Rambling On About My Glory Days: A Higher Calling

Things were looking up for me and the 1982 Cleveland Indians, literally. I had been traded in the off season from the Dodgers with a great opportunity to be the starting second baseman. After a good spring training I earned the starting spot and was prepared for the season, or so I thought. My horrible season that followed is a story for another day. Let me tell you why things were looking up. First of all, we had an awesome pitching staff with the likes of Bert Blyleven (soon to be Hall of Famer, I hope), Rick Sutcliffe (former National League rookie of the year), Len Barker (of perfect game fame) and other formidable pitchers like Lary Sorensen, John Denny, Ed Whitson, Rick Waits and Dan Spillner. Very impressive indeed, but let me tell you why things were looking up. Here is how it went down; I mean up.

During one of our first games that season, while playing the Kansas City Royals at home in “beautiful,” old Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Jerry Martin of the Royals hit a titanic shot completely out of the stadium, just foul. The following day during batting practice, a voice from the heavens could be heard, “Lary, Lary, Lary.” Was this the voice of God? I wondered. Looking everywhere, I noticed someone on our team pointing up towards the left field stands, where upon Bert Blyleven (not God) was standing on top of the left field roof. Believe me, it is way up there and how he got on the roof in the first place is not known. Bert proceeds to yell when all were looking, “Lary, this is where that ball landed,” obviously referring to the ball hit by Jerry Martin the previous day.

Unfortunately, that is one of the only highlights to the season, at least for me, as the 1982 Cleveland Indians ball team did not jell for whatever reasons. Of course, if there is ever a Hall of Fame for pranksters, Bert Blyleven should be a unanimous pick for that hall also. Such is the life, where pranks and joking around are constant and necessary.

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