While those questions seem asinine to most baseball fans, Cleveland baseball fans know better. If there is going to be a major baseball calamity, history says it will happen in the vicinity of Cleveland’s Terminal Tower and Public Square.
Perhaps the black cat first crossed Cleveland’s baseball path in 1899 when the Cleveland Spiders lost 134 games.
Perhaps it was in 1907 when Cleveland turned down a trade that would have brought them Ty Cobb. Say what? Cleveland could have had Ty Cobb?
Cobb was in the infancy of his illustrious career and already he was universally despised by opponents and teammates alike.
Detroit manager Hughie Jennings believed Cobb’s attitude hurt the team so in March of 1907 Jennings called Cleveland and offered Cobb for outfielder Elmer Flick, who had a .313 career batting average.
Cleveland owner Charles Somers turned it down and said, “We’ll keep Flick. Maybe he isn’t quite as good a batter as Cobb, but he’s much nicer to have on the team.”
It was a decision he would rue. Flick floundered and was released in 1910. Starting in 2007, Cobb won nine straight batting titles.
Cleveland was known as the Naps at the time, an honor bestowed on their popular manager Nap Lajoie.
The 2008 Naps started fast and were in first place early in the season, but injuries and a bunch of error-filled bad games besat them.
Writers began calling them the Cleveland Napkins, “Because they folded so easily.” Still, they lost the pennant by a half-game — .to Detroit and Ty Cobb.
A half-game? How can that be? Detroit finished 90-63 to Cleveland’s 90-64. Detroit had a rained-out game against Washington, and it was not required to make up that game.
And it brought about a rule that said any rained-out games that might have a bearing on the standings must be played.
Too late for Cleveland, of course.
The Indians won a World Series in 1920 and 1948 and none since. It is the franchise that has gone the longest without winning a World Series. They have had their chances, but the Cleveland hex or voodoo or manifest destiny or whatever always intervened.
In 1954, the Indians won 111 games to easily capture the American League pennant. They were heavy favorites to win the World Series but lost four straight to the New York Giants.
The famous over-the-shoulder catch by Willie Mays on a 455-foot drive to center field by Vic Wertz in Game 1 set the tone. Then Dusty Rhodes hit two home runs.
Both traveled about 260 feet down the short-porch right-field line, and they were the only home runs the Giants hit. But they totally demoralized the Indians.
Then troublesome things hit the Indians, especially to a pair of outstanding pitchers.
Herb Score, a left-hander, threw hard — Randy Johnson and Sandy Koufax hard. And his curveball buckled knees. He was Rookie of the Year in 1955 and an All-Star in 1955 and 1956.
In 1956 he was 20-9 with a 2.53 earned run average with 263 strikeouts in 249 1/3 innings. Early in the 1957 season, he was hit in the eye by a line drive smoked by Gil McDougald of the New York Yankees.
He was never the same and won only 17 games over the next five seasons and retired to the broadcast booth after the 1962 season. He was only 29.
Immediately following Score, was another left-hander who threw even harder. His name was Sam McDowell, nicknamed Sudden Sam McDowell. Late in his career, when radar guns came into existence, his fastball was clocked at 103 miles an hour.
Not only did he throw hard, opposing hitters told each other, “Stay loose. This guy has no clue where his pitches are headed, maybe into Lake Erie.” Charlie Sheen’s character in the movie ‘Major League,’ Ricky ‘Wild Thing’ Vaughn may have been patterned about McDowell.
The Indians were bad in the late-1960s. For example, despite a league best 2.18 earned run average and 325 strikeouts in 1965, his record was 17-11. Even worse, his ERA in 1968 was 1.81 but his record was 15-14.
He did win 20 games in 1970, but his world was collapsing due to self-doubt, depression and alcoholism. His career spun out of control and by 1975 he was out of baseball.
Of his career, he said, “I was the biggest, most hopeless drunk in baseball.”
While pitching for Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School, McDowell pitched nine no-hitters, including one against the University of Pittsburgh in an exhibition game.
He described his career with the Indians by saying, “I pitched in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, the Pony League World Series, the Colt League World Series, the American Legion World Series, but never sniffed the playoffs during a 15-year career with the Indians.”
One day after McDowell signed a $75,00 bonus, the Indians traded popular power-hitting outfielder Rocky Colavito to Detroit for singles-hitting Harvey Kuehn. Fans were incensed.
For the next three decades the Indians were yearly inhabitant of the bottom portion of the American League standings in what became known as ‘The Curse Rockey Colavito.’
From 1948 through 1994, the Indians were World Series witnesses via television. Finally, after 41 years, Cleveland made it back and faced the Atlanta Braves in 1995.
Because of its offense, 5.82 runs per game, eight players with batting averages over .300 and five with 20 or more home runs, the Indians were favored. They featured Omar Vizquel, Kenny Lofton, Carlos Baerga, Manny Ramiez, Albert Belle, Jim Thome and Eddie Murray.
Then the Atlanta Braves happened. Five of the six games were decided by one run. The Indians lost games by 3-2, 4-3 and in the deciding sixth game by 1-0. Tom Glavine held them to one hit to put another check mark on Cleveland’s World Series futility chart.
Two years later, 1997, the Indians were back in the World Series as heavy favorite against the expansion Florida (Marlins).
It went seven games in a high-octane first six games. The Marlins won games by 7-4, 14-11 and 8-7. The Indians won games by 6-1, 10-3 and 4-1.
And Cleveland took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth. In the press box, to beat deadlines, I wrote a story proclaiming the Indians as World Series winners for the first time since 1948. I sent the story to the paper.
It was not to be.
With Cleveland’s talented closer, Jose Mesa (Joe Table) on the mound, the Marlins put a runner on third with one out. Craig Counsell, now manager of the Chicago Cubs, hit a long sacrifice fly to center field to tie it.
I called the office to tell them to kill the story.
The game meandered into the 11th inning, still 2-2. With one out and Bobby Bonilla on first, a ground ball went through second baseman Tony Fernandez’s legs. With two outs and runners on first and third, Edgar Renteria hit a line drive that glanced off pitcher Charles Nagy’s glove and rocketed into center field, a walk-off 3-2 Marlins win.
Once again, the Indians were denied.
It took 19 years before the Indians were back and they were playing the Chicago Cubs, a cursed team that hadn’t won a World Series in 108 years (1908).
In 1945, the owner of the Billy Goat Tavern often took his pet goat to Wrigley Field. Fans complained about the goat’s odor and Cubs officials banned the animal. The owner said, “The Cubs will never win another World Series. I’m putting a curse on the Cubs.”
And once again it looked as if the Indians would win it in another Game 7 after they led three games to one. But once again it went into extra innings after a 17-minute rain delay after the ninth.
Ben Zobrist hit a two-run double in the 10th inning and the Cubs won, 8-7.
So, it’s been 76 years since a Cleveland player could wear a World Series ring and a World Series flag has flown atop the stadium.
They are now clinging to first place in the American League Central, trying to fend off Minnesota and Kansas City.
Maybe it’s The Curse of Willie Mays, Gil McDougall, Edgar Renteria and Ben Zobrist holding them back.
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