Cleveland Indians representatives shine in 2017 MLB All-Star Game

The Cleveland Indians had a great showing in the 2017 MLB All-Star Game and showed fans around the world why they are a team to watch this season.

The Cleveland Indians sent five players and a coaching staff to the 2017 MLB All-Star Game and didn’t disappoint.

The staff was missing Terry Francona and Corey Kluber didn’t play in the game, but those who represented the team did so in a way that made fans proud.

Let’s start with the face of the franchise, Jose Ramirez.

The GOAT started and hit second in the order, finishing with two hits and a stolen base. He now owns a 1.000 batting average in All-Star Games, making it impossible for anyone to argue his status as one of the greatest of all time.

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I kid, but Ramirez did prove why he belonged as a starter in the game. He and Yonder Alonso were the only American League players to record two hits in the game, and Ramirez made a case to move up out of the fifth spot in the Indians order. Put him second, Tito!

Michael Brantley followed up Ramirez’s great game with a hit of his own, and while Francisco Lindor didn’t pick up a hit, he was a force in the field with his glove, showing off his skills to the baseball world.

And as fate would have it, Andrew Miller came in with his team up 2-1 in the bottom of the 10th inning to close out the game. He did so after Wade Davis, current reliever for the Chicago Cubs, gave up the go-ahead run to lose the game. Baseball sure is weird like that.

The win no longer ensures the American League champion home-field advantage in the World Series, but the game was a great one for Indians fans nonetheless.

The team now heads out west for six games against two of the worst teams in baseball with a series against the Oakland Athletics, followed by one against the San Francisco Giants. And with the way the team was represented in Miami, the entire roster should be pumped for the second half of the season.

Next: Takeaways from the final series of the first half

Perhaps I am overly optimistic, but with other teams in the division deciding on whether to be buyers or sellers, the Indians are in a great position to pull away from the competition once play resumes again Friday.