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Kenny Lofton details air conditioning battle with Albert Belle in Cleveland clubhouse
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- Kenny Lofton details air conditioning battle with Albert Belle in Cleveland clubhouse
CLEVELAND — Cleveland's lineup in 1995 was in sync to a historic degree. But there was one area where they found some disagreement: the temperature in the clubhouse, which became a half-joking point of contention between two of that team's stars.
Speaking during a "fireside chat" led by Chris Rose at Thursday's Greater Cleveland Sports Awards to discuss the magical year in 1995, former outfielder Kenny Lofton detailed a back-and-forth war for the air conditioning setting in the Progressive Field clubhouse.
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His opponent was none other than Albert Belle , one of the most imposing players of that era. But Lofton wasn't backing down, as the two had drastically different ideas about how hot or cold the room should be.
"I didn't care. Bring it on," Lofton said with a smile. He's noted before that while others were almost afraid of Belle, he certainly wasn't.
Cleveland Indians great Kenny Lofton takes the stage during the 25th Greater Cleveland Sports Awards at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio.
As Lofton tells it, Belle wanted the clubhouse ice cold. Lofton took some exception to this, and began turning the heat up whenever he could.
"Something was going on with him. He was always hot and he wanted the clubhouse to be cold, and he used to turn the thermostat down 40 degrees," Lofton said. "The clubhouse guys used to come in and say, 'Kenny, Albert turned the thermostat down again.'
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"So I go up there and turn it up to 75. He gets upset and he goes back in the clubhouse and turns it back down."
This went on for a while, with neither backing down. Up and down the temperature went until one day Belle ended the hot-cold war for good.
"I guess after the last time, he got pissed," Lofton said. "I went up and turned it to 75 and he went down and turned it back down to 40 and took a bat to [the thermostat], said, 'Kenny's not gonna turn this thing back up,' and that was a wrap. It was 40 degrees in the clubhouse."
Lofton was on the panel for the fireside chat along with Charlie Nagy, Mike Hargrove and Jim Thome (via video, as he wasn't able to make it to Cleveland due to ice and snow storms).
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When asked what you wear in a clubhouse that's 40 degrees, Nagy joked, "Everything."
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Kenny Lofton, Albert Belle had a battle over temp in the clubhouse
