The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Ex-Indians pitcher Nagy to meet fans at dinner
Charlie Nagy knows the questions will be coming when he’s the featured guest at the 18th Captains Hot Stove Dinner.
Charlie Nagy knows the questions will be coming when he’s the featured guest at the 18th Captains Hot Stove Dinner on Jan. 23 at Holiday Inn Mentor.
Fans in the audience will want to know what the former Indians pitcher and three-time American League All-Star thinks about the current sign-stealing scandal centered on the Astros.
Accounts of the Astros’ activities and punishments meted out by Major League Baseball are dominating the headlines in the weeks leading up to the openings of spring training camps in Arizona and Florida.
Nagy speaks to this issue both as a 14-year major-league veteran and former players representative in dealings between owners and the Major League Baseball Players Association. He also has been a pitching coach for the Diamondbacks and Angels.
“When I was with the Angels we played the Astros quite a bit,” Nagy said during a telephone interview from his home in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., near San Diego.
“Everyone suspected something was going on with the Astros. But we didn’t know for sure,” Nagy added. “Word got around you needed to be really careful about protecting signs against Houston.”
Nagy also will be asked to weigh in on the status of current Indians star Francisco Lindor.
The All-Star shortstop is heading toward free agency after the 2021 season. He was prominently mentioned in trade rumors through the offseason. The Indians’ front office reportedly fielded several offers but has so far decided not to deal him.
Lindor and the Indians agreed to terms on a oneyear, $17.5 million deal on Jan. 10 to avoid arbitration.
Nagy said he is saddened by the apparent inevitability of the Indians losing their charismatic star to a
trade of free agency. He sees coming to the fore the same financial forces that led to his Indians teammates in the 1990s, sluggers Albert Belle and Jim Thome, leaving via free agency.
“It’s an unfortunate state of affairs for the Indians and other mid-market teams,”
Nagy said. “They have smart people in the front office and they do a great job with player development. But they are strapped to a budget in ways that big-market teams are not.”
Selected by the Indians in the first round of the 1988 draft out of the University of Connecticut, Nagy spent 13 years in a Cleveland uniform. He was 129-105 with a 4.51 ERA during his career.
His peak years were from 1994 to 1999, when he was 90-51 with a 4.24 ERA. The Indians made playoff appearances every year from 1995 to 1999 and twice advanced to the World Series, in 1995 and 1997.
“The ball club we had in ‘95 was one of the greatest hitting teams of all time,” Nagy said.
Nagy is looking forward to the Hot Stove Dinner and having the opportunity to re-connect with Indians fans.
“The Indians organization and Cleveland have been such a big part of my life,” he said. “It’s always great to get back.”
“Everyone suspected something was going on with the Astros. But we didn’t know for sure. Word got around you needed to be really careful about protecting signs against Houston.” — Charles Nagy