Thanks to the Indians and Thanks for the Memories

I want to thank the Cleveland Indians for being a huge part of my life. From my earliest baseball memory of Frank Robinson and the bright red uniforms that made Boog Powell look like a juicy tomato to the thrill of hearing Montel Jordan sing “This is how we do it” during the most exciting baseball season of my life in 1995.

I want to thank the Indians for trying to inspire baseball fans to come to the park in the 70’s and 80’s with fire works that could be seen while eating ice cream at Captain Franks on the 9th Street Pier. For bringing personality into the fold like Gaylord Perry and later Phil Niekro. Niekro had a polka band playing during his starts….I can’t make this up.

Moving my thoughts into the present. I want to thank the Indians front office with constantly trying to adapt to today’s way of building a franchise. The lessons learned have been difficult from the results side of the ledger but MLB front offices are littered with those who began under Hank Peters/John Hart and beyond.

Most of all I want to thank the social media crowd. There are many individual twitter accounts I could mention but I’ll just mention a few crowds. The folks over at IndiansBaseballInsider.com, WaitingForNextYear.com, and DidtheTribeWinLastNight.com The writers at these sites have been delightful to bounce ideas off of, have let me know when I’m wrong about something, and have been a nice pressure relief valve when things in the Indians world is not where we’d like it to be.

With baseball I am a whole person. The Indians are a big part of that but my enjoyment spreads through the decades. From the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Cleveland Press to the media blogosphere of today and to everyone associated with the Indians……Thank You.

Sep 24, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians pinch hitter Jason Giambi celebrates with manager Terry Francona (center) after hitting a game-winning two-run home run in the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports