Dayton Daily News

Mayfield chugs a beer at Cleveland Indians game

- By Joe Noga

Fresh off CLEVELAND, OHIO — a training camp scrimmage at FirstEnerg­y Stadium, Cleveland Browns quarterbac­k Baker Mayfield quenched his thirst by shotgunnin­g a beer from a suite while taking in Saturday’s Indians game against the Los Angeles Angels.

The Progressiv­e Field scoreboard flashed a shot of Mayfield, seated in a luxury box with his wife Emily, sipping a beer as he watched the action. Mayfield saluted, and then somebody off camera tossed him a full can which the second-year QB cracked open with his teeth and chugged to the delight of the crowd.

Mayfield then turned around to show he was wearing a Francisco Lindor jersey and franticall­y waved his arms while imploring the crowd to “get up” and show their enthusiasm.

The Indians, who had been held hitless to that point in the game, immediatel­y got on the scoreboard behind a double by newcomer Franmil Reyes and a two-run homer by Jason Kipnis.

And perhaps inspired by Mayfield’s jersey choice, Lindor blasted a three-run homer of his own a few batters later to give the Tribe a 5-0 lead en route to a 7-2 win.

The scene was reminiscen­t of Packers quarterbac­k Aaron Rodgers and teammate David Bakhtiari staging a beer-chugging contest during Game 5 of this year’s NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals in Milwaukee. Bakhtiari famously downed three beers before Rodgers could finish a single brew as Bucks fans cheered the lineman on.

Bakhtiari tweeted his approval once word of Mayfield’s exploits began to spread on social media.

Indians fans will also remember LeBron James and the 2016 NBA champion Cavaliers pumping the home crowd up before Game 2 of the American League Division Series against Boston that year. The moment appeared to take the air out of the sails for the Red Sox, who were swept by the Tribe two days later.

Mayfield made his way to the Indians clubhouse after the game where he met with catcher Kevin Plawecki and infielder Mike Freeman. The trio enjoyed a post-game beverage using bright red Uberfist drink holders. The Incredible Hulk-style drink holders have become a popular item among Indians pitchers during when celebratin­g wins in the past month.

 ?? JOHN KUNTZ / CLEVELAND.COM ?? Cleveland Browns quarterbac­k Baker Mayfield (left) signs autographs after the Orange and Brown Scrimmage Saturday in Cleveland.
JOHN KUNTZ / CLEVELAND.COM Cleveland Browns quarterbac­k Baker Mayfield (left) signs autographs after the Orange and Brown Scrimmage Saturday in Cleveland.

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