexis when it assumed its current name in 1915. Sockalexis, a Native American, had played in Cleveland 1897–99. Research indicates that this legend is mostly untrue, and that the new name was a play on the name of the Boston Braves, then known as the "Miracle Braves" after going from last place on July 4th to a sweep in the 1914 World Series. Proponents of the name acknowledged that the Cleveland Spiders of the National League had sometimes been informally called the "Indians" during Sockalexis' short career there, a fact which merely reinforced the new name. As time wore on the name just stuck. Changing it now would be a bit of an issue, kind of like with what happened when the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington, D.C. and became the Nationals. It’s just weird. But, for arguments sake, if I had a vote on choosing a team name I highly suggest going back to the Spiders. Because honestly, it’s an underutilized and badass mascot name.

So now that the history of the name has been established we have to go into detail about the logo. In 1947, Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck hired the J.F. Novak Company, designers of the patches worn by Cleveland’s police and firefighters, to create a new logo for his team. 17-year-old draftsman Walter Goldbach, an employee of the Novak Company, was asked to perform the job. Tasked with creating a mascot that "would convey a spirit of pure joy and unbridled enthusiasm", he created a smiling Indian face with yellow skin and a prominent nose. This one.

Goldbach has said that he had difficulty "figuring out how to make an Indian look like a cartoon", and that he was probably influenced by the cartoon style that was popular at the time. Sportswriters would eventually take to calling the unnamed character "Chief Wahoo". Goldbach has said that the logo's moniker is inaccurate. Quoting a child he met while talking at a school, Goldbach explained in a 2008 interview, "He’s not a chief, he’s a brave. He only has one feather. Chiefs have full headdresses.” A valid point.

In 1951, the mascot was redesigned with a smaller nose and red skin instead of yellow skin. This logo has remained in use ever since, with only minor changes to the design. In the 1950s, the logo had black outlines and red skin; today the logo has blue lines and red skin.

After its introduction, the face of the 1951 logo was incorporated into other, full-body depictions of the character, which is the style I decided to roll with for my tattoo.

Ohio sportswriter Terry Pluto has described comics of Chief Wahoo that would run on the front page of the Cleveland Plain Dealer in the 1950s, with the character's depiction signifying the outcome of yesterday's game. Wins were illustrated by Chief Wahoo holding a lantern in one hand and extending the index finger on his other. Losses were illustrated by a "battered" Chief Wahoo, complete with black eye, missing teeth, and crumpled feathers, because artists who do caricatures in sports and politics are borderline racist themselves. Kidding of course.

From then until the end of the 1985 season the Chief Wahoo logo was only featured on jerseys, memorabilia, jackets, posters and other novelties but it had yet to be put on a hat until the 1986 season. Prior to 1986 the caps all featured a variation of the “C” logo, but as soon as the Chief Wahoo logo was introduced as the cap logo, sales of the cap exploded. All throughout the late 1980s and into the early 2000s Indians caps were some of the best selling Major League Baseball caps on the market. Aside from them having a cool look it also helped that the Indians were World Series contenders for the majority of the stretch until the end of 2007, plus there was also that movie made about the Indians which people have come to know and love. Spaceballs?

But what happened in 2007 to cause the rumor about a phase out? In 2007, Shapiro signed veteran help for the bullpen and outfield in the offseason. Veterans Aaron Fultz, and Joe Borowski joined Rafael Betancourt in the Indians bullpen. The Indians improved significantly over the prior year and went into the All-Star break in second place. The team brought back Kenny Lofton for his third stint with the team in late July. The Indians finished with a 96–66 record tied with the Red Sox for best in baseball, their seventh Central Division title in 13 years and their first postseason trip since 2001.

The Indians began their playoff run by defeating the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series three games to one. This series will be most remembered for the swarm of bugs that overtook the field in the later innings of Game Two. They also jumped out to a three-games-to-one lead over the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series; however, the season ended in disappointment when Boston swept the final three games to advance to the 2007 World Series. Despite the loss, Cleveland players took home a number of awards. Grady Sizemore, who had a .995 fielding percentage and only two errors in 405 chances, won the Gold Glove award, Cleveland's first since 2001. Indians Pitcher CC Sabathia won the second Cy Young Award in team history with a 19–7 record, a 3.21 ERA and an MLB-leading 241 innings pitched. Eric Wedge was awarded the first Manager of the Year Award in team history. Shapiro was named to his second Executive of the Year in 2007. Now, I’m no fancy big city business tycoon, but from everything I just listed I would hardly say there’s any reason to shout conspiracy theories about a logo getting phased out, especially while a team is too busy winning. What is most interesting about the logo phase out theory are the hats that would introduced the following season, the one I’m wearing above.

I have yet to find or yet to hear any reasonable explanation as to why the Indians elected to shrink the size of the logo as dramatically as they did, but there is certainly one point chalked to the phase out theory. At the same time though, shrinking or making a slight modification to a log is also a really good way to boost merchandise sales. Take me, and other cap collectors for example. We all have the bigger logoed hats, so why not get the smaller logo as well? Some of you who aren’t keen on Indians caps might also not know that from 2003-2007 the Indians had brought out new caps in which the only change they made was a silver outline around the logo. I’m still looking for both of them.

I guess the only other thing to address is the theory that the Indians are using “alternate” logos on the scoreboard and around Progressive Field (The Jake!). Well, I was there last August, what do you think?

Even the employees still wear the Chief Wahoo logo on their shirts.

Can you spot me doing "The Shark?"

From everything I have researched, put together and seen in person I don’t see any evidence that the Indians are trying to phase it out. Yes, they certainly have introduced new hats which would also lead people to believe the theory, but they still use caps like this one as their road cap since 2008, and now as their alternate road cap since 2011. Wait a minute… alternate road cap!? They’re trying to phase it out! Damn you!!! ;)

In keeping with this oddity theme I am happy to say that I marked this cap up accordingly. Actually, prior to donning this cap in the photo I still had all of the stickers on it. Not even sure how I pulled that one off. Weird.

#48- Travis Hafner is one of the few people to make it to the big leagues having been born in the great state of North Dakota. Seriously, only 15 players, including Hafner, have come from The Flickertail State and the only other one you may have heard of is Rick Helling. Hafner attended college at Cowley County Community College in Arkansas City, Kansas (the town’s name doesn’t make sense to me either) where he was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 31st round of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft. He hit his first career home run August 11, 2002 while playing for the Rangers against the Indians. In addition to the home run, he had two doubles and a single in five at-bats, driving in three runs and scoring two. He nearly hit for the cycle in this game, but was thrown out at third base while attempting the triple. Greedy!

In the winter of 2002, the Rangers traded Hafner to the Indians along with Aaron Myette for catcher Einar Diaz and right-handed pitcher Ryan Drese. Hafner enjoyed moderate success with the Indians in 2003, splitting time between first base and designated hitter. On August 14, he hit for the cycle in Minnesota, the first Indian to accomplish the feat since Andre Thornton in 1978. In 2004, Hafner had a breakout offensive season. As the primary DH he finished the season in the top-10 in the league in on-base percentage (.410, 3rd), slugging percentage (.583, 4th), doubles (41, 6th), extra base hits (72, 7th), RBI (109, 9th) and batting average (.311, 10th). He also hit 28 home runs (16th in the AL) and scored 96 runs (20th in the AL). He topped the .300 mark in batting average each month of the season except August–when he hit a respectable .274–and was particularly hot in July, hitting .360 with 8 home runs and 28 RBI. He hit his first career grand slam in the Indians' home opener on April 12 against Kyle Lohse of the Minnesota Twins.

At the beginning of the 2005 season, the Indians signed Hafner to a three-year contract through 2007 with a club option for 2008. He responded by exceeding his offensive production of 2004. He was again among the league-leaders in on-base percentage (3rd, .408), slugging percentage (3rd, .595), doubles (5th, 42), walks (7th, 79), extra base hits (8th, 75), batting average (9th, .305), home runs (9th, 33) and RBI (9th, 108). He also scored 94 runs. The American League named him Player of the Month for June, when he posted a .345 batting average with 10 doubles, 8 home runs, and 29 RBI in 24 games.

In the first full week of July he was named Player of the Week after hitting .480 with 4 home runs and 12 RBI in 8 games. On July 16, he was hit in the face by a pitch thrown by the Chicago White Sox's Mark Buehrle and was placed on the 15-day disabled list on July 26. After returning from the DL on August 4, he hit .296 with 15 home runs and 45 RBI over the remaining 54 games of the season. To end the season, he hit home runs in six straight games from September 18–24, the second longest such streak in Cleveland history. After the season, the Cleveland chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) named him Indians Man of the Year and he finished fifth in the AL Most Valuable Player voting.

For the third straight season, in 2006, Hafner posted MVP-caliber numbers while anchoring the middle of one of the most potent offenses in baseball. On September 1, he was hit on the hand by Rangers’ pitcher C.J. Wilson. The Indians placed him on the disabled list for the rest of the season on September 9 after X-rays revealed a broken bone in his right hand. At the time of the injury, he led the league in slugging percentage (.659) and walks (100); was second in home runs (42), RBI (117), total bases (299), on-base percentage (.439) and extra-base hits (74); and was third in runs scored (100). He also batted over .300 (.308) for the third consecutive season. He finished 8th in the league MVP voting by the BBWAA.

On June 7, a section in the right field mezzanine at Jacobs Field was officially opened as "Pronkville." His nickname, "Pronk", was given to him by former teammate Bill Selby during spring training of 2001 when people sometimes referred to him as "The Project" and other times "Donkey" for the way he looked when running the bases. On July 7, Hafner became the first player in Major League history to hit five grand slams before the All-Star break and passed Al Rosen in the team's season record book when he homered off Kris Benson of the Baltimore Orioles. He joined Hall-of-Famer Ernie Banks of the 1955 Chicago Cubs, Jim Gentile of the 1961 Orioles and Don Mattingly of the 1987 Yankees as the only players to hit at least five grand slams in a season. A little more than a month later, on August 13, Hafner tied Mattingly's single-season record when he hit his sixth grand slam of the season off Luke Hudson of the Kansas City Royals. His league-leading 13 home runs and 30 RBI combined with his .361 average in the month of August earned him AL Player of the Month—the second time he has been honored as such in his career.

In 2007, Hafner had a down year as he batted .266 for the season, compared to .308 in 2006 and .305 in 2005. He hit 24 home runs and 100 runs batted in, his 4th straight season of 100+ RBI. Some critics point to Hafner's disappointing performance being due to unfinished contract negotiations, but Hafner denied this. The Indians signed Hafner to a four-year, $57 million contract extension during the All-Star break, keeping him in Cleveland through the 2012 season. Then the injuries came. From 2008-2012 Hafner played in 429 total games, only playing for over 100 games once in 2010 (118). He never hit for more than 16 home runs during this time, nor did he bat in more than 57 runs (2011). On April 5, 2012, Hafner became only the 12th player in Cleveland Indians history to make at least 10 starts on Opening Day in a Cleveland Indians uniform. On April 15, 2012, Hafner hit a home run off of Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Luis Mendoza that was estimated at 456 feet. It was the longest homer hit at Kauffman Stadium since 2001. When Hafner was placed on the injured list in May for surgery to repair an injured right knee, it was his sixth appearance on the list in the last five seasons. Against the Detroit Tigers on August 5, Hafner a solo home run in the 10th inning, his 200th home run of his career. He was again placed on the disabled list in August with lower back inflammation. On November 1, the Indians declined on his option, making him a free agent.

#55- Signed by the Indians as a free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2000, Fausto Carmona was the original name given by Roberto Hernandez, a sinker specialist who spent seven years in the minor leagues before making his MLB debut on April 15, 2006. His first season was terrible, 1-10 with a 5.42 ERA; however, his sophomore season was Cy Young worthy. In 2007, his best year, Hernandez went 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA and 137 strikeouts which was good enough for a fourth place finish for the AL Cy Young and 23^rd place for the AL MVP. His teammate Sabathia took home the AL Cy Young that season.

In the years to follow Hernandez posted mediocre, bad and then solid numbers. In 2010 Hernandez went 13-14 with a 3.77 ERA and 124 strikeouts. That season he made the only All-Star Game appearance of his career thus far. In January 2012, Dominican police arrested Hernandez after he left the U.S. Consulate, accusing him of using a false identity to obtain a visa. Police reported his real name as Roberto Heredia Hernandez, and that he is three years older than he reported. The Indians placed Hernandez on the restricted list. Officials in both countries received assistance in the case by a woman in the Dominican Republic who claimed she falsified a birth certificate for Hernandez in exchange for $26,000, but when Hernandez's father failed to pay her, she contacted the authorities. The Indians brought Hernandez back for the 2012 season in which he lasted on three games, going 0-3 with a 7.53 ERA.

June 25- Kinston Indians

This particular cap purchase came as a result of a whim, rather the necessity. I found it at the New Era Flagship store across the street from the MLB Fan Cave in their quite respectable minor league section. I had spent a solid 20 minutes in the store which is way longer than I usually dedicate time toward shopping in one location, unless of course I’m chatting it up with the employees. Sadly, this was not the case. It was still pretty early in my time in New York City and for some odd reason I had the urge to buy a couple hats, but was having a lot of difficulty committing to any of them. This particular Kinston Indians hat I must have picked up and put down at least six times before I finally gave it the green light. My only problem with it is that it’s a custom cap. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, and will continue to mention throughout the year, I always prefer the actual game colors, logos and styles and very rarely pick up a custom cap… unless it’s something worth adding to the collection. Well… this one was definitely up to snuff.

The Kinston Indians wore this cap for all of their home games in 2011, their final season. The only difference between this cap and the one from 2011 is that this one features a gold outline and interior of the feather, as opposed to the tan outline and white interior to the feather featured on the game cap. Personally, I’d actually say that the look of this one is better, and pretty much the main reason why I rolled the dice on it.

Now, it’s pretty rare for me to get really caught up on things “that shouldn’t matter” to the point where it depresses me. I tend to focus on the long term effects and the historical sides of things way too intently. I bring this up because one of the many “things that shouldn’t” bother me is when a minor league team packs up and relocates. The same could easily be said about a Major League franchise, which has only happened once in my lifetime, but in most cases with the minor league system the deep-rooted history that goes along with each team is just laid to waste. It’s a common practice that’s merely part of the business, and very few towns have seen baseball come and go, thrive and die as much as Kinston, North Carolina has.

Established in 1987, the Indians, or "K-Tribe" as they were popularly known, were an advanced-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians and played through the 2011 season. A total of 17 managers led the club since the start of the Indians affiliation including two who have since managed the big league club. The Indians played in 3,458 regular season games and compiled a win–loss record of 1,925–1,533. Kinston has served as a farm club for ten different major league franchises and one minor league club as professional baseball in the hamlet dates back to a 1908 squad in the Eastern Carolina League. Despite having one of the smallest markets in professional baseball, Kinston has proved its viability for over a century.

Kinston was represented by many excellent amateur clubs since the late nineteenth century, but it was unable to sustain a viable professional team until the mid-1920s. Earlier attempts included an aborted campaign in the Class D Eastern Carolina League in 1908 and an "outlaw league" team in 1921 and 1922. The latter was notable for being managed by former major league pitcher George Suggs and College Football Hall of Fame member Ira Rodgers. Due to the efforts of the city's business leaders, former local amateur star Elisha Lewis, and George Suggs, the town secured a professional team in the Virginia League for the 1925 season named the "Eagles".

The Eagles were a Class B team playing out of a then newly renovated stadium designed by Suggs known as West End Park. The squad had little success against other teams in their league, but was successful enough in gate receipts to validate the city's capacity to sustain a professional team. Kinston's team remained in the Virginia League for three years and then migrated to a newly reformed Eastern Carolina League. This later affiliation collapsed along with the stock market in 1929. The 1920s Eagles' roster included a young catcher named Rick Ferrell, who later had a long playing career and even longer front office career in the major leagues. In 1984, Ferrell became the only former Kinston player inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Another player, Frank Armstrong, gave up baseball for a career in the armed services and became one of the most decorated generals in the history of the Air Force.

The Great Depression took a great toll on the minor leagues, with only thirteen teams operating across the U.S. at a 1933 low point. Like most, Kinston sat out the first few years of the Great Depression but reentered play for the 1934 season in the semi-professional Coastal Plain League. By 1937 the circuit had become a fully professional, Class D league as ranked by the National Association. The city remained in the Coastal Plain League continuously until it was disbanded after 1952. As a member of this affiliation, Kinston saw many playoff appearances and won league championships in 1935 and 1947. Among the superior talent during this period was a young player named Charlie "King Kong" Keller who is listed as among the top forty major league players of all-time in terms of on-base percentage (.410). Keller won four World Series titles with the New York Yankees from 1939-1958 and made five All-Star Game appearances in that same stretch.

Kinston was without a team for the three-year period following the dissolution of the Coastal Plain League. In 1956, the owner of the Burlington Bees of the Carolina League moved his team to Kinston. At that time, the Carolina League was a Class B loop with teams located in Virginia and North Carolina. The team, calling itself the Kinston Eagles, were a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate and featured the city's first African-American ball players. In these early days of the Civil Rights Movement, the black players in the Carolina League received much verbal and psychological abuse from the largely white, Southern fan base. The first black players were Frank Washington and Carl Long. Long excelled during the 1956 season, setting an RBI standard of 111 that has never been surpassed by any later Kinston hitter. While the integration succeeded on the ball field, the team failed financially. The Eagles' owner was an inept businessman who brought the club near bankruptcy before it was moved 40 miles away to Wilson in 1957.

Kinston's re-entry into Carolina League baseball in 1962 was successful both on the field and at the turnstile. The Eagles were able to claim the first of its Carolina League crowns. At a time when Kinston's population was only 25,000, the ball club attracted over 140,000 fans. Part of the lure was the talent supplied by Kinston's parent club, the Pirates, which included Steve Blass (17–3, 1.97 ERA, 209 K's), and Frank Bork (19–7, 2.00 ERA). Another fan attraction was that the Eagles were for the first time a community owned team, operating under the non-profit Kinston Eagles Baseball Company, run by an elected eighteen-man, unpaid board of directors. Profits were reinvested into improving the stadium, promoting the team, and supplying playing equipment for the youth of Kinston. This arrangement continued through all thirteen years of Kinston's second tenure in the Carolina League, from 1962 through 1974.

In 1963 minor league baseball was restructured nationwide, with B, C and D classes eliminated. The Carolina League became a advanced-A circuit. The Eagles failed to win any championships during this second era of Carolina League play, but they managed to make the playoffs in six of thirteen seasons. The Pirates stuck with Kinston through the 1965 campaign. During three of those four seasons, the Eagles were managed by Harding "Pete" Peterson, who later oversaw the Pirates farm system, and became the Pirates' general manager, helping to build the late seventies team that won the World Series.

The Eagles became affiliated with the new Atlanta Braves during 1966 and 1967. From 1968 through 1973 the Eagles were affiliation with the Yankees; the fans saw a lot of future all-stars pass through the city including a young Ron Guidry. During the 1970s the popularity of minor league baseball reached its lowest point and the attendance in Kinston fell to only 30,000 for the 1973 season. The city needed a revival of interest, and the Montreal Expos were turned to for help. The young Montreal franchise boasted a strong farm system with a lot of talent. So much talent in fact, that they decided to experiment with having two advanced-A affiliates. Instead of dividing the players evenly between the two, all the top players were placed in the West Palm Beach club, while the newly renamed Kinston Expos had to make do with castoffs. The Kinston team soon found itself overmatched among its Carolina League rivals. The Expos fell to last place and attendance fell to only 27,000 for the year. Montreal declared the experiment a failure and withdrew from Kinston following the 1974 season. With no major league sponsor and very little fan support, Kinston likewise withdrew from the league.

Former airline pilot Ray Kuhlman brought minor league baseball back to Kinston by investing in a Carolina League franchise in the late seventies. The renamed Kinston Eagles flew unaffiliated their first season back in the circuit in 1978. By the next campaign, they were associated with the Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto stayed with Kinston for seven years, and the team eventually took on the Blue Jay name. Kinston did not win any championships during the Blue Jays years. Kuhlman and his wife ran the team themselves and saw steady annual increases in attendance each year. The couple brought a string of marketing ideas to the team that have taken hold and remain to this day. These include increasing promotional days, fireworks displays, the introduction of Kinston baseball cards, an increase in branded souvenir merchandise, the establishment of the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame, and the hiring of a team mascot. Another fan attraction was a collection of future major league stars including Tony Fernández, Fred McGriff and Cecil Fielder.

Following the 1985 season, the Blue Jays dropped Kinston as a franchise, and professional baseball in the city seemed to be in doubt once again. There was talk of moving the franchise to Charles County, Maryland, but the city remained in the Carolina League with an independent ball club that took on the Eagles name. 1986 proved to be disappointing in the standings and at the gate, and talk of a move was renewed, but ownership secured an affiliation with the Cleveland Indians during the off season. For twenty-five years, Cleveland and the K-Tribe enjoyed a successful partnership which produced seventeen playoff appearances and five Carolina League championships (1988, 1991, 1995, 2004 and 2006). The value of the team has risen along with its on-field success. In 1983, Kuhlman sold the team for $100,000. The franchise was sold again in 1985 for $225,000, and changed hands again in 1989 for $750,000. The team's value in 1992 was estimated at $1.5 million.

Six figure attendance totals became the norm throughout the 1990s and into the new century. General Manager North Johnson fostered closer bonds with the mayor's office and helped create the Mayor's Committee for Professional Baseball in 1987. Dedicated to increasing season ticket sales and promoting ties with businesses, the committee accomplished much in a short span of time. Attendance increased by nearly twenty thousand in 1987 and by more than twelve thousand the following year. By 1991, the number of fans through the turnstiles topped 100,000 for the first time since 1964. Although a new ownership group purchased the franchise in 1994, continuity in day-to-day operations was maintained through general manager North Johnson, and front office mainstay Shari Massengill who took over the reins in 2006. The local government's dedication to keeping baseball in Kinston is evidenced by extensive renovations.

The Kinston Indians were last managed by Aaron Holbert, a former major league infielder. Their General Manager through the 2010 season, Massengill, and former Assistant General Manager, Jessie Hays, made up the only all-female General Manager/Assistant General Manager team in the Minor Leagues. When Hays departed for the 2008 season, her replacement, Janell Bullock, was also female. The final GM was Benjamin Jones, who was previously employed by the Wilson Tobs.

In 2007, the Indians won the Southern Division crown for both halves of the year, but they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the wild card team, the Salem Avalanche. It was the seventh season in a row that the Indians made the post season, which was a Carolina League record formerly held by the Burlington Bees (1945–1950). It was the second time a Kinston team had accomplished this feat. The Kinston Eagles of the Coastal Plain League also made it to seven post seasons in a row (1946–1952). Kinston's player development contract with Cleveland ended following the 2011 season and in 2012 the Carolina League franchise moved to Zebulon, North Carolina to become the new Carolina Mudcats.

When it came to marking up the cap I decided to keep it with the confines of the time and era.

#11- Somehow I actually screwed up on this one. I wrote the numbers with good intentions a few months ago, but made a mistake or saw a wrong a photo and wrote the wrong jersey number down. In any case, #11 belonged to Tyler Cannon, a catcher/third baseman who batted .246 with six home runs and 39 RBI for the Indians in their final season. But that’s not who I was interested in. I meant to write the jersey number of Drew Pomeranz, the fifth overall pick in the 2010 draft out of the University of Mississippi. His jersey number with the Indians happened to be #51, which I must have misread based on the fact that I was looking off of baseball cards and got one with him in his pitching motion which distorted the number. Oh well! This isn’t a perfect system. Pomeranz went 3-2 with a 1.87 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 15 starts in 2011 before moving on to Akron with the Aeors, only to be traded to the Colorado Rockies not too long after that as a centerpiece in the Ubaldo Jimenez trade. Pomeranz has since had a few starts in the Majors, the first of which came against the Cincinnati Reds on September 11, 2011. In that game he three five scoreless innings and picked up the win. On May 7, 2012 Pomeranz hit his first career home run off of Edinson Volquez of the San Diego Padres in the third inning of the Rockies’ 2-3 loss.

#’11- I think the saddest part about the Indians playing their final season in 2011 is the fact that they finished the season with a 76-62 record, winning the division title, but lost in the finals against the Baltimore Orioles affiliate the Frederick Keys in four games of a five-game series thanks in part to the Finals MVP, some “no-namer” who goes by Manny Machado. Had the Indians won the title that season it would have made for a wonderful send-off.

June 3- Indianapolis Indians

If there’s one thing I’ve taken comfort in over the years, it’s certainly baseball. Whether it’s at the professional level, collegiate, high school or even the occasional Little League game I can be as happy as a clam in the seats. I’ve learned rather quickly that anything can happen at the most random of times in a baseball game, not necessarily life-altering, but merely something I may never see again within the confines of the diamond. One moment in particular I wrote about on April 22^nd. I was attending the Little League game of a friend of mine’s son Robert in New York City when he had a blooper hit to him just behind the pitchers mound which he caught and then proceeded to tag second and first base to complete and unassisted triple play. That’s right; an eight-year-old pulled that off. Since then, everything has looked rather pedestrian. Kidding of course. But seriously, one should not take the professional game for granted, even just the Major League level, because it’s when you don’t pay attention to the smaller teams and leagues magical things can happened.

A few weeks ago I bought this hat off of the Lids Web site after running across a truly amazing stat within the team’s history… but I’ll get to that later in this piece. This cap was introduced at the start of the 1993 season by the Indianapolis Indians. It's also a little funny that I would be buying this cap considering the fact that Lids is based out of Indianapolis, Indiana. Hmmmm... The Indians are a AAA team in the International League whose Major League affiliate at the time was, you guessed it… the Cincinnati Reds. Wait! Wait a sec… the Reds? Yes, with a name like the Indians one can’t help think of the OTHER Ohio-based MLB franchise. “How did this come to be?” you may be asking your self. Well…

Professional baseball was first played in Indianapolis in 1877. After 15 years of various franchises competing in various leagues (including four years in the National League and one year in the American Association), the current Indianapolis Indians franchise was founded as an original member of the American Association in 1902. That year's team won 95 games, and the first of 21 pennants.

The ballclub played its early seasons at several ballparks, including two on Washington Street, before Norm Perry, who took ownership of the team in 1929, built a new stadium on 16th Street in 1931. He named the park Perry Stadium in honor of his brother James who had been killed in a plane crash. That ballpark, which was renamed Victory Field in 1942 and Bush Stadium in 1967, remained the Tribe's home until July 1996, where they still play today. They are currently on their eighth team of affiliation, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Prior to that they were the Boston Braves (1946-1947), Cleveland Indians (1952-1956), Philadelphia Phillies (1960), Chicago White Sox (1957-1959, 1962-1967), Montreal Expos (1984-1992), Reds (1939-1941, 1961, 1968-1983, 1993-1999), Milwaukee Brewers (2000-2004) and now again the Pirates (1948-1951 and 2005 to the present). In their 111-year history the Indians have won seven class titles, 10 League titles and 23 division titles. Their most recent International League title came in 2000 behind the likes of Ben Sheets and Marco Scutaro.

As I was saying above, this hat was first introduced in 1993, an interesting move which has been known be more of a curse to the team than a blessing. In this case, the changes were rather dramatic. In 1992, the final season the Indians had under the Expos, their uniforms looked like this…

They were basically Expos uniforms and Expos hats except with an “I” as opposed to the multi-colored “M.” And yes, I really want that hat. When 1993 rolled around and the Reds become the parent clubs of the Indians, uniform changes were desperately in order as to look more like the Major League club and not of the team who just left town. Thus, these were born…

The Indians have elected to keep the logo and colors going for the last 20 years, which is pretty smart considering how unique the logo is. Although, this logo from 1969 would make for a pretty awesome cap nowadays, even for just a “turn back the clock night.”

Indianapolis is a rather interesting city. I used to go there once or twice the years with my father to watch Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers play back in their heyday. Victory Field sits only a few blocks away from the RCA Dome, where the Indianapolis Colts play, and only a few more blocks away from Bankers Life Fieldhouse (formerly Conseco Fieldhouse) where the Pacers play. My dad and I drove by Victory Field numerous times during our stays, but it was never during baseball season. I hope to get back there again some day soon. I would love to catch a game.

When coming up with a mark for this cap there was only one thing that made sense.

5/20/1998: In my introductory paragraph I talked about magical moments that seldom happen, and if you don’t pay attention, you could miss it. On May 20, 1998, one of those moments occurred, and it’s only happened twice ever during a professional game.

Now, I would love more than anything to stretch this into an amazing story; however, I am unable to. I scoured the internet for hours over the last few days and came up with nothing but cold trails. I even took to the Indianapolis Star’s Web site to go through the archives for the newspaper from May 21, 1998, the one that would have the boxscore from the game as that’s all I really need. Unfortunately, I have to pay $3.95 to be able to look at it. I mean, I’m all for supporting newspapers, but not that much for what I need. So I apologize for being frugal and not being able to give you a more in-depth story, but I’ll give you a story nonetheless.

Based on what I’m seeing the Indians were at home against the Pawtucket Red Sox. It also doesn’t say who the pitcher for the Red Sox was; however, based on the stat sheet on Baseball-Reference.com I can safely assume that it was Jim Farrell, Peter Munro, Brian Barkley or Brian Rose based on their ERAs and home runs allowed. Now, one thing I do know is that all of this takes place during the fifth inning which is how I deduced my conclusion. Indianapolis players hit for a "Homer Cycle". Pete Rose, Jr. opens the inning with a solo home run, Jason Williams connected for a 3–run shot, Glenn Murray slugged a grand slam, and Guillermo Garcia finishes the scoring with a 2–run blast. The Indians won the game 11–4. Like I said, amazing stuff. This was the only time during a professional game that, not only did the team complete the home run cycle in one inning, but they hit for it in general. Only one other time has a home run cycle ever occurred, but that story will have to wait for another night.

One thing that I should point out, which may be a valid reason as the why most people don’t know about this stat, is because of the timing. In 1998 the internet was still in its early going process in the average American home. On top of that, news from a Minor League game was not exactly worthy of national attention, even something like this. In most cases there would be a brief blurb in the local paper; however, that means it would have been printed on May 21, 1998, the day after it occurred. I don’t know how it was how it was where you live, but on that day there was only one headline grabbing national attention, and then took place in Thurston, Oregon, about 10 miles east of Eugene. A boy named Kip Kinkle had been expelled from school the previous day for carrying a gun in his backpack to class. After senselessly murdering his parents he went to Thurston High School and unloaded his carnage up the student body killing two and injuring 20. I was living and going to high school in Bakersfield, California at the time, but it was still chilling to see. Baseball at the time just didn’t matter, and the stat faded into the record books unnoticed by many.

I didn’t move to Oregon until I was 17-years-old in 2000. Between 2005 and 2007 I worked for Just Sports (@JustSportsPDX) as a store manager in Woodburn, the same town where Kinkle is serving a 112-year sentence in a youth detention facility. I moved to Eugene in 2007 and worked for a soccer shop in 2008. Around Memorial Day of that year I had to work the sales tent during a soccer tournament at Thurston High School. For the first few hours of the day I didn’t really think much of it. In fact, I didn’t even remember what had taken place. I overheard someone talking about in passing and a chill ran up my spine. Once you know you’re in a place where something tragic happened the feeling never seems to go away.

UPDATE (5/16/14): Today my lovely girlfriend Angie and I decided to venture out near our apartment to try and find a new bar we can call home. Since we moved here at the beginning of February we had hit quite a few places up on the east side of the I-580 freeway in the Lake Merritt area, but tonight we opted to hit up the west side. As luck would have it, we found our new public house. The bar is called Portal, and they offer a great assortment of beer and food during happy hour, not to mention their lunch and dinner menu is out of this world as well. As we sat at the bar, enjoying the assortment of delectables they had to offer, we watched the Oakland Athletics game as they took on the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland. We missed the Athletics' first time at the plate but were soon "treated" to Indians' first baseman Nick Swisher's solo home run off of Athletics' pitcher Sonny Gray to draw first blood. Even though it was only one run, Angie and I both felt that this might be how the night goes for the A's. Needless to say, we were wrong. 

In the bottom of the second inning with the bases full of Athletics, outfielder Josh Reddick teed off on Indians' pitcher Zach McAllister for his second career grand slam. Not too long after that Athletics' third baseman Josh Donaldson took McAllister yard for a three-run home run. That closed the book on McAllister. In the bottom of the third inning Athletics' shortstop Jed Lowrie crushed a solo home run off of Indians' relief pitcher Kyle Crockett (no relation to Don Johnson's character on "Miami Vice") and then finally in the seventh inning Reddick hit his second home run of the night off of Indian's relief pitcher Carlos Carrasco, a two-run shot making the Athletics the first team in Major League history to hit for the home run cycle. As happy as I was and how cool historically as this is, I found myself thinking about one unusual coincidence immediately after Reddick went yard for the second time, the school shooting at Thurston High School. 

The reason why this is so unusual, at least in my mind, is because a few years after the shooting (2004) Oakland Athletics' pitcher Dan Straily's family moved to Springfield during Dan's junior year. And, as fate would have it, Straily attended Thurston High School for the remainder of his high school years. No other player before or after Straily time at Thurston has gone on to play in the Majors. It's also a bit strange that even though both games took place 16 years apart, the game date was a difference of four days. It's a very unusual connection amongst the three points in history, but a connection nonetheless. 

May 29- Cleveland Indians

I was shuffling through my ITunes account tonight, trying to find something to help string this post together. For the most part a lot my posts are written with classical music playing in the background to help keep me from rushing through things. The last thing I want to do is leave out an important piece of information. Classical music also doesn’t have a lyricist. Every now-and-then when I listen to anything with lyrics I tend to get my sentences jumbled by writing the lyrics to the song down as opposed to whatever thoughts are going through my head. So, since I’m writing about the Cleveland Indians, nothing I had in my arsenal was really helping me out creatively.

As much as Cleveland has been dumped on over the years I can honestly attest to say that most of it is exaggerated. Funny, but exaggerated. I am probably one of the very small percentage of people who had Cleveland in their “Top-five cities to visit” list last season, which is something that I had been looking forward to doing for the better part of a decade. I grew in a family that loved Rock and Roll. From Chuck Berry to Elvis. From The Beatles and Rolling Stones to Cheap Trick and The Darkness. Rock and Roll is the lifeblood of my family, well, on my mother’s side at least. I’m not going to go into detail on it now, but visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was very high on my “must do” list. While I was there I of course brought my IPod along to really live the experience more intently. The most important song on my playlist, this one.

My Uncle Tim and I have a kindred love for Ian Hunter which dates as far back as when he was originally in Mott the Hoople singing “All the Young Dudes.” This song though, and not the Presidents of the United States of America version that was used for “The Drew Carey Show,” just radiated my experience in that city. Even more interesting is the story behind the song. Mott the Hoople was doing a tour with David Bowie on the East Coast and at every venue they were met with half-filled crowds and were received rather negatively. When they got to Cleveland they were met with a pack house and amazing fans. Hunter states on his web site, "the inspiration for 'Cleveland Rocks' goes back to the old days when people used to make fun of Cleveland. Cleveland was 'uncool' and LA and NYC were 'cool'. I didn't see it that way. Lotta heart in Cleveland." The song was first released in 1977 under the title "England Rocks" on a single in the United Kingdom, predating the release of the "Cleveland" version by two years. Hunter has maintained, however, that Cleveland was the original subject of the song, stating on his web site, "I originally wrote 'Cleveland Rocks' for Cleveland. I changed it later to 'England Rocks' because I thought it should be a single somewhere and Columbia wouldn't release it as a single in the U.S. (too regional). 'Cleveland Rocks' is Cleveland's song and that's the truth." The response to this day is still overwhelming as it’s used as a victory song for all of their sports franchises and it serves as the unofficial theme song for the city. In recognition of "Cleveland Rocks", Hunter was given the key to the city by Cleveland mayor Dennis Kucinich on June 19, 1979.

The main reason I bring all of this up, besides the fact that I’m writing about an Indians hat, is because of the line, “I’ve got some records from World War II! I play them just like me granddad do! He was a rocker and I am too! Oh Cleeeeveland Rocks. Oh Cleeeeeveland Ro-ocks!” In lieu of my Stars and Stripes posts I couldn’t think of a more fulfilling line and song for this piece.

The Indians, like a lot of teams throughout Major League Baseball, offer military discount tickets and sometimes free tickets on special days when active, retired and off duty soldiers arrive in uniform. In 2012 the Indians held “Marine Week” from June 15-20 to pay tribute to the men and women brave enough to join the Marines. The event featured Marine rock bands, on-field celebrations and auctions featuring autographed by Hall of Fame Indians for charity.

One of the more interesting military stories involving the Indians over the last five years involved All-Star outfielder, and South Korean international, Shin-Shoo Choo who was nearly called back to his homeland to fulfill his country’s military obligation duties. Luckily, for his sake, things worked out for the better.

Since 1971 the Indians are one of the few teams in MLB to have a losing record on Memorial Day. Their 19-20 record featured a 1976 doubleheader with double wins against the Baltimore Orioles, not mention the Indians also had four of those days off due to travel and off days. The Indians also boast some of their weirdest streaks when it comes to Memorial Day. The first I noticed is that from 1971-1999 the Indians went 5-0 against the California Angels; however, after the Angels changed their name to the Anaheim Angels in 1997 they met up again in 2000 where the Angels finally walked away with victory. In 2004 AND 2005 the Indians had Memorial Day off; however, in both of those years they played the Oakland Athletics over the weekend. In both years the Indians swept the Athletics. As an ardent Athletics supporter I really hated finding this stat.

Upon looking at the numbers I marked on my hat I quickly realized that my “Cleveland Rocks” reference makes much more sense. All three of the players I’m paying tribute to spent time in the military during World War II. Now, Just as a heads up I’m not going to talk about their stats much due to the fact that I writing about all three again down the road.

#14- In 1942, at the age of 17, Larry Doby won the Negro National League batting title with a .427 average. It was his first year in professional baseball as a second baseman with the Newark Eagles.

Doby hit .325 with the Eagles in 1943 and entered military service at the end of the season. He served with the Navy at Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois, where he played with the Negro baseball team. He was later stationed at Ulithi Atoll in the Pacific. Doby's early experiences in relatively integrated northeast New Jersey could not prepare him for the discrimination that awaited him in other places. He often spoke of how stunned and embarrassed he was when he arrived for training upon induction into the Navy in 1944 only to be segregated from whites he had played with and even served as captain for on teams while growing up.

Doby was back with the Eagles in 1946, batting .360, helping the team to the Negro League World Series title, and attracting interest from major league scouts. Doby began 1947 with the Eagles but signed with the Cleveland Indians on July 2, 1947, the first African-American to play in the American League. That same year he also signed with the Patterson Panthers of the American Basketball League as the first African-American in that league. Doby is rarely ever talked about when it comes to his life’s accomplishments. I found a quote by Bob Feller which best describes it, "He was a great American, he served the country in World War II, and he was a great ballplayer. He was kind of like Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, because he was the second African-American player in the majors behind Jackie Robinson. He was just as good of a ballplayer, an exciting player, and a very good teammate. He helped us win the World Series in 1948. He was a great ballplayer, a great American and an excellent teammate."

With that be sure to expect a full article dedicated to Doby in the future.

#19- Bob Feller went through a few number changes before he stuck with #19. Oddly enough, Doby’s #14 was one of them from 1937-1938, a decade before Doby was signed to the Indians. Feller played from 1936-1941 and had been in the Top-three for the American League MVP award in his last three years before becoming the first MLB player to enlist in the military after the attack on Pearl Harbor. I found an article he wrote about his reason for leaving baseball, even if for a short time, and his time in the Navy. I figure why not let him tell it:

I never have to strain my memory to recall the day I decided to join the Navy. It was 7 December 1941. I was driving from my home in Van Meter, Iowa, to Chicago to discuss my next contract with the Cleveland Indians, and I heard over the car radio that the Japanese had just bombed Pearl Harbor. I was angry as hell.

I'd spent almost six full seasons in the major leagues by then, with a record of 107 victories and 54 losses, and I had a family- related draft exemption, but I knew right then that I had to answer the call. I arrived in Chicago late that afternoon to meet Cy Slapnicka, the Indians' general manager, who had come there to talk about my contract for 1942, and told him about my decision. I then phoned Gene Tunney, the former world heavyweight boxing champion and an old friend. A commander, Gene was in charge of the Navy's physical training program. He flew out from Washington and swore me in on Tuesday, 9 December.

After my basic training, the Navy made me a chief petty officer and assigned me as a physical training instructor. It was valuable in its way, but I wanted to go into combat. I'd had a lot of experience with guns as a kid, so I applied for gunnery school and sea duty. After four months of naval gunnery school in Newport, Rhode Island, I was assigned to a battleship, the USS Alabama (BB-60), as a gun-captain on a 40-mm antiaircraft mount that had a crew of 24.

Action in the North Atlantic -- and the Pacific

I got what I wanted. The Alabama spent six months escorting convoys in the North Atlantic, and then -- in August 1943 -- went through the Panama Canal and headed for the central Pacific. Over the next two years, we saw action off Tarawa, and in the Marshalls, the Carolines, and the Philippines. We bombarded beaches to support amphibious assaults, served as escorts for aircraft carriers, and fended off kamikaze attacks. Two enemy bombs hit the ship during the Marianas Turkey Shoot, and we survived a typhoon that pummeled us with 80-knot gusts off the Philippine coast. The Alabama never lost a man to enemy action. The people we had on the gun crews were very good shots.

In March 1945, I was sent to Great Lakes Naval Training Center and managed the baseball team there. In the third week of August, just 15 days after the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, I went on inactive duty. It was back to baseball after that. I rejoined the Indians on 23 August and pitched eight games. I won five and lost three.

Serving in the military is almost always a defining moment for any young man or woman. You're young and impressionable. You meet a lot of new people, and you travel to new places. You learn to be on time, how to follow and, eventually, how to lead.

You Never Forget Combat

But it makes a difference when you go through a war, no matter which branch of the service you're in. Combat is an experience that you never forget. A war teaches you that baseball is only a game, after all -- a minor thing, compared to the sovereignty and security of the United States. I once told a newspaper reporter that the bombing attack we lived through on the Alabama had been the most exciting 13 hours of my life. After that, I said, the pinstriped perils of Yankee Stadium seemed trivial. That's still true today.

You and your comrades never lose touch. I've gone to my share of Alabama reunions, and all of us treat each other as shipmates no matter what else we've done or accomplished -- or haven't -- over the years. I still remember with pain the sailor who stopped by my compartment to talk baseball during one of our North Atlantic convoy runs. A few minutes later, he was missing. Apparently he'd fallen overboard into rough seas -- an accident of war.

Like anyone who has been under fire, I'm certainly not a war-booster. But I still believe, as I did that grim Sunday afternoon in December 1941, in a strong and well-equipped military and in the values that being in the service instills in the young men and women who don the uniform. I'm well aware of the hardships that our service members are enduring right now.

Serving Your Country

For myself, I wouldn't be unhappy if they re-imposed a draft -- not just because we need more troops to meet our needs, but because going through military training is such a character-builder for young people. Everyone ought to serve his or her country for a couple of years or more, even in times of peace.

I was at Great Lakes Naval Training Center a few months ago, where I'd been invited to speak to the graduates of the Navy's basic school, and someone asked whether I'd urge my grandson to sign up, as I had done. My answer was a resounding yes.

I'm still a Navy man at heart. And I'm proud to have served. –Military.com

Feller would go on to play 12 more season, all of which came with the Indians.

#42/6- There’s a reason I did this, and it has a rather simple explanation. Bob Lemon Made is MLB debut in 1941 as the #38, but it was changed in 1942 to #42. It would be the last number he’d wear until after returning from three years in the war in 1946 where he adopted the #6, which he only wore for one season. I picked them for the sake of him going away one person and coming home another.

He was born in San Bernardino, California on September 22, 1920. He was signed by the Cleveland Indians as a third baseman in 1938, and played in their minor league system until entering military service with the Navy in 1943.

Lemon served at Los Alamitos Naval Air Station in California for the first two years of his service. In 1945, he was sent to Aiea Barracks in Hawaii, and it was there that he made the conversion from infielder to pitcher.

All three players: Doby, Feller and Lemon served their country at the same time, and won the second World Series trophy in Indians’ together in 1948. All three are enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame together, and all three a true heroes within the Cleveland community.

KT- I wouldn’t be right to not mention this person in regard to Memorial Day, especially with his ties to the Indians Organization. Kevin Tillman, the brother of former Arizona Cardinal Pat Tillman, was originally a 30^th round draft pick by the Houston Astros back in 1996 out of Leland High School in San Jose, California. Not wanting to pass up on college, he enrolled at Arizona State University with his brother and was once again taken in the draft, this time by the Anaheim Angels in the 31^st round of the 1999 Amateur Draft, which he was then picked up by the Indians.

Tillman played one season in 2001, splitting his time with the Burlington Indians of the Rookie League and the AA Akron Aeros of the Eastern League. He hit .241 with six home runs, six doubles and 24 RBI.

After the tragedy which took place in New York City on September 11, 2001, both he and Pat enlisted in the US Army with the Army Rangers, which they both completed. The two were then assigned to the 2nd Ranger Battalion in Fort Lewis, Washington and deployed together to South West Asia as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Kevin was in the convoy right behind his brother’s on April 22, 2002, the day that Pat was killed.

April 27- Cleveland Indians

Whether you’d like to admit it or not, the Cleveland Indians were once a pretty stellar baseball team. In 2007 then manager Eric Wedge, who now manages the Seattle Mariners, led the Indians to an impressive 96-66 record in his fifth year at the helm. The season unfortunately ended a game way from the World Series despite the fact that the Indians had taken down the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series three games to one, as well as jumping out the same lead against the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series. I’ve never been too much of an Indians supporter, but I was certainly on the bandwagon during their series against the Red Sox, much to the chagrin of my mother. But alas, the Sox came back and won the series in seven games. For the first time since the mid-to-late 1990s the Indians’ fortune seemed to be on the right track. Outfielder Grady Sizemore fueled the Indians offense and took home a Gold Glove at centerfield while CC Sabathia won the AL Cy Young award becoming the second pitcher in franchise history to do so. Needless to say, spirits in Cleveland were running high as the 2008 season approached.

Since 2003 the Indians have been slowly phasing out the classic smiling Chief Wahoo, first by shrinking its size on the front of their caps and then by bringing back a classic emblem from their early days (1915-1920). Originally brought in as an alternate logo, the navy blue hat with a red “C” took over as the team’s official road cap in 2011, much in the same way the all-red cap with navy blue “C” logo became the team’s official home cap in the same season, but that post will come in the future. While I realize that Native American tribes in the surrounding Cleveland area have protested the Wahoo logo for decades, it’s still a bit weird to not see its presence within the game anymore. But then again, it’s rhetoric like that which reminds me of an old episode of “South Park” when Stan Marsh’s uncle Jimbo protested the changing of the town’s flag, a black man being lynched by white people, on the grounds that one cannot change a logo because it’s a part of history. If I recall correctly, Jimbo used the Indians as an example. Now, I’m all for change, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be difficult to not see Chief Wahoo anymore. I suppose it’s a good thing I have it tattooed to my torso as a constant reminder.

I’ve gotten a little off topic, so let’s bring it back. The 2008 Indians were heavy favorites to repeat as the AL Central champs. Sabathia, Paul Byrd and Roberto Hernandez all won at least 15 games in 2007 and the tam batting average was pushing .272. However, like the Toronto Blue Jays after winning back-to-back World Series, the Indians made a change to their uniform at a poor time. Much like gambling, never change your bet on a hot streak. The Indians finished in their place in the Central and have yet to make the postseason again since 2007. On top of that, the three top pitching performers in 2007 (Byrd, Hernandez and Sabathia) all failed to win more than eight games each. The Indians finished the season with an 81-81 record, seven-and-a-half games behind the Chicago White Sox. What very few realized at the time is that the dark years were upon the Indians.

I don’t want to dabble too much on what happened in the years following the 2008 season; I have plenty of time throughout the season to touch on it with additional posts and hats. So with that, I’ve decided to pay tribute to the brighter side of the 2008 season, which in turn also shows where everything started to go wrong. Sorry. My marks are ones that I feel Indians fans will completely agree with.

#24- It’s really hard to see how far Grady Sizemore has fallen. With the steady grocery list of injuries he’s sustained over the last few years, it’s hard to believe that 2008 was the last year in which he was a staple of the lineup, taking the field in a team-high 157 games that season. Sizemore was a product of the now “defunct in name” Montreal Expos as a 2000 third round draft pick out of Cascade High School in Everett, Washington. Sizemore was originally going to go to college; however, the Expos lured him away with a $2 million signing bonus. Sizemore never saw a second of playing time with the Expos in the Majors as he was traded away… along with Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips and Lee Stevens to the Indians of June 27, 2002 in exchange for Bartolo Colon and Tim Drew; hands down one of the most lopsided trades in MLB history. It didn’t take Sizemore very long to move through the ranks of the Minor Leagues. The kid personified the term five-tool player and he made his MLB debut on September 22, 2004.

In 2004 Sizemore exceeded the amount of at-bats to qualify him as a rookie in 2005, but that really didn’t matter as he went .289/22/81 which gave him the 23^rd-most voted for the AL MVP. Over the next three years Sizemore didn’t disappoint. He made the All-Star team every year, not to mention the fact that he finished 12^th or better for the AL MVP vote in all three years. He also took home back-to-back Gold Gloves in 2007 and 2008. In 2008 he hit a career-high 33 home runs and career-high 90 RBI, which are made even more impressive with the fact that he was the team’s leadoff hitter that season. Minus the stolen bases, he had the makings of being the next Rickey Henderson from an at-bat perspective; a solid-hitting outfielder in the Majors, but knee injury after knee injury and then back surgery have kept him from taking the field since after the All-Star break in 2009. In 2010 and 2011 he played in a combined 104 games. His batting averaged suffered tremendously, and despite signing a $5 million extension in 2012, he never saw a second of playing time thanks to his back surgery and microfracture surgery on his right knee. As of now he remains a free agent, vowing not to sign with a team until he is back in full-game shape. Who knows when this will be? It’s truly a damn shame.

#31- Cliff Lee went through a series of jersey numbers from 2002-2004 (65, 34) before landing on #31 for the 2005-2009 seasons. As I mentioned above, he was originally a draft pick of the Expos. In fact, he was taken in the same draft as Sizemore, but in the fourth round. Like Sizemore, he never saw a second of playing time with the Expos; however, he did make the jump to the Majors in the same year the trade went down, 2002. A September call-up, he made two starts for the Indians that year going 0-1 with a 1.74 ERA and six strikeouts. 2003 didn’t fair too well for him, but 2004 and 2005 did. He went 14-8 with a 5.43 ERA and 161 strikeouts in ’04, giving him a fourth place finish for the AL Cy Young that season; however, even though he pitched better in ’05, he didn’t receive the same accolades. In fact, with his 18-5 record, 3.79 ERA and 143 strikeouts, he didn’t receive a single vote for the award. I’m still trying to figure that one out. Things kept at a pretty average rate for Lee, until he posted less-than-average marks in 2007 while everyone else in the rotation was dominating. Something needed to change. And it certainly did in 2008.

As I mentioned above, none of the “big three” were able to win more than eight games; however, Lee was able to score a league-high 22 wins along with 170 strikeouts and a league-best 2.54 ERA. He won the AL Cy Young that season without question, and even got his first All-Star Game nod as well. Even when you take his performance with the Philadelphia Phillies the following year, which led to a World Series ring, his performance in 2008 stands as his best achievement, especially considering that he only had three losses on the year to give him a win percentage of 88%, the best for a pitcher since Randy Johnson (Mariners) and Greg Maddux (Atlanta Braves) both posted 90% in 1995.

I realize there’s nothing substantial to prove that a change in uniform can make a difference in the outcome of a team’s future, but then again, there isn’t exactly anything to disprove my theory either. Baseball is a game of superstition, and outside of Turk Wendell, you won’t find my guys more superstitious than me. As much as I like the “C” logo caps, I hate what they’ve done to the franchise. Long live Jobu!

January 9- Cleveland Indians

When I woke up this morning it was a bit of a struggle to find a decent cap to wear. Shuffling through the large assortment of hats I have at 5 AM didn’t exactly put me in the best of moods. For the first month and a half I’d like to write about and wear a different team; however, every time I grabbed a hat a different style for the 8 hats I’ve all ready written about kept showing up in my hand. It was pouring rain all morning as well, and I wanted to wear something dark so that it got a little water-logged, it wouldn’t be too noticeable. So, I came across the “I” logo Indians cap and said, “What the hell!”

The Indians used this bad boy from 2002-2007 and it served as their alternate cap. The really interesting, personal, thing I recall about this hat is that no one outside of Cleveland really seemed to appreciate it. By that I mean no one really bought it when I was working as a store manager for Just Sports in Woodburn, Oregon from 2005- April of 2007. For months on end they sat on the shelf and collected dust. For those who don’t know, Woodburn is comprised of a large population of Mexicans and Russians. Draw your own conclusions, but basically I sold a lot of Dodgers, Giants, A’s, Yankees and Red Sox caps during my run. I ended up picking mine up last year on EBay for $20. And believe me, it was a tough one to track down.

Now, like I said, the hat was used from 2002-2007. During that time the Indians only finished with a record over .500 twice in 2005 (93-69) and 2007 (96-66) under current Seattle Mariners manager Eric Wedge. The Indians won the American League Central Division in 2007, but were knocked out in a grueling 7 game battle versus the Boston Red Sox who later won their second World Series since 1918. I was particularly not amused by this.

For my markings I dug a bit deep, and kept it on the personal level.

#17- For some odd reason one of my favorite players on the Indians, who played his last year in 2002 is Travis Fryman. Like I said, not really sure. I’ve always dug the name. The other mystery surrounding that is the fact that he only played in Cleveland for 5 years, compared to the 8 he spent in Detroit. It should also be noted that he hit a career low .217 over 118 games. I guess some mysteries were never meant to be solved.

#41- I was obviously in a more clear-headed mood when I decided to drop Victor Martinez on my hat. How could you keep him off? The dude is a switch-hitting powerhouse who had the best year of his career in 2007 going .301/25/114. Arguably one of the best hitting catchers/first baseman/DH in the game today, well, except for that whole ACL tear thing before last season. But prior to that! The dude is a dynamo.