We’re well into the doldrums of the baseball season. The Mesa Solar Sox (the Indians AFL affiliate) won the Arizona Fall League championship on November 19th, successfully ending professional baseball within the United States until late February where we will see it return with the first Spring Training games.
Without live games to attend or watch in any fashion, my gift to you are some of the best games in baseball this year, from an Indians fan’s point of view. They are available to watch below in condensed form or click the link in the headline to watch the full game. Descriptions will follow each video, so if you don’t want to know (don’t remember) what happened in that particular game, make sure not to read ahead. Since this is a video heavy page, it may take a moment for the games to load.
September 20th: Nationals at Marlins – Jose Fernandez‘s Final Start
[mlbvideo id=”1178570783″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]Throw everything else that has happened since away. When Fernandez died in September 25th, 2016, it wasn’t just the death of a 24 year old, which is tragic enough, but the loss of one of the most exciting and talented players in any sport. Fernandez was in serious contention for the Cy Young (he finished 7th on the ballot) and should have won multiple if his career had been extended by even a few years. In this start, he was at his best.
Against the NL East champion Nationals, he pitched eight shut out innings and allowed just three hits while striking out 12. He would earn the win 1-0 in the last game he ever pitched.
May 17th: Reds at Indians – The Biggest Blow Out
[mlbvideo id=”709082883″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]This list is about having fun and getting your spirits up, so there has to be a game that was completely irrelevant to anything, but was just a roaring good time, at least for the Indians. The entire four game series against the Reds (two in Cleveland, two in Cincinnati) this year was that, but in particular the game on May 17th.
Danny Salazar pitched a decent set, going 7.1 innings while allowing 1 run and striking out 8, but the important thing here is that Alfredo Simon did not. The Tribe put up four in the second, three in the third and another five in the fifth to saddle the Reds starter with 10 earned. They did all that without a home run, but did have an inning where four consecutive batters walked with the bases loaded, which is pretty much the same thing as a slow motion grand slam. In all, the Indians outscored the Reds in the four game set 43-16.
August 19th: Blue Jays at Indians – Tyler Naquin‘s Trip Around the World
[mlbvideo id=”1073010483″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]While he didn’t quite run around the world, this game was huge for the Indians for many reasons. First, more than any other team in baseball, the Blue Jays were the Indians number one rival. The 14 game winning streak was extended, then broken by the Blue Jays. In the final win of that streak, there was the 19 inning extravaganza that saw Trevor Bauer pitch five shut out innings in relief and Carlos Santana win. Then, there was the ALCS rematch that featured circumstances and boot shaking.
This game may have been the best of them all (although there is an argument for that the 19 inning game on July first), at least in the regular season. Trevor Bauer faced Toronto for the first time since those five innings in relief and had one of his best games of the season, striking out 13 while allowing just two runs to score in eight innings. Of course, the real reason for this game’s inclusion was the final play, which became a rallying point for the rest of the season and beyond.
October 25th: Cubs at Indians – The Return of the Fall Classic
[mlbvideo id=”1209215183″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]For the sake of avoiding heart break, we’ll only feature one World Series game in this list, the first one. It coincided with the first game of the Cavaliers season, one that featured a ring ceremony for their 2016 championship run. It was also the first Indians World Series game since 1997 and the first home game in game one ever. Already knowing that Bauer would be limited and that there were few other options, Corey Kluber was set to begin his three starts in seven games and was dominant. Striking out nine in six innings without allowing a run to score.
He threw only 88 pitches, but Terry Francona had his strategy plotted out and Andrew Miller threw the next two. Cody Allen closed things out and Roberto Perez provided all the offense the Indians needed for the shut out with two home runs. As poorly as things ended, they could not have began any better.
October 14th: Blue Jays at Indians – The Legend of the Kraken
[mlbvideo id=”1206410483″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]As mentioned before, there were quite a few huge games against the Blue Jays in 2016 and it pains me not to include Ryan Merritt‘s incredible start in game five of the ALCS, but Andrew Miller really needs a feature of his own. In game one of the ALCS, Francisco Lindor got the Indians on the board 2-0 in the sixth with a home run and that would be the only offense by either team. Kluber shined again, with 6.1 shut out innings, but Miller was the most impressive.
He came in with one out in the seventh and immediately struck out two pinch hitters. After allowing a single to Josh Donaldson in the first at bat of the 8th, he struck out Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista and Russell Martin to end the inning and earn a hold. At the same time, Marco Estrada pitched a gem for the Jays, going all eight innings to save the Blue Jays bullpen for when they would need it later in the series.
Feel free to go back and watch game seven of the World Series as well (full game). Rajai Davis was the stuff of legends in that one and it featured the last stand of Kluber, which was admirable if not as dominant as his other starts featured above. However, I would have to guess that most aren’t ready to return to that point yet.
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