Game 8 of our trip was at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. Shin Soo Choo and the Cleveland Indians took on Billy Butler and the Kansas City Royals.
Pregame
Pregame in Cleveland was pretty average. We got to the game as soon as possible, and were one of the first to enter the stadium. To be frank, that is not saying much with the amount of fans that were there. Like all games, we began our quest for balls. Scott Posednik got us started by giving Maxwell a ball.
Good piece of advice if you ever go to the game early: act like a fan of the visiting ball club. It is almost a can't miss strategy for getting a ball.
We all watched a bullpen session of Royals Starter Kyle Davies. Surprisingly, he looked very good. The bullpen coach was a nice guy and decided to give Maxwell a ball. Like a nice person, Maxwell gave the ball to Sam to add to his personal collection.
We then found a speed gun, which Maxwell decided to attempt to throw hard. He did not. I believe he maxed out at 56mph. That is pathetic. :)
I just want to say that if you want to see a game in Cleveland, do it. We sat in field box seats for less than $30. It was unbelievable. Seats were outstanding. They even competed with our front row seats in Pittsburgh.
I need to give a shout out to BRUCE CHEN!
The Game
This baseball game was one to remember. The Indians starter was Justin Masterson who was riding a winless streak that extended into last year. The Kansas City Royals sent out Gil Meche, a left handed pitcher who has been battling injuries. The scoring got started when the Royals made a throwing error while attempting to turn a double play. Travis Hafner came around to score to give the Indians a 1-0 lead. A 3rd inning rally gave the Royals a 2-1 lead. In the 5th inning, Cleveland CF Trever Crow hit a single to centerfield driving in the tying run. The tie game was short lived when Mitch Maier game the Royals a 1 run lead on a double. The Indians were able to get 1 run in both the 6th and 7th giving them a 4-3 lead. Rafael Perez and Tony Sipp shut down the Royals for the rest of the game until Closer Kerry Wood came in to
pitch. Then the disaster began...
Mike Aviles began with a lead off triple. By then you knew that the lead was essentially gone. After a bingle (Swinging bunt single) there were runners on the corners with nobody out. Billy Butler hit an absolute bomb double that put runners on second and third. He then was able to strike out Jose Guillen. To set up the double play he loaded the bases by intentionally walking Alberto Callaspo. He then had a 5 pitch walk with the bases loaded to give the Royals a lead. Yuniesky Betancourt then cleared the bases on and 0-2 pitch, lacing a double to the wall. By the time Wood was removed from the game, it was out of hand. 8-4 the Royals won, scoring 5 runs in the 9th. It was hands down, the worst pitching performance I have ever seen, and I have seen A LOT of baseball.
Win- Bruce Chen
1.1 IP, 0H, 1BB, 0K
Loss-Kerry Wood
.1IP 4H, 2BB, 5ER, 1K
Progressive Field
Fans: 4
Food: 6
Seats: 9
Overall Experience: 6
The Indians lived up to the hype with having the lowest attendance in baseball. There had to have been less than 10,000 fans at the ballpark. The seats were very good and very cheap. The food was solid. The thing about Progressive Field was that nothing was outstanding. When you are watching some of the worst teams in baseball, the game can drag out which seemed to happen until the 9th.
Other Notes
Cops in Cleveland are cool. Nice cop had a conversation before the game. Lebron rules the city until he moves to NY.
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