Cleveland Indians: Tribe Fest can’t come soon enough

Tribe Fest is just days away, providing fans of the Cleveland Indians with a chance to escape the winter and meet their baseball heroes.

Cleveland Indians fans are in need of a win. Or, perhaps more appropriately, a distraction.

Corey Kluber is gone. Francisco Lindor‘s days are evidently numbered, and ownership doesn’t seem particularly concerned. The team’s lone noteworthy offseason acquisition was Cesar Hernandez, despite several other areas of the roster that could still use some help. Just about all of the free agents who could have filled those gaps have signed with other teams.

But on Saturday, February 1, the storm clouds will subside – even if only momentarily. The Indians and their fans will convene at Tribe Fest, a day built around giving back to the team’s loyal supporters with the most valuable thing a professional athlete (or anyone, really) can offer: time.

Tribe Fest is an opportunity for fans of all ages to interact with representatives of the team in a variety of settings that includes autograph lines, games, Q&A sessions, and… Goat Yoga? There will be a full complement of players and coaches on hand for the event, including Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Carlos Carrasco, and Mike Clevinger, among many others.

There will even be a “state of the franchise” segment in which Mike Chernoff and Terry Francona will presumably discuss where the organization stands now and is headed in the future. That ought to be an interesting one.

For a detailed listing of the personnel who will be present, as well as the event schedule, here is a link to the official Tribe Fest page.

For one day, there will be no lamenting things like market size, trade rumors, or payroll. Maybe those issues return to the forefront on February 2, but Tribe Fest will provide a most welcome reprieve from what has been a deflating winter.