The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
David S. Glasier looks at past home openers.
When the Indians host the Chicago White Sox on April 11, they will add another chapter to the franchise’s history of home openers.
The previous 116 home openers have been played at League Park (1901-37), Cleveland Stadium (193893) and, since 1994, at the downtown ballpark christened as Jacobs Field and subsequently renamed Progressive Field.
Here is a look back at some of the notable home openers played in those three venues.
April 29, 1901: Cleveland Blues 4, Milwaukee Brewers 3
It was the inaugural season of the American League and record-keeping in baseball was primitive. What we do know is that the Blues, short for Bluebirds, beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3, at League Park. There is no written record of the crowd or the weather. Ten years would pass before the team’s name was changed from Blues to Indians.
When the 140-game season ended in late September, manager Jimmy McAleer’s Blues were 54-82 and in seventh place.
April 19, 1938: St. Louis Browns 6, Indians 2
The Indians didn’t get much done with the bats in the first home opener at Cleveland Stadium. Center fielder and future Hall of Famer Earl Averill had two singles. First baseman Hal Trosky slugged a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning. No attendance figure was reported for the game.
April 20, 1948: Indians 4, St. Louis Browns 0
A then-record crowd of 73,163 filled Cleveland Stadium to watch future Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller blank the Browns on two hits in a complete-game victory. Catcher Jim Hegan slugged a two-run home run and drove in three runs.
It would be a banner season for player-manager Lou Boudreau and the Tribe. They finished 97-58 in the regular season, beat the Boston Red Sox in a onegame playoff for the AL pennant and then got past the Boston Braves in six games to win the World Series.
April 7, 1973: Indians 2, Detroit Tigers 1
In near-perfect weather for early April on the shores of Lake Erie, 1972 AL Cy Young Award winner Gaylord Perry outdueled Tigers ace Mickey Lolich in front of a capacity crowd of 74,420.
Perry got all the run support he needed when first baseman Chris Chambliss tagged the Motor City southpaw for a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning.
It was one of only two hits for the Indians, who went on to have an abysmal season on the field and at the ticket windows. They finished 71-91 under manager Ken Aspromonte and drew only 615,107 in 81 home dates.
April 8, 1975: Indians 5, New York Yankees 3
History was made with Indians player-manager Frank Robinson’s regularseason debut as the first black manager in the big leagues.
In the bottom of the first inning, Robinson warmed the 56,715 fans on a bitterly cold day by connecting off Yankees starter Doc Medich for a solo home run in his first at-bat. Gaylord Perry went the distance to earn the victory.
The Indians would go on to finish fourth in the AL East at 79-80. Almost from the beginning of the season, there was tension between Robinson and Perry. In the middle of June, general manager Phil Seghi sided with Robinson and shipped Perry to the Texas Rangers in one of the least distinguished trades in franchise history.
April 11, 1992: Boston Red Sox 7, Indians 5 (19 innings)
Only a fraction of the 65,813 fans who were there at the start of the game in unseasonably warm weather were around six hours, 30 minutes later when the Red Sox got what proved to be the two decisive runs off reliever Eric Bell. He was the seventh pitcher used by Tribe manager Mike Hargrove. Indians second baseman Carlos Baerga had six hits, all singles, in what still stands as the longest home opener in franchise history.
April 5, 1993: New York Yankees 9, Indians 1
Soft-tossing southpaw Jimmy Key and the Bronx Bombers killed the buzz for the 73,290 fans who turned out for the final home opener at Cleveland Stadium.
Although they would finish 76-86 and in sixth place in the AL East, much bigger and better things awaited the Indians in 1994 as they moved into Jacobs Field and the newly formed AL Central.
April 4, 1994: Indians 4, Seattle Mariners 3 (11 innings)
Everything about this day felt right for the Indians and their fans in the inaugural home opener at the state-of-the-art downtown ballpark. President Bill Clinton donned an Indians jacket to throw the ceremonial first pitch on a sunny but cold afternoon.
Starting pitchers Dennis Martinez of the Indians and Randy Johnson took it from there, engaging in a spirited duel that matched the guile of Martinez against the power of Johnson’s left arm. The Indians got to two Seattle relievers for two runs in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings. They won it on backup outfielder Wayne Kirby’s RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the 11th.
It was the start of a heady season for the resurgent Indians. They were 66-47 and in the thick of the playoff chase when the players went on strike in August with the collapse of negotiations between the players union and owners on a new collective bargaining agreement.
April 6, 2007: Indians 4, Seattle Mariners 0 (suspended by snow, top 5th inning) Milwaukee)
Mother Nature wreaked havoc with the home opener at Progressive Field. It was snowing so hard the umpires decided to suspend play. Problem was, the snow stuck around and forced postponement of the entire four-game series against the Mariners..
With their own ballpark still buried in snow, the Indians elected to move the next series against the Angels to the home of the Milwaukee Brewers with its retractable roof.
The Indians prevailed in their home-away-from-home opener and took two of three from the Angels, Indians manager Eric Wedge and his squad were on their way to a 96-66 finish, an AL Central title and a Division Series victory over the Yankees. They ran out to a 3-1 lead against Boston in the AL Championship Series before the Red Sox rallied to win the next three games.
April 5, 2012: Toronto Blue Jays 7, Indians 4 (16 innings)
A late-inning collapse by Indians closer Chris Perez rendered moot an outstanding effort by starter Justin Masterson. The Indians took a 4-1 lead into the top of the ninth inning, but the Blue Jays pushed across three runs to make it 4-4. The big blow was a tworun double by Edwin Encarnacion, who is now on the Tribe.
The winning runs came courtesy of a three-run homer by J.P. Arencibia off Tribe reliever Jairo Asencio in the top of the 16th.
The game took five hours, 14 minutes to complete.
The Indians were 69-94 and manager Manny Acta lost his job.