Cleveland Indians: If Indians players were in the Olympics

With the Opening Ceremony for the Winter Olympics set to air on Friday night, it got us thinking. What if some of our own Cleveland Indians were participating in the Olympics?

With most of the eyes of sports fans around the world set on South Korea, some of the focus on the slowness of the baseball offseason will be lost. While the players on the Indians roster are not over in South Korea, if they were, what events would they participate in?

Yonder Alonso – Snowboard Big Air

The newest member of the Cleveland Indians gets the newest event in the Olympics, Snowboard Big Air. It’s been a staple at the X Games for many years but this is the first time the event will be in the Olympics.

Jason Kipnis – Downhill skiing

Things were pretty downhill for Kipnis in 2017. His batting average plunged to .232 and he struggled to get going. He was certainly on a downhill slope last year, but is hoping to get on the uphill swing in 2018.

Francisco Lindor – Snowboard Halfpipe

This is the best event to watch for most Olympic viewers. So, naturally, Lindor is the best player to watch for Cleveland Indians fans, and this will be his event. Shaun White is just as popular in snowboarding circles as Lindor is in baseball circles.

Jose Ramirez – Bobsled

Ramirez went into 2017 hard and fast. His home run total spiked to 29 and he knocked 56 doubles with a .318 batting average. He put himself on the map as one of the best players in baseball, becoming a finalist for AL MVP. Bobsleds also come in hard and fast and speed down the track, making Ramirez a perfect candidate for this event.

Giovanny Urshela – Hockey

Urshela is known for his glovework and defense, making him an ideal candidate to be the goalie on a hockey team. He doesn’t provide much in the way of offense, meaning the goaltender position is perfect place for him.

Edwin Encarnacion – Biathlon

Because it’s about time Encarnacion did two different things in a game. As a DH, he doesn’t do that very often.

Bradley Zimmer – Speedskating

Zimmer stole 18 bases last year, the most on the Cleveland Indians. As a center fielder, he’s supposed to be pretty speedy, making speedskating an ideal fit for the youngster.

Michael Brantley – Moguls Skiing

If you’ve ever watched moguls, it’s basically crashing your ankles into piles of snow at a high rate of speed. Considering Brantley is coming off of ankle surgery, it makes perfect irony that this would be his event.

Lonnie Chisenhall – Figure Skating

Ever so delicate, after dealing with some injuries over the past few seasons, figure skating is the perfect sport to represent Chisenhall. When healthy and playing well, it’s a thing of beauty. But a fall from grace can happen at any moment.

Brandon Guyer – Slalom Skiing

Coming off of wrist surgery this offseason, hitting sticks with his wrist seems like a wildly ironic event for Guyer to participate in. Nevertheless, Guyer could make a fine slalom skier.

Yan Gomes & Roberto Perez – Two man Bobsled

As catchers, Gomes and Perez aren’t really built for speed. That’s where the bobsled comes in. Both are strong and will be able to get the sled off with a good push. After that, it’s pretty much gaining speed going downhill. With the power these two have, they would make an excellent bobsled team.

Corey Kluber – Cross Country Skiing

Doing cross-country anything means going a long distance, especially for skiing. Kluber had five complete games last season. He can go the distance.

Carlos Carrasco – Curling

Curling could really be the sport for any of these pitchers. All have plenty of experience making an object curl into its desired location. For some reason, curling is a fun sport to watch, with rocks slowly moving across the ice. Carrasco has the perfect touch to put on the rocks to put them right where he wants them.

Trevor Bauer – Snowboard Cross

Snowboard cross is a race between five athletes down a winding course with several jumps. It got its start in the X Games and certainly qualifies as extreme. Bauer seems like the one guy on the Cleveland Indians that’s crazy enough to want to do it.

Danny Salazar – Skeleton

Going headfirst on a sled down a course made of ice? Sounds like something Salazar would need to be coaxed into doing. But someone has to do it, and it might as well be him.

Mike Clevinger – Snowboard Slopestyle

Crazy hairstyle? Check. Looks like a snowboarder? Check. Second opportunity to have a good run? Check. This is only the second Olympics for the slopestyle event, and Clevinger is looking to have a second straight successful season in the big leagues, making this an ideal event for him.

Josh Tomlin – Short track Speedskating

Tomlin isn’t as young and spry as he once was, making the shorter track a much more ideal placement than the normal speedskating course. Also, with his velocity not very high, he succeeds by his excellent work on the corners. Working the corners in short track skating is also very important.

Nick Goody – Skiing Super G

Last year, Goody really was super. Making the Super G event perfect for a Super Goody performance.

Andrew Miller & Cody Allen – Hockey

At 6’7″, 205 lbs, Miller would be a force on the ice. Watching him check opponents into the boards would be a sight I would pay to see. Also, with his pinpoint accuracy, he would make a great shooter. Allen also would make an interesting hockey player. With these two closing out the back end of the bullpen, hockey is also the perfect fit because it closes out the Olympic games. The final games of hockey will be played on the final day of the Games, right before the Closing Ceremony.

Ryan Merritt – Luge

It’s possible he could lose out on a rotation spot this spring. So, he could end up hanging out with some of the other lugers and pick up the sport. It’s a bad play on words, I know, but luge still looks like a lot of fun.

Tyler Olson – Ski Jumping

Ski Jumping is that weird sport where people go down a slide and then fly for like 100 meters with their skis in a ‘V’ formation. I don’t know how someone decided that this was a smart idea, but Olson had a 0.00 ERA last year, a big jump forward for his career. Maybe his career jumped fan enough to win Gold in the ski jump?

Zach McAllister & Dan Otero – Luge Doubles

They have a doubles luge apparently. The duo of McAllister and Otero would be an ideal combination for a luge team. They work in similar roles and would be a lot of fun to watch on a luge sled.

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