Hope you are enjoying another glorious day in NE Ohio or where ever you may be! Remember…enjoy the adventure of today.
It was very cool that I was invited to join Bobby DiBiasio for the Guardians plus Jim Roesenhaus and Matt Underwood respectfully the radio and TV voices of the team along with Tom Hamilton and Rick Manning. We were guests of the Mansfield Kiwanis Organization and in addition to having a heck of a time talking Guardians and baseball we were there to raise money for The Friendly House.
Photo by Mark “Munch” Bishop
Photo by Mark “Munch” Bishop
I learned some even more interesting facts about the Guardians! Matt and Jim waxed poetic not just about the team but about the talent in the minors and also noted that the team hangs its Block C ball caps on pitching and there is plenty of talent in the minors ready to go if needed! Let me share some solid 411 with you:
* In the last 10 years here are the the top four teams in ALL OF BASEBALL and their win totals:
– LA Dodgers 931
– New York Yankees 858
– St. Louis Cardinals 848
– Cleveland Guardians 845
WHOOMP there it is…13 games (a little more than ONE “W” a year and the Guards are in 2nd! Love it!
* One of the top Super Stars in baseball plays in Cleveland! Jose Ramirez in the words of Rosey is “INCREDIBLE AND INEVITABLE.” Think about this…Prior to last season Jose finished in the top 3 of MVP voting 3 of 5 years and last year he finished 4th! Toss in 4 All star appearances and 3 Silver Sluggers in this time frame sums up one thing…GREATNESS!
* In order for this team to BREAK EVEN with a $110 million dollar payroll they need to draw 2 million fans. No problem you say? Puzzling as it has happened once in the last ten years. Think about this…THEY WIN!
* Also talk about class so many times we see players, individuals honored by teams AFTER they pass away. Not so with John Adams. John was or than aware with hopes of being in the ballpark THIS year that not only did the team put a plaque for John on the wall of the bleachers where he sat along with his drum AND the team took his portion of bleacher seat and had the same sculptor that did a few of the players statues located where you enter the yard in CF sculpt a bass drum in bronze and this was placed in Heritage Park.
* A few noted concerning the team from others and from the Guardians themselves:
– This team EXHAUSTS opponents. They DISRUPT (one of my Munch Baseball Commandments) the opponents whether they are at bat, on base or in the field.
– Also with the “shorter” base paths and expanded size of the bases you can expect this team to RUN, RUN, RUN and yes that means fun and more DISUPTION.
* One note on Josh Bell! When the Guardians acquired Josh members of the front office received unsolicited calls from Josh’s former teams, Pirates, Nats and Padres noting that “the Guardians now have another leader, a sensible voice plus a GOOD, GOOD MAN! In addition he married a Youngstown gal so c’mon…that is an added bonus!
You ready for the 2023 season? Baseball people, neutral and those affiliated with other teams, noted to me that the top 4 teams in the A.L are the cheating astros, Yankees then a toss up with the Guards and Blue Jays. What do they need? POWER from the DH!
Enjoy and I cannot wait to see you at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario!
Photo by Mark “Munch” Bishop
Photo by Mark “Munch” Bishop
Photo by Mark “Munch” Bishop
1 Comment
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Tim Corbett
February 15, 2023 at 8:29 pm
CHAFF is ready for some baseball. I am heading to Phoenix in 15 days.
I think Steven, Amed, Jose, Andres, and Myles are going to drive pitchers and catchers crazy this year. 6” shorter from 1st to 2nd AND pitchers limited on their throw overs means more wins via our speed.