Vote for AL: Vote for every Cleveland Guardian.
Vote for NL: Vote against anyone who was on the 2016 Chicago Cubs, and also vote against anyone on the 2017, and current Houston Astros.
I was checked out of baseball in 2016, what did I miss? I get the Astros hate, obviously
Well you see…in 2016 the Cleveland Indiands went to the World Series against the Chicago Cubs…and then game 7 happened.
Just come to Cleveland, and ask any local “Hey, how about that rain in game 7?”
As long as you aren’t wearing Cubs gear, they’ll hug you, and you both console each other.
We led the series. 3-1. Which then became 3-3 and forced game 7. Game 7 is quite possibly the most exciting baseball game I have ever seen in my 40 year life, with 35 of those years being an Indians/Guardians fan. It was teeter-totter baseball all the way. We were at bat, and we had momentum. We had the crowd energized. I’m not sure how to describe the feeling of that game. It was a game of hope. We hadn’t seen a world series win since 1948. It was our year. We were the breakout stars that shouldn’t have been there. The rest of the world supported the cubs. Joe Buck was sucking off every Chicago player until we made the series 3-1. Then he begrudgingly was forced to admit we were a threat. That we belonged. And somehow that slipped to 3-3, and Joe Buck was right back to sucking Chicago off all game long. So in the 9th, when we tied it, had men on base, had the energy, had momentum, had a ruckus crowd, a few rain drops fell. Nothing much. A brief mist. A light rain. Still playable unless it got worse.
But the umps had called for a 90 minute rain delay. And all that energy? Gone. By the time they resumed play it was like midnight. The players on both sides noticably more tired, but Cleveland had farther to lose with that call.
And the rain never picked up either. It remained completely playable, while they didn’t. It went to extra innings. This was pre-covid, so the auto runner on 2nd didn’t exist yet AS IT SHOULD BE!!!
Both teams traded runs, until finally in the 13th inning, now about 2am, Chicago scored a run, and Cleveland couldn’t match.
Yes, I’m still bitter.
I mean, similar story in 1997 without rain, and I’m still not over THAT!
1995 I will conceed that Atlanta was the better team, and deserved to win.
But '97 and 2016 were OUR years. ESPECIALLY 1997. They literally had the trophy set up in the Indians dugout. Cameras ready, confetti guns ready, and then…Jose Mesa.
My point is…GO CLEVELAND!