Tag: Cleveland Indians

MAY 7- Pitcher’s worst nightmare

MAY 7, 1957 | CLEVELAND, OHIO – A pitcher’s worst nightmare happened to a promising 23-year old Cleveland Indians starter on this date in 1957. There was one out in the top of the first when Herb Score was hit in the face by a line drive off the bat of Gil McDougald. Score was in the vulnerable position pitchers always find themselves immediately after releasing the ball. The ball struck him in the right eye, ricocheted over to third baseman Al Smith who threw out McDougald. Score had to be carried off the field on a stretcher. He missed the rest of the season with broken bones in his face and a damaged right eye. His career was never the same. Score was more than promising. He was proven. He won 16 games as a rookie in 1955 and was 20 – 9 in ‘56. Before he got hit in 1957 Score was 2-1 with an ERA of 2.00.

He tried to make a comeback with Cleveland in 1958 but could not find the magic. He was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 1960. He never finished a season with an ERA below 3.00 again. In 1962, Score retired to the Indians broadcast booth where he spent more than 35 years.

Other promising careers have been cut short, or worse, by injuries on the field. They include:

Tony Conigliaro – Boston Red Sox outfielder beaned while batting in 1967. He was just 22 but already had 104 home runs. He missed the rest of ’67 and all of ’68 and was out of baseball at age 30.

Ray Chapman – Cleveland Indian shortstop knocked unconscious by a beaning August 16, 1920. He never regained consciousness and died the next day – believed to be the only modern major league player to die as a result of being hit by a ball.

Baseball has been described as a pastoral, deliberate, non-contact sport marked by long stretches of inactivity. This “inactivity” builds anticipation for the potential of violence; the collision of a play at the plate, bodies flying through the air as a double play is attempted at second, players crashing into walls, railings and each other trying to catch fly balls and line drives, a pitcher throwing the ball as fast as he can at a target inches from a batter protected only by a helmet, a ball being hit – often at far greater speeds – back at an even less protected pitcher barely 50 feet away after he releases the ball.

Baseball is a much more subdued sport than football, basketball or hockey, but the threat of what happened to Herb Score, Tony Conigliaro and Ray Chapman are always possibilities.

AUGUST 14: Stealing home – twice!

[FROM THE TIB ARCHIVES]

AUGUST 14, 1958 | CLEVELAND, OHIO – How’s that for a sports name – Vic Power! Sounds like a Power Ranger. Power electrified the Cleveland Indians on this date in baseball history (1958). The 3rd baseman stole 3 bases in all of 1958, two of those were stolen on this date, and both were thefts of home! No American Leaguer had ever done that before, not even Ty Cobb. Even more amazing, Power’s second pilferage was a walk-off theft of home in the tenth! It gave the Indians a 10-9 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

He was born Victor Felipe Pellot in 1927 in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. He was known mostly as a first baseman, winning seven Gold Gloves, but played every position on the field except pitcher and catcher during his 12-year career. Power was a six-time all-star, with some pop in his bat. He reached double digits in home runs nine times.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
More Vic Power stats
August 14, 1958 box score/details 

June 24 in baseball history – the return of stormin’ Gorman

JUNE 24, 1983 | MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN  –  More than 46,000 fans squeezed into Milwaukee County Stadium on this date in 1983 to witness the return of Stormin’ Gorman – other team’s center-fielder. In an outpouring of affection rarely shown pampered, high-salaried pro athletes – especially from the opposing team – Milwaukee Brewer fans showed their appreciation for one of their most beloved players, Gorman Thomas . He had been traded to the Cleveland Indians 18 days earlier.

Fans were furious that Thomas was no longer a Brewer. Early in his career fans were often furious that Thomas was a Brewer. He had a low batting average and struck out a lot. During the 5-season span from 1974 – ’78, Thomas was up and down from the big team to the minors, spending the entire ’77 season at Spokane. He finally had a break out year in 1978, hitting 32 home runs, and driving in 86 runs. Thomas also turned out to be an excellent centerfielder. During the 5 seasons from ‘78 to ‘82, Thomas averaged 35 home runs and 98 runs batted in. He was a key part of the Brewers’ only World Series team in 1982.

It was as much Thomas’ persona and early failures as his slugging that endeared him to Brewer fans. He was the epitome of Milwaukee – a tough looking, but easy-going, lunch pail carrying, mutton chopped throwback who could have been any one of thousands of working stiffs in this blue collar town if he wasn’t a major league baseball player.

Thomas was as devastated by the 1983 trade from the Brewers as the fans were infuriated. It brought him to tears, but he got a chance to finish his career as a Brewer in 1986. ‘Stormin’ Gorman Thomas was inducted into the Brewer Walk of Fame in 2004.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
The Milwaukee Journal, June 25, 1983, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The Baseball Cube: Gorman Thomas

June 4: Fans, beer, trouble

JUNE 4, 1974 | CLEVELAND, OHIO – The suds flowed a little too freely on this date in 1974, and it got scary. A promotion by the Cleveland Indians to get more people into Cleveland Municipal Stadium worked. More than 25,000 showed up for 10¢ beer night, about triple the normal Indians crowd. There was no limit to the beers or, as it turned out, the rowdiness. The fans got more rowdy as the game went on. There were several instances of inebriated fans running on the field and throwing objects at visiting Texas Rangers players.

It all came to a head in the 9th. Texas was up 5-3, and the Indians began to stir, but so too did hundreds of already rowdy fans into their 3rd hour of consumption. The Indians rallied and tied the game 5-5, and still had runners at first and second with 2 outs. This is when the rowdiness turned into more of a riot; fans began stomping on the Rangers dugout, more ran on the field harassing visiting Rangers, especially first baseman Mike Hargrove (later an Indian player and manager, but at the time a Ranger) and outfielder Jeff Burroughs. Ranger Manager Billy Martin, not one to back away from a fight, led some of his players to Burroughs’ aide after fans surrounded him. Even the Indians joined in the rescue. It became apparent the game would not continue. Home plate umpire Nestor Chylak called it a forfeit by the Indians.

There was some history between the Rangers and Indians that year. A week before the Cleveland incident, Texas had a “cheap beer night” with the Indians in town. There was a bench-clearing brawl in that game. Fortunately the fans stayed out of it.

Contributing Sources:
Houston Chronicle, Houston, Texas, April 10, 1965
More on 10¢ beer night
June 4, 1974 box score

A STORY FROM MARCH 22 IN BASEBALL HISTORY – TRAGEDY AT INDIANS TRAINING CAMP

TODAYinBASEBALL HAS A TRAGIC STORY TO TELL FROM CLERMONT, FLORIDA . WE GO BACK TO MARCH 22, 1993. Tragedy struck the Cleveland Indians on their one off-day during training camp of 1993. An afternoon of relaxation turned deadly. Pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews were killed and Bobby Ojeda was seriously injured when the fishing boat they were in rammed into a pier on Little Lake Nellie in Clermont, Florida. The lake is about 25 miles north of their spring training site at Winter Haven, Florida.

The three Indians pitchers brought their families to the lake to enjoy the day off. Olin, Crews and Ojeda had been fishing and were returning to shore when the accident happened. Crews was piloting the boat. An autopsy showed Crews was legally drunk when the boat slammed into the pier. He was killed instantly. Olin was pronounced dead the next morning. Ojeda had serious head lacerations but survived and made a complete recovery.

Twenty-seven year old Steve Olin had come into his own as the Indians closer the previous season. He appeared 72 games and had 29 saves.

Thirty-one year old Tim Crews had just signed with Cleveland as a free agent after spending six seasons with the Dodgers. He had an off year in ’92 when his ERA ballooned to 5.19, but he was just two years removed from an ERA of 2.77 in 66 games.

Thirty-five year old Bob Ojeda was a 13-year veteran when the accident happened. He won 115 games in his career, and was a major part of the New York Mets World Championship season in 1986 going 18-5. He recovered enough to appear in 9 games in ’93. He signed with the Yankees in ’94 but was released after appearing in two games. The spring training tragedy of 1993 still haunts.

Contributing sources:
Tragedy still haunts