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2016 memorable for Cleveland fans

To the editor:

As a longtime fan of Cleveland professional sports teams, I must admit that I was quite disappointed on Nov. 2 when the Cleveland Indians were defeated by the Chicago Cubs in 10 innings in the seventh and deciding game of the 2016 World Series, and, as a result, the Tribe has not been crowned the world champions of baseball since 1948. The victorious Cubs, conversely, won their first such championship since 1908.

However, although the end of the 2016 season was a bit of a letdown, the Indians, in retrospect, had a truly outstanding and remarkable season, as there is significant evidence that the Tribe might have been one of the greatest overachieving teams in baseball’s long and illustrious history.

For example, the highly respected 2016 version of the Athlon Sports Baseball Preview predicted the Indians to finish in fifth place (dead last) in the American League Central Division prior to the start of the season, and, going into the post-season, the Indians were without their Nos. 2 and 3 starting pitchers, Carlos Carasco and Danny Salazar, and an injury to another starting pitcher, Trevor Bauer, incurred as well, which diminished his effectiveness on the mound during the World Series, thus placing an undo burden on the Tribe’s healthy starting pitchers Corey Kluber and Josh Tomlin, who performed amicably in spite of being seriously overworked.

In addition, the Indians were without the services of arguably their best position player, who was lost to the Tribe throughout the post-season, while playing in only 11 games in the regular season, Michael Brantley.

Also, the Indians were considered serious underdogs to the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays in the American League playoffs and to the Cubs in the World Series as well.

Therefore, I believe that the 2016 Cleveland Indians should be recognized for their outstanding performance in facing and overcoming such great challenges on their journey to nearly bringing the Indians their first championship in 68 seasons.

Indians’ Manager Terry Francona, I feel, as a result of his outstanding leadership, should be a prime candidate for manager of the year.

Although the Indians did not achieve their ultimate goal of bringing the 2016 World Series championship to Cleveland, I commend the franchise for its outstanding achievements against heavy odds, and although the Indians were not victorious in the World Series, they should be respected for their accomplishments as American League champions.

For Cleveland fans such as myself, 2016 has been most memorable, indeed, with the Cavaliers winning the first NBA championship in their history, and with the Indians very nearly bringing a second championship to the city and its long-suffering fans.

Richard Hord

Martins Ferry

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