The Lake County Captains held their annual Hot Stove event at Classic Park on Thursday, Jan. 26, introducing new manager Larry Day to season ticket holders in advance of the 2017 season.
The Captains enter their 15th season and made a major announcement, revealing plans to construct a brand new video board, which will cover approximately 1,100 square feet, roughly three times the size of the old scoreboard.
Another exciting announcement during the Hot Stove event detailed a plan to create a “Miracle League Baseball Field and Inclusive Playground” for Special Needs children in Lake County, which will allow developmentally disabled kids to play baseball and other sports on a specially made playing field, the first of its kind in Northeast Ohio.
More details will be released about the park in the coming months, as the project is hoped to be complete by mid-August 2017.
As for the Captains, like most things that have anything to do with Cleveland baseball, it’s an exciting time.
Former-Captains Francisco Lindor, Roberto Perez, Tyler Naquin, Cody Allen, Corey Kluber, Ryan Merrit, and Jose Ramirez all played huge roles in the Cleveland Indians’ magical run to the World Series.
2017 will be the first full season for many of the Tribe’s promising prospects to make their step towards reaching the show.
Day, the team’s new manager, who served as a hitting coach in 2015 and spent last season as hitting coach of Cleveland’s Single-A Lynchburg Hillcats, knows that this is an important year in professional ballplayers’ journeys.
“At one point, Michael Brantley was in A-Ball,” said Day.
“At one point, Naquin and Lindor were right here. For everyone, it’s their first day. That’s something I think is really important to understand about these boys is that for most of them, it’s going to be their first full season.”
“They’re going to face a lot of challenges with that. For a lot of those guys, it’s not only their first full season, but their first time away from their families for that long. In some cases, it’s their first time away from their countries for that long.”
Day cares deeply about the human element of his players and seeing the personal growth of his guys, not only as ballplayers, but as young men trying to reach their career goals.
The manager reflected on working with star prospect Francisco Mejia for the past two seasons, both in Lake County and Lynchburg, and raved about his work ethic.
“I think the biggest thing with Frankie during that (50-game hit-streak) was not only did he have that streak, but he’s also a catcher. The catcher side of it made him have to prepare for the opposing lineup, so he couldn’t be consumed by (the thought of) getting a hit and thinking about a hit-streak,” said Day.
“There’s a lot of preparation that goes into your day when you catch, as opposed to maybe being a corner outfielder or an infielder. So when you stay in the moment, control what you can control, focus on what’s in front of you, and prepare for the game like there’s no hit-streak, I believe that enabled him to keep that streak going. He really grew a lot last year.”
Along with Day, former-Indians pitcher Gregg Swindell spoke to season ticket holders at the event, reminiscing about his days with the Tribe during the late-80’s and early 90’s.
Swindell told stories about his days with youngsters Joey Bell (AKA Albert), Carlos Baerga, Sandy Alomar Jr. and Jim Thome.
He also shared his experience of winning a World Series in 2001 with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Swindell now works as a color commentator for Texas Longhorns Baseball, where he went to college, but ended his comments by saying he believes the Indians will win a World Series soon.
The Captains open up the 2017 season on the road against the Dayton Dragons on April 6. The two teams head to Lake County for the Captains’ home opener on April 8.
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