Jacobs Field

 In this aerial shot you can see a little bit of the much maligned Ohio River on the left.

I went to Cleveland for the Radio & Records Convention, so this was yet another ballpark trip I did not have to pay for. This opening ceremony was held at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which is a real treat. Jon Secada was the star act and he performed his big hit, “Just Another Day” and the room full of well-known radio folks was just sort of standing there are not really grooving to the music. After he performance I was backstage and chatting with Jon, who I’d previously met when he came to Magic 106.7.  I asked him if he noticed how no one was moving to the music or singing along? He said he definitely did and thought he didn’t do well. I explained to him that they definitely know and like the music – we all have it tons of spins on the air – but this was a room full of disc jockeys who absolutely cannot sing or dance. Myself included. He was relieved.

The next day, as I waited for a cab to the ballpark, I saw a street sign that arrows pointing straight and right that read, “US 6, US 20, I-90″…all of which are right there in Cleveland. I mentioned to a friend that all three of the roads lead to the Boston area. US 6 becomes the Mid-Cape Highway and ends in Provincetown on Cape Cod. US 20 (the longest road in America) ends at Kenmore Square in Boston right next to Fenway Park and I-90 (the longest Interstate in America) ends at Logan Airport. So he said, “huh.”

“The Jake” as they called it then, now known as Progressive Field (in honor of Flo from the endless Progressive TV spots), was designed by the same people who did Camden Yards and it has a similar look. It’s an excellent ballpark in a much better section of downtown than the old Cleveland Stadium which could hold 70,000 but only managed to pack in about 4000 for many years. Between the first and second decks there are three levels of luxury suites. The concourses are easily three times the size of what Fenway has…all the way around. They have a nice sound system, which they use constantly. When an Indian gets a knock suddenly you get the hook of “That’s the way (uh-huh, uh-huh) I like it” by KC & the Sunshine Band. You get the electronic clap and “duh-duh-duh-dat-duh-daaaah” followed by fans yelling “charge!” I’ve never understood what “charge” has to do with baseball, but it’s prominent in a lot of ballparks. If someone gets a hit the electronic scoreboard lights up with “A HIT” in case you weren’t paying attention. When it’s rally time an animated guy raises his arms to get people on their feet and the electronic sign says, “Let’s make some noise!” It’s colorful, but at Fenway Park you don’t have to tell people when to cheer. They know.

I thought that Houston has the biggest scoreboard, and they probably do, but Cleveland gives them a run for it. Big and bright. The out-of-town scoreboard in the left field wall is electric and bright…like the wraparound signage at the TD Garden in Boston.

Jason Varitek at bat in Cleveland.

A Red Sox fan right near me got a foul ball, then gave it to a kid he didn’t know across the aisle.

The restaurant in center field is called “Batter’s Eye”

These fans were enjoying the cheap seats and maybe a little weed in peace.

They sang Take Me Out to the Ballgame slowly and with less enthusiasm than at either Fenway or Wrigley. Notice how light it still was in the 7th inning of a night game. It was June 22, the second longest day of the year, and Cleveland is in the western part of the Eastern Time Zone. The game ran 3:28, so this was about 9:20 PM EST. 

Keith Foulke gets DH Travis Hafner to fly to left for the second out the 9th inning.

One of the many Red Sox fans there took this shot of me.

Looking back at the entrance on the way out. Today it says “Progressive Field” and doesn’t say “Indians.”

First game: Wednesday, June 22, 2005. Conveniently, the Red Sox were in town that week and they’d already beaten Cleveland on Monday and Tuesday nights. I got there on Wednesday and had a box seat in Section 136 that I’d ordered when tickets went on sale in February. The crowd was about 35,000 and a lot of Red Sox fans were on hand. Most of the stars from the 2004 World Series Champions were still on the team. You could clearly hear the “let’s go, Red Sox” chants every time Manny Ramirez, the former Indian, got up. The locals booed, but not loud enough to drown out the Sox fans. Starting for Cleveland was Cliff Lee, who would play for them for 8 seasons, winning 22 games in 2008. He also appeared on back-to-back World Series losers: the 2009 Phillies who lost to the Yankees (who have not won since) and the 2010 Giants who won for the first time since 1954 when they were the New York Baseball Giants. Playing center, the Indians had Grady Sizemore (who later would bump Jackie Bradley Jr out of the starting job in center for the Red Sox –  a BJBJ move – but it wouldn’t last). Playing second was Alex Cora, who I saw as a Philly the year before, and would end the season playing for Boston and subsequently lead the Sox to the 2018 World Series Championship, (Cora has three Championship rings-two with Boston (07, 18) and one with the Cheatin’ Astros (17) for which he served a year suspension. In left was Coco Crisp, who would also go to Boston the following year to replace Johnny Damon but would eventually lose that spot to Jacoby Ellsbury. Wade Miller was the starting pitcher for Boston. In right field was Jay Payton, a former Met who only played 55 games for the Red Sox and quit mid-season because he wasn’t getting enough ABs. Sox manager Terry Francona (who later managed the Indians/Guardians for a number of years) didn’t mind Payton quitting because he had a much better right fielder named Trot Nixon. In the 2-hole for the Red Sox was one of several subpar post-Nomar shortstops, Edgar “Rent-a-Wreck” Renteria. He went 2 for 5 but added an E6 to it. It was a back-and forth game with six lead changes. Sox 3b Bill Mueller got the go-ahead RBI in the 9th and Keith Foulke got the 5-4 win. Just under 30,000 fans were there.

Second game: Friday, June 24, 2005. Friday night the Reds were in town for Interleague play and I went again. I got a face-value ticket on the sidewalk in section 128. Ken Griffey, Jr. homered twice for the Reds. What a classic swing that guy had. Playing 3rd that night for Cleveland was Aaron Boone, who two years earlier had bumped the Red Sox out of the World Series with an ALCS Game 7 11th inning walkoff homer off Tim Wakefield at Yankee Stadium. At least the Yankees didn’t win the 2003 series. The Indians lost again that night, 5-4. 27,000 were on hand that night, about 3000 fewer fans for a Friday night Ohio vs. Ohio game, which surprised me. I asked an Indians fan how long it takes to drive I-71 from Cincinnati to Cleveland and he said it’s about four hours.