Well, it is that time of year in Cleveland for the typical sports fan. Our beloved Browns are only tied for the worse record in the league with a 1-8 record.
The Cavaliers are 8-3 and playing through three key injuries, a player with mental health issues and trying to establish chemistry with all of their off-season acquisitions. Still, the fans have confidence that they will remain amongst the leagues better teams and will definitely be in the playoffs.
That leaves us with the Cleveland Indians. Oh yeah, by the way, the Indians have hired Manny Acta as their new manager and he was quietly going about filling out his coaching staff. Until now. That is because he hired Sandy Alomar Jr. to be his first base coach and his catching instructor.
Alomar had spent the past two seasons as a catching instructor for the New York Mets. Alomar played 20 seasons in the majors before he retired in 2007. He spent 11 years with the Indians. Cleveland won five AL Central titles and made two trips to the World Series with Alomar as their starting catcher. He is loved in Cleveland. All Cleveland baseball fans remember the 1997 season when the All Star game was played in Cleveland and Alomar earned MVP honors. As if that was not enough, he was instrumental in the Tribe advancing to the ALCS that year with a huge homer off Mariano Rivera of the Yankees in the late phases in that series.
Alomar has a storied history as an Indian. He was acquired back in 1990 from the San Diego Padres. He won rookie of the year honors in 1990 and made the AL all star team six times between the 1990 and 1998 seasons. The trade was great for Cleveland. The Indians traded slugging outfielder Joe carter for Alomar, Carlos Baerga and Chris James. Alomar was named the catching instructor for the New York Mets in 2008, after retiring as a player with the Mets at the age of 41 in 2007. He appeared in only 8 games his last year.
Now, he is back in Cleveland. Acta believes in Alomar’s abilities as a coach and instructor. That is why he is on the staff. But it will not hurt the “PR” angle . Cleveland Indians baseball is suffering again after a lackluster and 90+ loss season in 2009. The addition of a base coach is usually not a major news item. However, in Cleveland, with the Browns a big loser and the Cavs just getting started, Alomar represents a glorious time in Indian’s history. He was here during the 90’s, division championships, and World Series appearances. He represents something the sports fan in Cleveland needs right now…winning. Alomar reminds Cleveland baseball fans of winning. Since it seems that, the Tribe is in for a long rebuilding period, his value as a link to the past will be very valuable to us die-hard fans. I, for one, am glad to see him back.
