|★|OPENING DAY 2024|★|AND OPENING WEEK|★| 3 more games to go. April 8, 2024 at 5:10 pm.

[mjp28]

★ OPENING DAY 2024 ★  April 8, 2024  at  5:10 pm.

Baseball opening day in Cleveland: Always something new under the sun – Terry Pluto

• Updated: Apr. 07, 2024, 4:46 a.m.|
• Published: Apr. 07, 2024, 4:45 a.m.

The bleachers at Progressive Field are now named for the late John Adams, the famed drummer.

•  
•  

By 

• Terry Pluto, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio –No sport celebrates opening day quite like baseball. It’s not as if the first baseball game is more important than the opener in football, hockey, basketball, soccer … or whatever.

“It’s one of 162,” I remember hearing often during my rookie year covering the Orioles for the Baltimore Evening Sun in 1979. I heard it later when I covered the Tribe for The Plain Dealer in the early 1980s.

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One of 162 games …

But it’s often the one I remember … opening day, a holiday in my home.

With opening day looming, I closed my eyes and thought back to more than a half-century ago.

Walking down the West Third Street Bridge comes to mind. You can pick your era. Mine was the 1960s when I discovered baseball thanks to my father.

Cleveland's home opener on April 19, 1960, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium against the Detroit Tigers. The Tribe lost the game, 4-2, in after 15 innings.

WHAT ABOUT THE MEMORIES?

I remember a guy out front of the old stadium who had a dancing monkey as he asked for a few coins to feed it.

I remember another guy with a polaroid camera, taking random photos. The device spat out a picture and he tried to sell it to you – even though you didn’t ask him to take your picture.

I remember scorecards for a quarter, and you got a free golf pencil. I remember the smell of hot dogs on the grill and the unofficial parade of fans, most of them wearing some form of red, white and blue.

I remember the field. This was a black & white, three-channel TV world. We snaked our way up those old ramps and suddenly saw it ... that huge field with the greenest grass in the world and blue Lake Erie beyond the bleachers

[mjp28]

Do you have any memorable  Opening Day  stories ?

Ler's hear them.

[mjp28]

And how about that  10 game road trip ....  7-2  with 1 PPD  game at the end.

Nice start in the  AL CENTRAL !

[Dutch Oven]

10 hours ago, mjp28 said:

Do you have any memorable  Opening Day  stories ?

Ler's hear them.

I was at the last home opener at Cleveland Stadium, 1993.

I believe it was a sell-out (or close to it) and it was two weeks after the boat crash that took Steve Olin and Tim Crews' life. Their wives were brought out to the mound before the game, it was a sad scene. 

[mjp28]

6 hours ago, Dutch Oven said:

I was at the last home opener at Cleveland Stadium, 1993.

I believe it was a sell-out (or close to it) and it was two weeks after the boat crash that took Steve Olin and Tim Crews' life. Their wives were brought out to the mound before the game, it was a sad scene. 

★  More later on this story.

30 years later: Jim Donovan looks back on the tragic deaths of Cleveland Indians pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews

Both men were killed in a horrific boating accident on Florida's Little Lake Nellie. Their loss reverberated throughout the team, the city, and all of baseball.

 

 

 

 

 

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Author: Jim Donovan

Published: 7:20 PM EDT March 21, 2023

Updated: 8:26 PM EDT March 22, 2023

CLEVELAND — March 22, 1993, in Winter Haven, Florida. The Cleveland Indians were being rewarded by manager Mike Hargrove for hard work with a day off, their only day off of spring training.

It should've been a day of rest and fun; it turned into the darkest day in Cleveland sports history. It was the day two Indians pitchers were killed and one other was critically injured, the result of a horrific boating accident

[mjp28]

That was the  last  day off by Hargroove.

●~~~~~~~~~~●  

Meanwhile ....

CLE  1 - 0  in bottom 3rd.   Only 1 out.  D/P ball.

GO GUARDS,  nice to be home.    

[Dutch Oven]

It was tough watching Bieber walk onto the field before the game. You could see him get choked up. 

[syd]

Hell Ya De La Cruz just scored from first  on a bunt., Can you say fast ?

[syd]

you know Elly hit a Homerun in the 5th ? well in the 7th He just hit  a inside the park Homerun,. Ya Freaking Fast

[syd]

oh snap you know what is cool ? each homer was from the other side of the plate

[mjp28]

3 hours ago, mjp28 said:

That was the  last  day off by Hargroove.

●~~~~~~~~~~●  

Meanwhile ....

CLE  1 - 0  in bottom 3rd.   Only 1 out.  D/P ball.

GO GUARDS,  nice to be home.    

Meanwhile in the AL Central ...

★ CLE  (8-2)   4  10  0

 x CSX (not 8-2) 0  4  3

WP - MacKenzie  (1-1)   LP Burks  (0-1).  Another GUARDS Shutout Win.

●~~~~~>    ⚾     <~~~~~● 

▪︎ Join us TUESDAY APRIL 9  at 6:10 pm  in Cleveland ! 

▪︎ Then  WEDNESDAY APRIL 10   at 6:10 pm.  -OFF  THURS-

● Then  F-Sat-Sun  versus  The YANKEES  in  Cleveland ! ● 

         ■  BE THERE !    IT SHOULD BE FUN.  ■      

 

[mjp28]

I hope we don't get  - ANY RAINED OUT -  games  FRI, SAT, SUN verses the  Damn Yankees  this weekend.

-->  Looks beautiful in Cleveland this evening.   

●~~~~~>    ⚾     <~~~~~● 

▪︎ Join us TUESDAY APRIL 9  at 6:10 pm  in Cleveland ! 

▪︎ Then  WEDNESDAY APRIL 10   at 6:10 pm.  -OFF  THURS-

● Then  F-Sat-Sun  versus  The YANKEES  in  Cleveland ! ● 

         ■  BE THERE !    IT SHOULD BE FUN.  ■      

[mjp28]

GAME 10  APR 9 in beautiful Cleveland, Ohio .....  OUCH !

CSX  5   CLE  0  top of the 1st inning.  1 out. Finally 3 outs.

CLE  coming to bat,  9 innings to go,  thankfully.

[mjp28]

2 hours ago, mjp28 said:

GAME 10  APR 9 in beautiful Cleveland, Ohio .....  OUCH !

CSX  5   CLE  0  top of the 1st inning.  1 out. Finally 3 outs.

CLE  coming to bat,  9 innings to go,  thankfully.

Tonight's attendance on a lovely night  14,887.

CSX  7   CLE  5   middle 8th  CSX just got -2-.

Bottom of the 9th,  here goes !

We had cheeseburgers on the grill  about 7 pm tonight.   Garden green onions  -and-  tater tots in the oven ...  mmm-mmm.

And game over here.  CSX wins 7-5.   CLE (8-3) -5- game win streak is  over.

Series finale tomorrow,  see you then.  GO GUARDS !    

[TexasAg1969]

No good place to put this, but I thought it would be worth posting since it's baseball.

Baseball Conventional Wisdom at all levels tells you that you should never, ever under any circumstance intentionally put the winning run on base in the bottom of the 9th playing away from home in a tie game.

However, with one away and the guy at the plate having already had two prior HRs in the game, that conventional wisdom should be thrown out with a little common sense. Do not throw to a hot hitter. Otherwise........................................well this can happen.

 

The Aggies have a great chant that would have applied here last night, "Walking's cheaper (clap clap........clap, clap, clap,  repeat, etc.).

 

https://youtu.be/3B2rv7Aze1g?si=QDHPxnzbnCsiYriU&t=132

 

 

[mjp28]

GAME 12 - APR 10.  I turned this game on at 7 pm it was  CSX  5-0.

Now 8 pm  its  CSX  5-4  bottom 6  CLE  bases loaded  -0- outs.

G's have homered  their way back in it.   Now  5-5 to top 7.      

5-5  top 9th.   Oh boy,  Clase in.

◆ ~~~~~~~~~~ ◆ 

Cleveland  (9-3)  wins it  in the 11th  7-6 !  ★  The first extra inning game  of 2024.     OFF TOMORROW  APRIL 11th.

★ Then  FRI-SAT-SUN  versus the  NY YANKEES   at  home  --->            here in  ---> Cleveland,  Ohio !  ★  

            ●  BE THERE,  IT SHOULD BE FUN.      ~        ~

 

[mjp28]

◆  Miscellaneous  Guardians  Notes  &  Things .....

Wednesday's thrilling extra inning game  attendance  [12,405].   

Yankee game starts  F 7:10,  Sat 6:10,  Sun 1:40.   Should be three fun games.

GO GUARDS !   

.... edit add ....   -OFF DAYS-  are boring but necessary.

Edited April 11 by mjp28
-OFF DAYS- are ....