On this Thanksgiving, I am really thankful to you - the readers: Terry Pluto

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- This year, more than ever, I want to thank our readers.
In the past, I have written that without you (the readers) there is no me -- or at least, no me in the paper and on cleveland.com. But with all the changes in the newspaper business in terms of home delivery and the emphasis on more stories online -- I am more grateful than ever to be able to write about Cleveland-area sports.

And extremely thankful that you have stayed with us.

Sometimes, I receive emails where people write that they "feel sorry" for me. That's because most of the stories about most of the teams would be best written by Edgar Allan Poe or Stephen King. In the end, something bad usually happens.

Real bad. And in a real bad way. But I love it, anyway. Not all the losing, but the writing -- for you.
A few days ago, I was talking to someone about my father. He worked at the old Fisher-Fazio Foods warehouse. I also worked there for parts of four years when I was going to school. Now that was a demanding job. Not so much what I did, working in the receiving office.

But the guys who unloaded the railroad cars on the night shift …

Or the guys who filled the grocery store orders and loaded the trucks during the day ...

Or the guys who drove the trucks, the forklifts and other equipment ...

That was real work.

When I was young, my mother worked at old Parmatown Lanes. I'd help her clean the rental bowling shoes (and some had a very distinct odor). Real work there, too.

Writing about sports? I have friends who are in sales and are paid by commission -- seems very scary to me. I know people who spend 10 hours a day in front of a computer screen, doing jobs that I can't begin to comprehend.

I have a lot of friends in law enforcement, which alternates between utter boredom to moments of absolute terror. Or people who work in the health-care field, which can be so rewarding and frustrating -- nearly at the same time.

The point is, I know I've won one of life's lotteries when it comes to my job. And I know that without readers who care about our too-often miserable teams, I'm looking for work.

The newspaper and website exist because you still want to read what we have to say -- even if it's mostly to complain about it.

I wish I didn't have to keep counting the number of starting Browns quarterbacks since Bernie Kosar was cut in 1993 -- the answer is 24. Or have to deal with the endless speculation about the return of LeBron James -- he's probably not coming back. Or try to figure out how the Indians can consistently win in a sport that consistently favors larger market franchises.

But I also know that sports is not real life. It's a diversion from real life.

My wife and I are engaged in some long-term, home health care of her 93-year-old mother. Many of my friends are in the same situation with older family members. The other night, it was a relief to turn on the Cavs' game at New Orleans -- even as they blew a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Another friend took tremendous delight in the Indians' strong finish this season as she dealt with her father's Alzheimer's condition.

And yes, once in a while, the teams do surprise us -- in a good way. Just as the Tribe did this season. And yes, I'm thankful for that.

But I am far more thankful to you for being there, win or lose.

The Most Tortured Teams in Baseball

http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/63659470/

It's a ranking of every team's fan base, from most to least spoiled. I want to find out who deserves it the most: who you, as a disinterested party, should be cheering for next year. Lots of factors are involved here: fan loyalty, historical success, particularly painful eras, near-miss title chances, current roster, any ineffable notion that just occurs to me while I'm putting this list together. I'm doing my best to give an honest accounting here. This ranking will get a lot better once all of you have had a chance to look at it and tell me what I got wrong.

The idea is, really, who is most due: Which team and its fanbase most deserves a title? Who has been through the most? Who has earned it? We'll go from most spoiled to least spoiled, and we'll do a new list at the end of every season: You never know, after all, when it could be The Year to break through.
Let's get to it.

30. Boston Red Sox. Last title: 2013. World Series appearances: 12. Championships: 8.
Easy pick here: The Sox not only are less than a week removed from a championship -- there's probably still detritus from the parade on the streets of Boston -- it was their third in the last decade. Look out: David Ortiz is only two rings behind Derek Jeter now, and he looks a lot closer to his fourth than Jeter does to his sixth.

29. St. Louis Cardinals. Last title: 2011. World Series appearances: 19.
Championships: 11.
The Cardinals came up short against the Red Sox for the second time in nine years, but, suffice it to say, sympathy from the baseball world was low. The Cardinals have now reached at least the NLCS in 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012 and 2013. Also, the Cardinals, thanks to its farm system and prudent roster and financial management, are simply getting started. I'd call the last 10 years of Cardinals baseball the golden era, if I didn't suspect another one is just about to begin.

28. San Francisco Giants. Last title: 2012. World Series appearances: 19. Championships: 7.
The Giants finally got their long-awaited first title in San Francisco in 2010, and they followed it up with another, possibly less fluky one in 2012. This is a franchise that likes stability and familiar faces; witness the overpays for fan favorites Hunter Pence and Tim Lincecum. It might be a while until the Giants make it back to the Fall Classic, but winning two in three years is more than enough to tide fans over.

27. New York Yankees. Last title: 2009. World Series appearances: 40. Championships: 27.
This is the first time I've done these, but this has to be as high on the list as the Yankees have been in 30 years, right? I'm of the opinion that the Yankees will be better sooner than people think, but either way, one suspects the Red Sox and Cardinals' competition to be the New Hated Yankees will be short-lived. The Yankees will never lie dormant for long.

26. Miami Marlins. Last title: 2003. World Series appearances: 2. Championships: 2.
If you're a diehard Miami Marlins fan these days, every year is its own familiar torture, with established players shipped out, and greenhorn rookies and cheap pickups taking their spots. Also, you helped pay for a huge, expensive stadium just so the ownership group could gut the team. Again. That said, you've been around for 20 years and have two World Series titles. Normally fans suffer for decades before finally winning that long-elusive championship. Marlins fans are simply doing this in reverse.

25. Philadelphia Phillies. Last title: 2008. World Series appearances: 7. Championships: 2.
When you look at the Phillies now, and you see a team with elderly/injured players with crazy contracts -- an imbalanced roster that has little hope of short-term improvement -- realize how worse it could have been. Many teams had a core like the Phillies have had over the last decade and never got a title to show for it. The mid-90's Indians, the late-90's Mariners, so on. The Phillies at least got one. It's gonna have to hold them over for a while.

24. Tampa Bay Rays. Last title: Never. World Series appearances: 1.
Considering the low attendance and depressingly meager revenue for a franchise with one of baseball's smartest front offices, Rays fans almost have to feel lucky to have what they have. Anyone who dragged themselves through the first 10 years of this organization was justly rewarded with the success of the last few years, while still being frustrated by some postseason flameouts. The problem is that there just aren't enough of those anyones.

23. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Last title: 2002. World Series appearances: 1. Titles: 1.
The Angels have an owner who is willing to spend money and does so with a sense of urgency. It is simply the fans' misfortune that much of this money is being spent poorly. (Fangraphs lists the Angels as having two of the worst contracts in baseball, both signed in the last two years.) The Angels, oddly, were better off when they had Scott Spiezio and Darin Erstad rather than Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton. Still, rich, engaged owners are hard to come by, and the Angels didn't win a World Series all that long ago.

22. Arizona Diamondbacks. Last title: 2001. World Series appearances: 1. Titles: 1.
The Diamondbacks have the fun distinction of having won the only World Series against the Yankees in which the majority of baseball fans were actually cheering for the Yankees, which wins the D-Backs some points, the more you think about it. That season still feels like an anomaly -- it's the reason people still predict postseason series based off which team has the two best starting pitchers -- and Arizona may never be forgiven for allowing the phrase "Bob Brenly, World Series-winning manager" to enter the lexicon. This paragraph may soon be traded for not being gritty enough.

 21. Washington Nationals. Last title: Never. World Series appearances: None.
This is where I remind you that this ranking is not for a tortured city fanbase. That would obviously rank higher (lower?) for Washington as a whole, but the Nationals and their fans are still feeling their way around. I bet they move up (down?) this list rapidly in the next few years, though; 2012 was their Pain Year -- a terrific team having its heart broken in the offseason. Every year they don't win a title with Bryce Harper, Jordan Zimmermann and Stephen Strasburg is another blow to fan morale -- and another mark in their favor on this list. Losing puts hair on your chest, Nats fans!

20. Colorado Rockies. Last title: Never. World Series appearances: 1.
The Rockies have only made the World Series once, and they were quickly swept away by the Red Sox. And it wasn't even the Blake Street Bombers team that made it, dangit. The Rockies franchise still hasn't quite figured out that ballpark, and their postseason success mostly consists of one crazy-ass win streak six years ago. But they get to play in that gorgeous city, in that gorgeous ballpark, so life can't be too bad.

19. Toronto Blue Jays. Last title: 1993. World Series appearances: 2. Titles: 2.
That Joe Carter highlight is enough to last these guys several lifetimes, particularly because it was their second title in a row. It's worth noting, though, that those championships were right before the season we lost the World Series to a labor dispute -- still the worst thing that's happened to baseball since the Black Sox scandal, and I'd argue it was even worse -- so it feels like it happened longer ago than it did. Last year was a crusher: the first time the Jays were favored to outlast the Yanks and Sox in two decades, and they fell on their face.

18. Chicago White Sox. Last title: 2005. World Series appearances: 5. Titles: 3.
The White Sox have to play second fiddle to a more beloved (if not necessarily more historic) franchise, even when they win their first World Series in 88 years. Their release of pent-up frustration came so soon on the heels of the Red Sox's 2004 title that the sports world barely noticed. (They even had a more entertaining World Series sweep than the Red Sox did.) That'll have to hold over Sox fans for a long time, because this is a franchise stuck in reverse right now. It might be another 88 years until that next championship. Maybe more people will appreciate it then.

17. Minnesota Twins. Last title: 1991. World Series appearances: 6. Titles: 3.
The Twins lost to the Yankees in the ALDS four times in seven years, something no fanbase should ever have to go through. Still, those two titles in four years -- in that old lunatic asylum of a "ballpark" -- linger. The team is in reset mode now, a strange place to be for a franchise that has had two managers since 1986.

16. Cincinnati Reds. Last title: 1990. World Series appearances: 9. Titles: 5.
Dusty Baker may be respected within the game of baseball, but the Reds are now the third team Baker has managed at their peak without ever winning them a title. The Reds are still super-talented, but they've never quite made it all the way. All they have to show for this recent Reds uptick have been two losses in the NLDS and one in a wild-card play-in game. The clock is running out.
15. Atlanta Braves. Last title: 1995. World Series appearances: 9. Titles: 3.

Braves fans will claim this is too low, and it brings up a good question: Is it more painful to have success every season but have only one title to show for it, or is it more painful to never make the postseason at all? Most franchises would be elated to miss the postseason only five times since 1990 -- four of those were 2006-09 -- so you can't lament the Braves' circumstances all that much. That said, they only won one title in that time, and the last few seasons have been particularly brutal, postseason-wise. It comes down, ultimately, to that one title. Had the Braves not won in 1995, they might be in the top five on this list. But flags fly forever.

 14. Los Angeles Dodgers. Last title: 1988. World Series appearances: 18. Titles: 6.
It has been 26 years since the Dodgers last won a World Series. It doesn't seem that long, does it? They've actually lost three of the last six NLCS -- two to Philadelphia and one to St. Louis -- a substantial amount of postseason pain in a short amount of time. That's not even including the Frank McCourt ownership experience, which no one should ever have to go through. Still, this team is outspending the Yankees, it plays in the most underrated stadium in sports, and Vin Scully calls all their games. Also, occasionally Bryan Cranston shows up.

13. Oakland A's. Last title: 1989. World Series appearances: 14. Titles: 9.
Their lone championship of the Bash Brothers era was always underappreciated, because it took place during the Earthquake Series. More to the point, the difficulty this franchise has had in the postseason under Billy Beane's stewardship is unprecedented. The A's have lost in the ALDS six times since 2000 … and every single one of them went the full five games. That is just brutal.

12. San Diego Padres. Last title: Never. World Series appearances: 2. Titles: None.
Sad fact about the Padres' two World Series: They had the misfortune to win the National League pennant in two seasons when the American League winner was a historically great team. (The 1984 Detroit Tigers won 104 games, and the 1998 New York Yankees won 114.) They haven't won a postseason series since that 1998 season, with only two NLDS losses to the Cardinals in 2005 and 2006 to show for all their time. Fortunately, they play their home games in one of the most pleasant cities on earth. Maybe they'll have some luck now that this guy isn't the mayor.

11. Detroit Tigers. Last title: 1984. World Series: 11. Titles: 4.
Now we're getting into the nitty-gritty. All 11 teams remaining on this list have real claims at being in the top three. It wasn't until I closely looked at that I realized just how many tortured franchises there are in baseball. The Tigers keep going all-in, every year, and never quite making it, and this season, it's sad to say, might have been their best opportunity. (You think the Cardinals had trouble hitting the Red Sox's starters? Imagine if they were looking at Verlander/Scherzer/Sanchez.) The Tigers keep winning postseason series but never grabbing the ring, and it has taken a toll; all you had to do is look at Jim Leyland's face after losing to Boston this year to see that.

10. New York Mets. Last title: 1986. World Series: 4. Titles: 2.
Mets fans will be appalled to find themselves this low, but seriously, you guys, you were on the winning side of the Buckner play. The Mets have been more comically inept than torturous; their most painful moment was the 2006 National League Championship Series, which hurt, sure, particularly because the franchise fell into disrepair almost immediately afterward. (Usually on the last day of the season.) That said, the Mets have won two World Series since they came into the league in 1962; that's as many as the other seven teams who came into existence that decade have combined. They had Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden, and they won a title with them; when you're at this level of fanbase hurt, you need to have squandered every opportunity, particularly with your stars in their prime. This is cold comfort, Mets fans, but there are nine teams' fans who have had it worse.

9. Houston Astros. Last title: Never. World Series: 1.
Some have argued there should be an actual Curse of the Astros; the only time they ever sneaked in the World Series, they were swept, with all four games maximizing the pain involved. The Killer B's ended up never quite making it, and now they're in Year 3 of a rebuilding process that is smart but also positively gruesome. So why are they so low? Well, the pain involving the 10 teams ahead of them is intense as well, and they're penalized for continuing to have a hill in center field. Also, they should be forced to call their stadium "Enron Field" until the original 30-year contract is completed. They're halfway there!

8. Texas Rangers. Last title: Never. World Series: 2.
They had to be in the top 10 for Game 6 of the 2011 World Series alone. The Rangers lost the World Series the year before that -- their first-ever appearance -- but nobody remembers that or cares. The Rangers died lifetimes in that Game 6. Here's the most brutal section from a Rangers gamer after that series ended: "Clubhouse attendants covered the lockers in the Rangers clubhouse to protect clothes and uniform from the champagne showers in the ninth. Then after [David] Freese's two-run, two-strike triple they tore everything down and removed the champagne. When Josh Hamilton hit a two-run homer in the 10th, they put the wrapping up again, only to rip it down when the Cards tied the score. Said Rangers GM Jon Daniels: 'I went into the laundry room to compose myself for a second and there were the champagne bottles.'" That is just cruel.

7. Baltimore Orioles. Last title: 1983. World Series: 6. Titles: 3.
Before the 2012 season, Orioles fan Tom Scocca, then of Deadspin, wrote one of the best pieces about fandom I've ever read. One statement on being an Orioles fan from it:
Tomorrow and next year and the long-term plan -- these are a script to fetch the suckers off the midway. The people who talk about "rebuilding," who discuss a baseball roster as a portfolio of assets to be managed for future value, won't admit this. Teams and fans are supposed to recognize that a season, or two or three seasons, is a lost cause, and embrace that. Be smart, give up. You lose today so that tomorrow you can win. (Might win.) (Might have a chance at possibly winning.) (Might potentially, theoretically, have a chance at possibly coming closer to winning.) In fact, you lose this year, and next year you lose. Lose. Lose. Lose. Lose. Lose. Lose. Lose. Lose. Lose. Lose. Lose. Lose.

And this piece was optimistic about the Orioles! The worst part about the Orioles may be that the last two seasons -- in which they lost to the Yankees in the playoffs and then didn't reach the playoffs at all -- might end up being a multiple-decade highlight.

6. Kansas City Royals. Last title: 1985. World Series: 2. Titles: 1.
In 2013, the Royals won more games than in any season since 1989. This didn't help the fatalistic fanbase, which has seen luck and hope keep pretending like they're just a couple years away before sprinting down east on I-70 instead. If this is re-payment for Don Denkinger, the Royals have had enough already. Also: It's sort of amazing how many of the Royals' vaunted Best Prospect Class Ever members have turned out to disappoint. Not crash-and-burn, just fall short of stardom in the most frustrating way possible. Also: Wil Myers is going to win a World Series before they do, just to be mean.

5. Milwaukee Brewers. Last title: Never. World Series: 1.
The first year I ever watched baseball was 1982, the year my Cardinals beat the Brewers in the World Series. The Brewers were favored; the franchises ended up taking opposite turns after that. That team of Harvey's Wallbangers broke Milwaukee fans' hearts by falling just short, and the Brewers haven't been particularly close since. They've only made the playoffs twice since then, losing in the NLDS to Philadelphia in 2008 and in the NLCS in 2011 to those blasted Cardinals again. Since 2011, they've fallen apart, and oh, yeah, their franchise savior has become, during that time, one of the five least popular athletes in sports.

4. Pittsburgh Pirates. Last title: 1979. World Series: 7. Titles: 5.
Yeah, when a team that had 20 consecutive losing seasons - a streak that began with blowing a ninth-inning lead with the World Series on the line -- only comes in fourth on this list, we're into the realm of the macabre here. The Pirates added another chapter to the ledger of hurt this year, but still, they made the playoffs and showed how terrific that fanbase is, and just how much they have been through. (The crowds at PNC Park in October were downright scary.) The Pirates deserve a title. Of course, they've already had five, including two in a decade in which a lot of you were alive, which keeps them out of the money, horseracing-wise.

3. Seattle Mariners. Last title: None. World Series: None.
The Seattle Mariners have never made the World Series. Other than them, only the Washington Nationals can say that, and they've been around for less than a decade. (We're severing the Expos connection for the sake of clarity and continuity.) This is sort of unbelievable: the showcase event of the whole sport, and the Mariners have never been there in any of their 36 years. It's not like they haven't had some great teams, particularly the 2001 team that won 116 games. (The year after A-Rod left.) That six-year stretch of Mariners greatness -- in front of rabid, packed crowds -- ended up with three fruitless trips to the ALCS, despite Hall of Famers pretty much everywhere you looked. For my money, the Mariners are the great, underappreciated, tortured fanbase in sports. And that World Series rarely has looked further away than it does now.

2. Cleveland Indians. Last title: 1948. World Series: 5. Titles: 2.
Not only have the Indians not won a World Series since Dewey defeated Truman, they also squandered the most stacked roster in the last two decades. Look at that team: Manny. Lofton. Belle. Alomar. Thome. Vizquel. That team should have been the Jeter Yankees. In 1997, extra innings, so close … and then those stupid Marlins. Cleveland has teams at or near the top in all the tortured franchise rankings. The Indians might even be the third most-tortured team in their own town.
1. Chicago Cubs. Last title: 1908. World Series: 10. Titles: 2.

The easiest pick, in any sport. If the Cubs end up winning the World Series, it instantly becomes the biggest story in sports -- maybe even bigger than the 2004 Red Sox. This video only touches on it:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edkQdkZeeFg

 There will have never been anything like it. Which probably means it's never happening.

Winter's Wild Card of Discontent

By Mike Bates

 http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/63876746/

One of my favorite movies is Major League, where a bunch of castoffs form the core of the Cleveland Indians and help the franchise throw off decades of losing while thwarting a hostile owner. At times this year, I thought I was watching that movie unfold in front of me in real life.

The resurgence of the Indians was one of the best stories of 2013, as AL Manager of the Year Terry Francona played Lou Brown and led the club to the top wild-card berth and its first winning campaign since 2007. One of the keys to the turnaround was a pitching staff that improved from 14th in the American League in runs allowed to seventh, and cut their raw total by almost 200 runs. It's all the more impressive given that their biggest offseason pitching acquisition, Brett Myers, only made three starts and finished with an 8.02 ERA on the year.

Alas, each offseason brings new challenges for teams that play in baseball's smaller markets, and Cleveland faces the daunting task of replacing two of their best starters and three key members of the bullpen. This is especially apparent now, as the Cleveland Plain-Dealer's Paul Hoynes reports that little progress has been made in negotiations with Ubaldo Jimenez and Scott Kazmir, both of whom were integral to this turnaround. Without these two, I wonder if the Indians lose any hope of being more than just a one-and-done blip, relegated back to the rest of the pack in the AL Central.
Part of Cleveland's run prevention problem in 2012 was an atrocious Indians defense that finished dead last in the American League in defensive runs saved and ultimate zone rating. But despite swapping out Shin-Soo Choo and the two-headed monster of Shelley Duncan and Johnny Damon for Michael Bourn and Drew Stubbs (essentially giving the Indians three center fielders in the outfield), the club's defense improved by, at best, 10 runs in 2013 according to the advanced defensive metrics that are available.

Instead, the biggest and most meaningful change came directly from the pitching staff -- one that struck out almost 300 more batters in 2013 than it did in 2012, jumping from 14th in the AL in punch-outs to 2nd. That's almost 11 additional games worth of outs that Cleveland's fielders didn't have to chase down, at bats where there was no chance of a seeing-eye single or a shot to the gap. Here are the two staffs side by side, listed by starts made:

2012	Starts	Strikeouts	2013	Starts	Strikeouts
Justin Masterson	34	159	Ubaldo Jimenez	32	194
Ubaldo Jimenez	31	143	Justin Masterson	29	188
Zach McAllister	22	110	Scott Kazmir	29	162
Derek Lowe	21	41	Corey Kluber	24	131
Jeanmar Gomez	17	43	Zach McAllister	24	101
Josh Tomlin	16	53	Danny Salazar	10	65
Corey Kluber	12	54	Carlos Carrasco	7	19
David Huff	4	11	Trevor Bauer	4	12
Roberto Hernandez	3	2	Brett Myers	3	8
Chris Seddon	2	5
		621			881

 As you can see, the Indians concentrated more of their starts in the hands of their best five pitchers, while those pitchers (with the exception of McAllister) struck out significantly more batters. The difference alone between Derek Lowe and Scott Kazmir alone provides almost half of the difference between the two cohorts, while Jimenez struck out 50 more batters in essentially the same amount of playing time.

Now, both Jimenez and Kazmir are off for greener pastures. Their innings will be taken up, in part, by Danny Salazar and Corey Kluber's increased workloads. But Salazar remains an injury risk who has never thrown more than 145 innings in a professional season, and Kluber already started 24 games last year. Both of them will need to be healthy and productive all year. Even if that happens, the Indians are going to need another reliable starter in the short term, unless Trevor Bauer gets his head on straight and can find the strike zone (neither of which he's shown any indication of doing) or if Carlos Carrasco can finally figure out how to translate his impressive minor league numbers to the majors at age 27.

 That's a lot of uncertainty, and so the Indians would be well-served to look outside their organization for another arm. But Kazmir was a real life "Wild Thing" Vaughn last year, resurrecting his career after essentially two years out of the majors, and playing just a level above the California Penal League. He was lightning in a bottle. To get a pitcher of Kazmir's caliber again, GM Chris Antonetti would almost certainly have to play in the deep end of the free agent market.

That seems unlikely. Last year's opening day payroll, according to Cot's Contracts, was $80.6 million, a jump of almost 20 percent over 2012 and essentially tied for the highest it's been since 2001, and Baseball Reference estimates that the club, as currently constructed, will have an opening day payroll around $77.4 million. We all want to believe that our favorite team's owner cares enough about winning to let that payroll rise regardless of the revenue the team takes in. But, of course, that's not what generally happens, and it doesn't make Larry Dolan into Rachel Phelps if he insists on at least breaking even with his team. So unless the Indians plan to dramatically increase their spending for the second year in a row, it's hard to see how they could afford to bring in a pitcher with the kind of upside that they got last year.

And we haven't even addressed the holes that Joe Smith, Matt Albers and even Chris Perez are leaving in the bullpen. With Perez gone, Vinnie Pestano, Bryan Shaw, or Cody Allen presumably becomes the closer, with Marc Rzepczynski remaing the primary lefty. But then who fills the vacated spots in the pen? Nick Hagadone? Preston Guilmet? Bryan Price? Random free-agent X? These options may not cost the Indians money, but they could cost wins, a huge problem given that they scraped into the postseason by just a game last year over the Rangers. Or maybe they do shell out for a Brian Wilson or a Fernando Rodney, but will that leave any money for a starter?

It's far too early to say the Indians won't work out solutions and overcome these problems, of course. Chris Antonetti put together a surprising contender in 2013 and I'm sure he and Indians fans are confident he can do it again. But I'm incredibly skeptical. The sequel to Major League, after all, was a huge disappointment.

Cradle of managers: 1988 Cleveland Indians produce Farrell, Francona and four others as big-league skipper

1988 Indians, top row (left to right): Jimmy Warfield, unknown, Chris Bando, Julio Franco, Jay Bell, Ron Washington, Chris Codirolli, Paul Spicuzza, Cy Buynak; second row: unknown, Ron Kittle, Dave Clark, Rich Yett, Willie Upshaw, Andy Allanson, Doug Jones, Carmen Castillo, Bill Laskey; third row: Scott Bailes, Tom Candiotti, Brook Jacoby, Greg Swindell, Joe Carter, Mel Hall, Cory Snyder, Pat Tabler, John Farrel; bottom row: Mike Segi, Tom Spencer, Charlie Manuel, Mark Wiley, Doc Edwards, Johnny Goryl, Luis Isaac, Mike Hindulak, unknown, Jeff Sipos. Terry Francona and Bud Black are not pictured. (Cleveland Indians)

ST. LOUIS, Mo. –- The 1988 Indians were a lot like any Indians team from that era. They didn’t win much and they often looked bad doing it.

In a 11-year stretch from 1978 through 1988, the Indians had three winning seasons and never finished higher than fifth in the American League East. The pain still lingers for many of those who watched.

So what makes the 1988 Indians worth more than a mention, especially when the Cardinals and Red Sox will play Game 3 of the World Series on Saturday night at Busch Stadium? Certainly there are more pleasant things to discuss.

Right again, but that was before the ’88 Indians turned into the cradle of managers, producing six current or former big league skippers, including John Farrell, who has the Red Sox in the Fall Classic in his first year on the job in Boston. Terry Francona, Ron Washington, Bud Black, Dave Clark and Charlie Manuel are the others. Manuel, the Tribe’s hitting coach at the time, was the only non-player in the group.

These aren’t merely interim, cup-of-coffee managers either. They’ve combined to win three World Series titles, seven pennants and lead their teams to 16 postseason appearances.
Francona is still stunned it happened.
“We were closer to the movie Major League than being managers,” said Francona. “We weren’t real good.”
Francona, the Indians current manager, led Boston to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007. In eight years with the Red Sox, his teams never won fewer than 86 games in a season and went to the postseason five times.

This past season, Francona’s first in Cleveland, he led the Indians to their first postseason appearance since 2007 as one of the AL’s wild card teams. Cleveland is Francona's third managerial stop after Philadelphia and Boston.
Washington, a shortstop who hit .256 in 69 games for the 1988 Tribe, has spent the last seven years as manager of the Texas Rangers. He took the Rangers to the World Series in 2010 and 2011. In the last five years, the Rangers have nave never won fewer than 87 games a season.
Black, a pitcher like Farrell, has spent the last seven years managing the San Diego Padres. Black has posted two winning seasons.

Manuel succeeded Mike Hargrove as Indians manager in 2000 and led the Indians to the playoffs in 2001. Fired at the All-Star break in 2002, Manuel resurfaced in Philadelphia to become the winningest manager in Phillies’ history before being fired late last season.
In almost nine years in Philadelphia, Manuel’s Phillies reached the World Series twice, winning the title in 2008 and losing it in 2009, and winning five straight NL East titles. His career won-loss record stands at 1,000-826.

Clark, a former No.1 pick of the Indians, managed the last 13 games in 2009 for Houston after Cecil Cooper was fired.

The 1988 Indians finished 78-84 under the guidance of Doc Edwards, a former backup big-league catcher, who just finished his 57th year in pro ball. From Howard Rodney “Doc’ Edwards sprung Farrell, Francona, Washington, Black, Manuel and Clark.

“I’d like to say yes,” said Edwards, 76, when asked if he knew he was sitting on a managerial gold mine 25 years ago. “But I’ve got to say no. The one thing I will say is all those guys were serious about the game. “

Farrell was the Indians No.2 draft pick in 1984. He was 0-5 at Class A Waterloo in 1985 when he got a call from Bob Quinn, the former farm direction.

“I thought they were going to send me down to Batavia,” said Farrell. “But they said they were sending me to the Maine Guides (Class AAA). I asked Bob, “Are you sure?’”
Edwards was the Tribe’s Triple-A manager at the time and the two hit it off.

“In some ways he was almost like a father figure,” said Farrell. “When things were going bad, he’d put his arm around me and say, “Everything is OK.’ You felt that he trusted you and had confidence in you. That went a long way in letting you relax, go out on the mound and just let your abilities take over.”

Edwards replaced Pat Corrales as Indians manager during the 1987 season. Farrell made his big league debut that year and in 1988 went 14-10, his best year in the big leagues.

“Doc had an immediate impact on me,” said Farrell, who managed the Toronto Blue Jays in 2011 and 2012 before being traded to the Red Sox last winter. “He was a guy who I felt trusted me. That went a long way.”

Edwards said he could tell right away that Farrell was serious about making a living in baseball.
“He threw 95 and wasn’t afraid of anybody,” said Edwards. ” If his elbow had held up, he would have been a very good major league pitcher.”

Farrell said he tries to use the personal touch that he learned from Edwards whenever possible.
“You always try to put the put yourself in the player’s shoes,” he said. “Then you draw upon, ‘OK, how did somebody deal with me and did that work with me?’ Those are things you draw upon for sure.”

Farrell, Francona and Black gravitated toward each other on the 1988 club. They’d always talk about staying in the game after they were done playing.

“I remember standing in the outfield with Blackie and talking,” said Farrell. “There was always a thought about remaining in the game. But to say what role that would be I didn’t know.”
Francona said he knew Farrell and Black could do just about anything they wanted with their lives after baseball.

“But the only thing I knew was baseball,” he said. “I’m pretty sure if you asked Wash (Washington), he’d say the same thing. John and Blackie are special people. If they wanted to be a general manager, manage or be a pitching coach, they could do that.

”Wash and me, at that point in our career, were just hanging on.”

Edwards spent a lot of time talking to his players on the bench before and during games.
“Ronnie Washington always had an idea about how to win a game,” said Edwards. “He was the kind of guy who knew how to get a pick off at second base late in the game or take an extra base. He was always talking about that during the game.”

Edwards played with Francona’s father, Tito, in the minors and big leagues with the Indians.
“Terry was a lot like his dad,” said Edwards. “You could talk with him and joke around on the bench, but when the games started, he was into it.”
Edwards spent a lot of time with Manuel that season and was not surprised at the success he had with the Indians and Phillies.

“Charlie and me were a lot a like when it came to handling players,” said Edwards. “We tried to treat the players right. But when it came time to get something straight we weren’t afraid to say, “This is way to do things right.’

“If I had a problem with a player, I always tried to handle it man-to-man, behind closed doors. I never wanted to make somebody look bad or embarrass them. As a player, I always hated that.”
Edwards, who played with the Indians, Kansas City and the Yankees, says “I bet I’ve managed 12 to 14 players who have gone on to become big league managers, but I’d have to sit down and think about it to remember their names.’ Besides the class of 1988, the one he could recall was Grady Little, who managed the Red Sox and Dodgers.

Edwards just finished his eighth season managing the San Angelo Colts, an independent team that plays in San Angelo, Texas.

Francona couldn’t recall any magic elixir that Edwards dispensed to the 1988 Indians to help groom so many future managers.

“I’m just glad he let me play,” said Francona.

Which is not a bad place to start.

Rememering Rodney Craig

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Rodney Craig.
I hadn't thought about the former Tribe outfielder in decades.
"Bucket Head."

I'm embarrassed to admit that was the first thing coming to mind when I received an email from Ben Anderson with story about the death of Craig.

But that was the nickname given to him by some Indians players when he was with the team for part of the 1982 season -- its source was the size of Craig's batting helmet.

I covered the Indians for The Plain Dealer from 1980-84.

I recall Craig being very quiet, perhaps even a gentle soul. I'm sure I talked to him, but I can't recall a single conversation.

Craig had once been a highly-regarded prospect in the Seattle Mariners organization. He was the first player signed by that expansion team to reach the Majors.

By the time he came to the Tribe in 1981 in a trade for a prospect named Wayne Cage, Craig was an extra outfield -- a switch-hitter with some speed.

His Tribe career consisted of 65 at bats.

Craig was killed on the mean streets of Los Angeles on August 17. He was 56.
Based on a L.A. Times story, it seems Craig had been homeless for more than 10 years. He drifted in and out of shelters, and often lived on the streets.

The Times reported: "Craig set up camp and apparently encroached upon the territory of a transient group … As he walked away he attempted to kick a dog belonging to someone in the group, sparking a fight that left him dead."

The L.A. Times also wrote: "It's unclear how Craig ended up sleeping on downtown L.A. sidewalks, far from the lights of Major League Baseball stadiums.

Craig played in 145 big league games over four seasons from 1979 to 1986 for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox."

He had 2,906 career at bats in the minors, his career ending in the Mexican League in the late 1980s.
When he was with the Indians, I recall him often in card games on team flights. He was known as a "fish," because he was not very good at cards and sometimes lost his meal money in games.
It turns out that Craig had emotional problems for years -- perhaps even when he played for the Tribe.
No one knew it then.

But then again, not sure how many people ever knew the real Rodney Craig.

The Goon Squad 2013

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Outside of Cleveland -- and, to an extent, inside it -- the 2013 Indians are as identifiable for what they don’t have as what they do.

No .285 hitter among those qualified for batting title.
No one with 25 homers.
No one with 85 RBI.
No one with 15 victories.
No starting pitcher with a sub-3.25 ERA.
No reliever with 30 saves.
In sum: No stars.

Yet here they are, as October begins, preparing for a wild-card playoff game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night at Progressive Field.

So who are these guys? Who comprises this crew that went 92-70, including victories in the final 10 games to secure the top wild-card spot on the final day of the 162-game season?
They are a blend of youngsters and veterans led by a senior-citizen role player (Jason Giambi, 42) and an endlessly optimistic manager (Terry Francona). They come from North, South and Latin America. They include a “Goon Squad.’’

And they like to have fun, on the field and in the clubhouse.

Here is a capsule look at notable contributors (listed in alphabetical order):

Matt Albers

Position: Right-hander reliever.

Acquired: Dec. 11, 2012. Albers, right-handed reliever Bryan Shaw and prospect righty Trevor Bauer came from Arizona in a three-way trade that also involved Cincinnati. The Indians sent Lars Anderson and Tony Sipp to Arizona and Shin-Soo Choo and Jason Donald to Cincinnati. The Indians received OF Drew Stubbs from Cincinnati.

Skinny: Struggled periodically but pitched well in September (11 innings, one earned run). Ability to work multiple innings has kept other relievers fresh. Known for daily wearing of T-shirt titled, “Swat Like Watt,’’ in honor of his favorite football player, Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt. Arguably the Tribe’s most affable player

Cody Allen

Position: Right-handed reliever.

Acquired: 23rd round in 2011.

Skinny: Dependable for most of season. Appeared to tire late. Led club with 77 appearances. Filthy when spike-curve is sharp enough to complement mid-90s fastball. Despises the nickname, “Chicken Al,’’ bestowed upon him by ex-teammate Frank Herrmann. Former prep QB standout.

Mike Aviles

Position: Utility man.

Acquired: Nov. 3, 2012. Aviles and catcher Yan Gomes came from Toronto for RHP Esmil Rogers.
Skinny: Veteran presence includes high baseball IQ and work ethic. Contributions rooted in versatility and intangibles more than aggregate stats. Had one of team’s biggest hits this season, a grand slam in ninth inning of 4-0 victory at Detroit on Sept. 1. Charter member of Goon Squad. Also known for his enormous calves

Michael Bourn

Position: Center fielder.

Acquired: Feb. 11, 2013, as free agent.

Skinny: Has underperformed, on balance, as leadoff man, especially with respect to contract (four years, $48 million). Led club in triples (six) and ranked second in steals (23). Dealt with finger and wrist injuries. Always hustles. Terrific defender. Teammates love his enthusiasm and gravitate toward him.

Michael Brantley

Position: Left fielder.

Acquired: Oct. 3, 2008. Player to be named in trade that sent CC Sabathia to Milwaukee on July 7, 2008. The Indians also received Matt LaPorta, Zach Jackson and Rob Bryson.

Skinny: A PTBNL has become one of Indians’ best players. Led team with .28417 average (among those who qualified for batting title). Lethal with runners in scoring position. Fat hitting streak in late September. Has started in each of first eight spots in order. Plus-defender in left field or, if necessary, center. Used to fly toy helicopter around clubhouse until it crashed near Asdrubal Cabrera’s locker. Nickname, “Dr. Smooth,’’ has gone national.

Cabrera
Position: Shortstop.
Acquired: June 30, 2006. He came from Seattle for Eduardo Perez.
Skinny: Disappointment for most of season but played better offensively and defensively in September. Had 12 hits during 10-game winning streak. Ranked third on club with 35 doubles. Made concerted effort to come out of his shell and mingle with teammates, who are fiercely loyal to him.

Lonnie Chisenhall

Position: Third baseman.

Acquired: First round in 2008 (29th overall).
Skinny: Failed to take third-base job and hit with it. Was demoted to Columbus in-season. Has had issues at plate, in field and on bases. Trying to rediscover once-textbook swing. Francona has been strong proponent, insisting it will click for him someday.

Jason Giambi

Position: Designated hitter/pinch hitter.

Acquired: Feb. 9, 2013, as minor-league free agent.

Skinny: Undisputed clubhouse leader. Francona admits to having a “man crush’’ on him. Productive (nine homers, 31 RBI) despite limited at-bats (186) and sub-.200 batting average (.183). Hit two pinch-hit walkoff homers against White Sox, breaking Hank Aaron’s, then his, record for oldest MLB player with walkoff homer. Charter member of Goon Squad.

Yan Gomes
Position: Catcher.

Acquired: Nov. 3, 2012, in Aviles trade.

Skinny: Has gone from beginning season in Class AAA Columbus to becoming the regular catcher since August. Significant contributor offensively and defensively. Batted .294 in 88 games. First Brazilian native to play in MLB (debuted with Toronto). Charter member of Goon Squad. Assortment of nicknames include, “Obi Yan,’’ “Yanimal,’’ and “Yanny Bench.’’

Rich Hill

Position: Left-handed reliever.

Acquired: Feb. 7, 2013, as minor-league free agent.

Skinny: Ranked fourth on club with 63 appearances. Finished with 6.28 ERA but held batters to .674 OPS with runners in scoring position. Inconsistency led Indians to pursue Marc Rzepczynski. Arguably the Tribe’s smartest player.

Ubaldo Jimenez

Position: Right-handed starter.

Acquired: July 31, 2011. He came from Colorado for four players, two of whom were first-round picks (Alex White, Drew Pomeranz).

Skinny: One of MLB’s best starters after All-Star break – his best stretch, by far, since becoming an Indian. Posted a 1.82 ERA in 13 starts post-break. Gave up five earned runs in six September starts. Finished with team lead in starts (32) and starters’ ERA (3.30) and ranked second in victories (13) and strikeouts (194). Enjoyed a renaissance at the most opportune of times given his likely status as free agent.

Scott Kazmir

Position: Left-handed starter.

Acquired: Jan. 8, 2013, as minor-league free agent.

Skinny: Won fifth-starter job in camp. Went from pitching for Sugar Land Skeeters in Atlantic League in 2012 to becoming a solid MLB starter this season, with flashes of brilliance. Finished at 10-9 in 29 starts and struck out 162 in 158 innings. Texas schoolboy legend.

Jason Kipnis

Position: Second baseman.

Acquired: Second round in 2009.

Skinny: One of Indians’ best players. Led club in hits (160), RBI (84), runs (86), steals (30) and ranked second in average (.2837). MLB player of the month for historically good June. Relentless in all phases. Provides Francona with Cleveland’s version of one of his Boston favorites, Dustin Pedroia. Connects with fans on Twitter (@TheJK_Kid).

Corey Kluber

Position: Right-handed starter.

Acquired: July 31, 2010. Kluber came from San Diego in a three-way trade that also involved St. Louis. The Indians sent Jake Westbrook to St. Louis.

Skinny: Began season in Columbus. Established himself in rotation by end of April. Recovered from middle-finger injury. Fastball velocity and command have enabled him to take next step. Nothing fazes him. Nicknamed, “Hans,’’ after “Die Hard’’ villain Hans Gruber.

Justin Masterson

Position: Right-handed reliever.

Acquired: July 31, 2009. Masterson and two others – Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price – came from Boston for Victor Martinez.

Skinny: Rebounded from subpar 2102 to be Indians’ best starter. Made All-Star Team. Led club in victories (14) and strikeouts (195). Suffered left-oblique injury in early September, came back much earlier than expected and has worked out of bullpen. Recorded last five outs of wild-card clincher Sunday in Minnesota. Implementation of slider as third pitch has enabled him to reclaim front-of-rotation status. Will stop at Taco Bell drive-thru after starts. Nicknamed, “Bat,’’ after Old West legend William Barclay “Bat’’ Masterson.

Zach McAllister

Position: Right-handed starter.

Acquired: Aug. 20, 2010. Player to be named in trade that sent Austin Kearns to Yankees on July 30, 2010.

Skinny: Decent season interrupted by middle-finger injury. Has relied heavily -- perhaps too much so – on fastball since return. Tremendous work ethic. Can throw a football long distances with ease.

Chris Perez

Position: Right-handed reliever.

Acquired: June 27, 2009. Perez and Jess Todd came from St. Louis for Mark DeRosa.

Skinny: Led Indians with 25 saves (in 30 opportunities), but struggled mightily after making All-Star teams in 2011 and 2012. On- and off-field issues included bad pitches, shoulder injury and marijuana bust. Banished from closer’s role in final week. Shut down Twitter account during season. Declined to speak with reporters for most of season.

Ryan Raburn

Position: Utility man.

Acquired: Jan. 21, 2013, as minor-league free agent.

Skinny: Became one of MLB’s best non-regular players after being discarded by Detroit Tigers. Batted .272 with 16 homers and 55 RBI in 243 at-bats over 87 games. Lethal against lefties (1.020 OPS). Played through leg pain in September. Charter member of Goon Squad.

Marc Rzepczynski

Position: Left-handed reliever.

Acquired: July 30, 2013. “Zep’’ came from St. Louis for minor-league infielder Juan Herrera.
Skinny: “Scrabble’’ has done exactly what he was acquired to do: handle lefties.

Danny Salazar

Position: Right-handed starter.

Acquired: July 3, 2006, as undrafted free agent.

Skinny: Will start wild-card game. Made MLB debut this season. Went 2-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 10 starts for Cleveland, striking out 65 in 52 innings. Dominant fastball, improving change-up and ice-cold demeanor. Projects to be a rotation cornerstone for years.

Carlos Santana

Position: First baseman/catcher/DH.

Acquired: July 26, 2008. Santana and John Meloan came from Dodgers for Casey Blake.
Skinny: Has not let loss of regular catching duties affect his offense. Doesn’t always seem comfortable at the plate but continues to be one of Tribe’s most productive hitters. Works counts and draws walks (team-leading 93). Extra-base pop included 20 homers and team-leading 39 doubles. Led Tribe regulars with .832 OPS (on-base + slugging).

Bryan Shaw

Position: Right-handed reliever.
Acquired: Dec. 11, 2012, in Choo trade.
Skinny: Quietly goes about his business. Wants the ball as much as possible. Dominant in September (5-0, one save, 15 1/3 scoreless innings).

Joe Smith

Position: Right-handed reliever.

Acquired: Dec. 10, 2008. Smith came from Mets in a three-team trade that also involved Seattle. Franklin Gutierrez went to Mariners.

Skinny: The Indians’ most consistently effective reliever over the past three years. Only charter member of “Bullpen Mafia’’ who continues to pitch well. Took over eighth-inning role this season when Vinnie Pestano faltered. Finished at 6-2 with three saves, 25 holds and a 2.29 ERA in 70 appearances. Free-agent-to-be probably has priced himself out of Cleveland. Always accessible to reporters. Wright State product.

Drew Stubbs

Position: Right fielder.

Acquired: Dec. 11, 2012, in Choo trade.

Skinny: Prone to nasty slumps but has contributed in spots. Speed has been an asset in field and on bases. Will ambush with power. One of Tribe’s most polite and physically fit players.

Nick Swisher

Position: Right fielder/first baseman.

Acquired: Jan. 3, 2013, as free agent.

Skinny: Signing (four years, $56 million) showed Indians were willing to spend to try to win. Has not performed to contract-based expectations, or his own, but rallied in September. Had 10 hits during 10-game winning streak, including two-run homer in first inning Sunday. Led club in homers (22) and ranked fourth in runs (74). Team-oriented. Keeps clubhouse loose. Has played through left-shoulder pain since April but refuses to use it as an excuse. Hit much better from right side than left, in large part because of the shoulder. Known as “Swishalicious’’ to MLB Network analysts and others.

Almost a century after The Pitch That Killed, remembering the Cleveland Indians' Ray Chapman: Bill Livingston

 

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Three miles from Lake View Cemetery, the Indians played baseball at League Park in the deadball era and throughout the Roaring ‘20s.
On Friday of this week, August 16, the weather was bright and chilly in the morning, although it warmed in the afternoon. It was a day stolen from Indian summer and not summer itself, with the maple leaves reddening near Raymond Johnson Chapman’s grave. The puffy clouds would have made pop-ups less of a challenge and the temperature would not have made the woolen uniforms of his era such a discomfort.

August 16, 2013 was a day to die for. On August 16, 1920, it was literally the same thing for Ray Chapman.

The regular shortstop for the Indians, and thus the most important defensive player in front of home plate, Chapman was known throughout baseball as “Chappie.” He was a friend to all, even the misanthropic Ty Cobb. On Friday 93 years ago, in a game against the New York Yankees at the Polo Grounds (Yankee Stadium hadn’t been built yet), pitcher Carl Mays -- a “submariner” who threw rising fastballs with a delivery on which his right hand almost scraped the pitcher’s mound -- struck Chapman in the head with a pitch. So loud was the crack when the ball hit Chapman that Mays, thinking it must have struck the bat, fielded the rolling ball and prepared to throw to first.
Chapman collapsed and died overnight, at 4 a.m. on August 17, 1920. He remains the only player in baseball history to die as a result of a play on the field.

"Come to visit Chappie? This is the day," said a Lake View worker, George Malbasa, who led the way  to the grave site Friday on a motorized cart

There, a visitor found a variety of objects, including baseballs, bats, gloves, caps and flags, decorating the granite monument at Chapman’s grave.

Twelve baseballs were scattered on the ground before it, with anot her perched atop it and a final ball resting in a glove on a ledge below the inscription of Chapman's name.

Four ping-pong balls with seams painted on them to look like baseballs; three bats, one a toy, two of them badly weathered; two American flags, one on each side of the monument; and one golf ball also lay on the ground.

So did a plastic batting helmet, which decades later became a tardy safety measure.
Six caps with the Chief Wahoo symbol, which was not drawn until 1947 although depictions of Indians decorated the uniforms as early as 1928, had been placed on the ledge below the inscription.
Atop the monument was $1.19 in quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies, three pine cones and three stones. Perhaps the latter were in keeping with a Jewish custom. Chapman was a Christian, not Jewish, but he was considered a paragon of clean play and sportsmanship by all.

A plaque, engraved soon after Chapman's death and now on display at Heritage Park in Progressive Field, celebrates those qualities.
In 1920, Chapman’s death led to a convulsion of grief around the American League; threats to boycott games when the widely disliked Mays pitched; and the unlikely rise of a replacement player and future Baseball Hall of Famer, Joe Sewell, who made his big-league debut after Chapman died.
The Indians won the first of their two World Series championships that year, with Sewell playing as if he were Chapman reincarnated. The story is vividly told in “The Pitch That Killed,” an exhaustively researched book by former Tulsa sportswriter and current Oklahoma State faculty member Mike Sowell.
Sowell notes that gambling, not Performance Enhancing Drugs, was the vice that afflicted the game in Chapman's era. The lifetime ban of eight Chicago players for throwing the 1919 World Series occurred late in 1920 when the Sox were still in the race. It certainly contributed to the Indians’ pennant.
As for sportsmanhip, “anything goes” had been the motto from the earliest days of the game. Along with the gambling, the rules were clumsily crafted and filled with loopholes for the clever to exploit. “King” Kelly, a Hall of Fame player from the 19th century, once raced from his seat in the dugout to catch a pop-up a teammate had lost in the sun, shouting to the lone umpire, “Kelly in for O’Shea!” At the time, substitutions were not banned during play.

No less than baseball numbers guru and Sabermetrics pioneer Bill James argues in “The Politics of Glory,” a book about the way Cooperstown really works, that Chapman should be in the Hall of Fame. James wonders why Ross Youngs, an outfielder with  less-than-stellar statistics, entered Cooperstown on a vote of sympathy after dying prematurely, and Chapman did not.
“His numbers would be better, but he played only one season with the lively ball,” said Sowell. “In 1917, a kind of pre-All-Star Game contest of baseball skills was held in Boston. Chapman was the fastest man in running around the bases, and Ty Cobb was one of those who competed against him.”
Nearly a century after Chapman’s death, the temptation is to see him as a baseball Galahad, untainted by steroids (they hadn’t been invented yet), unsullied by the vicious, spikes-high, brawling style of Cobb.

Chapman was a national figure, a popular player  in a wildly popular sport, a man whose death, like that of Dale Earnhardt Sr. in NASCAR, made his game safer. Doctored pitches that took erratic, uncontrollable paths like the spitball were largely outlawed after the 1920 season. Batting helmets at the plate and in the coaching boxes and screens to protect players sitting in the dugout all eventually resulted from safety concerns raised by Chapman’s death.

At Chapman’s grave, the tattered, mildewed glove and the worn baseball in it had both seen hard use. The ball had been played with until the seams had given way, and the cover had almost come off. It had been used up, just like the fragile leather of the glove that held it.

“We will never forget you, Ray” was written on the unraveling ball.

Nearly a century after a man's death is a long time to be unforgotten. Yet on Friday, a day so lovely Chapman would have wanted to play two, his legacy was as much  his unblemished life as his death, as much as his love for the game as his loss.