Hello Hi: Memories abound as Indians visit their old spring base in Tucson, Hi Corbett Field
by Paul Hoynes/Plain Dealer Reporter
Sunday March 22, 2009, 5:31 PM

Springtrainingonline.com photoNow the spring home of the Colorado Rockies, Tucson's Hi Corbett Field hosted the Indians for 45 years, from 1947 to 1992.TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Indians returned to Tucson on Sunday to play their first game at Hi Corbett Field since 1992. They trained in Tucson from 1947 through 1992. It seems like a million years ago, but the memories remain.

• Cy Buynak was the Indians equipment manager then. One day one of his relatives, who worked in the clubhouse, jumped a fence at the ballpark, fell and sprained his wrist.
When the Indians came in the next day to get their pre-game soup, outfielder Mel Hall yelled, "Hey, Cy, what kind of soup do we have today -- Cream of Fence?"

• Pitcher Bud Anderson was set to make the club one year. While walking onto the back fields, through a security gate, he waved to a fan, cut his right hand on the razor wire on top of the fence and didn't make the big-league roster.

• I remember the late Bobby Bonds, then Indians hitting coach, working with Otis Nixon for hours in the batting cage.

"When we got done, Otis had hit so many balls, his eyes were crossed," said Bonds.
All the work eventually paid off for Nixon, but not with the Indians, who made Nixon use a bat with a thick barrel. They wanted him to chop down on the ball and use his speed to reach base.
"Butcher boy," manager Pat Corrales would yell whenever Nixon came to the plate.
In other words, use the bat like a butcher's cleaver. Chop the ball in half. I have one of Nixon's broken bats in my basement. He gave it to one of my sons after a game one spring and its barrel is fat and thick.

It was at Tucson's Hi Corbett Field that the Indians got their first look at Kenny Lofton's ability to hit slow infield grounders and turn them into surprising singles.

In the spring of 1992, manager Mike Hargrove was watching Kenny Lofton take batting practice. Lofton, acquired during the off-season from Houston, had not looked impressive as he hit one infield grounder after another.

"They tell me, he's fast enough to turn those into singles," said Hargrove.

Lofton did just that to become the best leadoff hitter in Indians history.

• I remember my boys, Eddie and Jimmy, now fully grown, racing to the back fields to catch home run balls. They went back to Cleveland with a suitcase full of baseballs.

• There was a guy named Tucson Lenny Rubin, who walked around the ballpark like he owned it. In the movie Major League, when Rick Vaughn, the Wild Thing, throws a pitch that breaks the backstop in spring training at Hi Corbett Field, Lenny is the guy holding the radar gun.
If the Indians needed anything, they went to Lenny. I once saw him cash a check for Dan O'Brien. The banks were closed and O'Brien, the vice president of baseball operations, needed the cash. Lenny pulled out a thick roll of $100 bills and peeled them off like they were singles.
Lenny walked around with a huge cigar sticking out of his mouth. He never lit it and it was joined together with tape.

• When I first started covering the Indians in 1983, Gabe Paul was the president and Phil Seghi was the general manager. Seghi was the best-dressed man I've ever seen. No matter how hot it was in Tucson, he always wore a suit, dress shirt and tie as he sat behind home plate and watched the game. He smoked a pipe and it was always the same color as his tie.

• At the end of spring training in 1987, outfielder Dave Clark had the team made. So much so that he put his suitcases on the truck to Cleveland. One the last day of camp, the Indians signed Steve Carlton. The future Hall of Famer was washed up, but it cost Clark a spot on the club.
I remember them taking Clark's suitcases off the equipment truck.
Chuck Crow/The Plain DealerCy Buynak was one of the few faces that never seemed to change each spring at Hi Corbett, as the Tribe's longtime equipment and clubhouse guru greeted each season's collection of Indians.

• One of the best parts of spring training was watching Bob Feller, then in his 70s, practicing his pickoff throw to second base in right field. Feller would go into his windup, whirl and throw the ball against the outfield wall.

• In the spring of 1989, the Indians traded shortstop Jay Bell to Pittsburgh for shortstop Felix Fermin. In announcing the trade GM Hank Peters, a sharp baseball man, said Bell would never play shortstop in the big leagues.

Peters didn't make many mistakes, but that was one.

• One night in the spring 1989, Mel Hall approached me at the team hotel. He asked to borrow my car so he could pick someone up at the airport. I should have figured something was up because what player would be caught dead driving a reporter's car?

It turned out Hall was going to the airport to pick up his girlfriend. He got her a room at the team hotel. The problem was that Hall's wife was staying at the same hotel.

A couple of days later, the two women met and got into a fight at the hotel swimming pool. Peters' wife just so happened to witness the poolside brawl.

Shortly after that, Hall was traded to the Yankees for Joel Skinner and Turner Ward. Skinner has been an Indian ever since, coaching third base for the Tribe today.

Asked how Hi Corbett had changed, Skinner said, "I think the dugouts are a little longer."

• Managers have to work extra hard to get thrown out of a spring training game. Corrales did just that one game when an Indian was tagged out on a close play at the plate. Corrales went out and recreated his player's slide. The umpire did not appreciate it and Corrales was gone.

• For the record, the last game the Indians played at Hi Corbett before today was March 31, 1992 against the Cubs.

Cleveland Spring 2009

CLEVELAND -- 1. I hear Anthony Reyes has been the most impressive pitcher in camp. Not in terms of stuff, but just savvy and looking ready to go. Not surprised -- those six starts, that 1.83 ERA and 12 walks in 34 1/3 innings with the Tribe late last season said a lot. Now, keep that elbow healthy.

2. I hear Jeremy Sowers is throwing harder than ever with the Tribe -- being clocked at 92 mph. But his control is iffy, there is not enough "separation" or space between his fastball and changeup. I think he's headed to Class AAA.

3. I hear part of the reason Fausto Carmona looks like his old self is his chemistry with Victor Martinez. The Indians want control from Carmona, and he has walked only two in eight spring innings. Even before his hip injury, he was leading the AL in walks after his first 10 starts of 2008. He walked 70 in 120 innings.

4. I think the idea of Martinez catching Carmona is smart. In 2007, Carmona had a 2.74 ERA throwing to Martinez, and he allowed five runs in nine innings with Kelly Shoppach. In 2008, it was a 4.57 ERA in 63 innings with Martinez, a 7.39 ERA in 39 innings with Shoppach. The key for Carmona is control, and he did average fewer than two walks per nine innings in most minor league seasons. In 2007 when he was 19-8, he walked only 61 in 215 innings.

5. I hear Manager Eric Wedge saying Dave Dellucci "is on the club for now." I think that is written in ink. I think there are real alternatives in both Josh Barfield and Trevor Crowe as backup outfielders, with Barfield also able to play the infield. As one Tribe operative told me, "Crowe can play all three outfield positions. He can pinch run. He can throw. He is a switch hitter." That sounds like an ideal fourth outfielder, especially compared to the 35-year-old Dellucci who can't run, can't throw and has stayed healthy enough to hit.

6. I hear David Huff was "dominating" in an intrasquad game Monday, and he soon will be throwing in preseason games. I think he can win the fifth starter spot unless Aaron Laffey (7 ER, 12 hits, 5 innings) turns around quick.

7. I hear good things about Wes Hodges (6-of-16) this spring, and I had a brain belch when I forgot to list him last Sunday as the position prospects who have impressed GM Mark Shapiro, the others being Michael Brantley, Carlos Santana, Matt LaPorta and Crowe. LaPorta and Brantley look close to big-league ready today.

8. I hear Asdrubal Cabrera is 7-10 pounds lighter than a year ago and looks terrific in the field at second or shortstop. I also hear Jhonny Peralta is mashing the ball, and Ryan Garko (10-15 pounds lighter) is doing an OK job in left field.

9. I hear good things about Carl Pavano, but I don't think I trust him to stay healthy and/or effective. I'm hoping they get one reliable starter from Reyes/Pavano.

10. I hear the Indians are trying to get Masa Kobayashi (3 IP, 5H, 5 W, 4 ER) to use his splitter more. I hear the Indians say he's a veteran and they are not worried about him. I think if they aren't worried -- they are concerned. And they should be, because he's having the same problems that he did last year after the All-Star break (10.32 ERA).