Lofton, Baerga get best of ‘Wild Thing’ Sheen
Cubs may be able to count on Schwarber
A fan campaign wasn’t enough to persuade Major League Baseball to select actor Charlie Sheen to throw out the first pitch in tonight’s Game 1 of the World Series between the Indians and Cubs at Progressive Field.
The Indians announced via Twitter on Monday that Kenny Lofton will do the honors for Game 1 and Carlos Baerga for Game 2. Both are members of the Indians Hall of Fame and starred on the 1995 team that reached the World Series, falling to the Atlanta Braves in six games.
Baerga led the Tribe in hits that season with 175, Lofton was No. 1 in stolen bases with 54.
Sheen played Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn in the 1989 movie “Major League,” which chronicled the rise of a rag-tag Indians team.
SCHWARBER: Barring a setback, it appears Kyle Schwarber’s improbable return from left knee surgery will be complete when he is added today to the Cubs’ World Series roster.
Schwarber went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk for Mesa, Ariz., in his second Arizona Fall League game Monday and was expected to join the Cubs in Cleveland. A scout who watched Schwarber said he took very good swings and slid into second on his double without issue.
“He’s been doing everything,” manager Joe Maddon said. “He’s swinging the bat well. He’s running very well.”
UMPS: John Hirschbeck will be the umpire crew chief for the World Series and Larry Vanover will call balls and strikes for Game 1.
Four umpires will work the World Series for the first time — Vanover, Chris Guccione, Marvin Hudson and Tony Randazzo.
Joe West, in his record 39th straight year in the majors, and Sam Holbrook also are on the crew.
TV RATINGS: The Cubs’ first pennant clincher since 1945 was seen by an average of 9.7 million viewers on Fox Sports 1, the highest total for a League Championship Series in six years.
Chicago’s 5-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 of the NLCS on Saturday night was the most-watched LCS game since San Francisco’s 3-2 victory over Philadelphia in Game 6 in 2010 (11.6 million), Fox said Sunday. Viewers increased to a peak of 12.2 million for the Cubs’ game-ending double play.
ANTHEM: Pop star Rachel Platten will sing the national anthem before Game 1.
ETHICS: The Cubs have withdrawn their offer of face-value World Series tickets to Chicago aldermen after a city ethics board determined that taking the team up on the offer could violate a ban on elected officials accepting gifts worth more than $50.