Alright, so listen up, y’all. We’re gonna talk about this Cleveland Indians thing, or whatever they call themselves now. It’s a whole big story, this baseball team and their place, this… “The Jake” they used to call it.
First off, that Jake place, it weren’t always there, you know? Way back when, they didn’t have nothin’ fancy. Then, boom, in 1994, they build this big ol’ stadium. Cost a whole heap of money, they say. Millions and millions! Some of it from us regular folks, taxes and such, and some from them rich fellas, I reckon. Cost ‘em 175 million smackeroos, they say. Can you believe that? And then, they go and change the name later on, in 2008. Folks still call it “The Jake” though, some of ‘em anyways.
Now, before this Jake, the Cleveland Indians, well, they weren’t nothin’ special. People used to laugh at ‘em, call ‘em the joke of the league. Can you imagine? But this Jake place, it changed everything. It was like magic, I tell ya. Suddenly, they start winnin’ games, goin’ to the playoffs, even the World Series! Yep, the World Series, big deal games, they were in it. 1995, 1997… folks got excited, started comin’ to the games, cheerin’ and yellin’. It was somethin’ else.
- They won the American League Championship six times: 1920, 1948, 1954, 1995, 1997, and 2016.
- They also won a bunch of these Central Division thingamajigs, twelve of ‘em, I think.
This Jake, it wasn’t just about baseball, you see. It was like it woke up the whole city. People got proud again, felt like they had somethin’ to root for. It was like the team became the… uh… the “jewel” of baseball, they say. Fancy words, but you get the idea. It brought folks together, made ‘em happy. And that’s a good thing, ain’t it? Made the city feel alive, like somethin’ good was happenin’.
They built that Jake right there at Carnegie and Ontario, in the city. It was a big deal, the newspapers and TV folks, they all talked about it. They said it was built special, just for baseball, to make it better, to bring it back to life in the city. And it did, it really did.
Then there’s this player, Colavito. He played for the Indians a long time, eight years, they say. A real good player, hit a lot of home runs. They say he was an All-Star nine times! Hit over 35 home runs a year, knocked in over 100 runs too. Started playing for them back in the 50s, been a long time ago now. He was one of them fellas folks remember, a real good player.
And, oh, that whole fuss about the name and the logo. You know, the “Indians” and that little… uh… Chief Wahoo thing. Lots of folks got upset, said it wasn’t right. And they finally got rid of that Wahoo in 2018. But the “Indians” name, it stayed for a while longer. Caused a lot of talkin’, a lot of arguin’. People got strong feelings about it, both sides. Hard to please everyone, I guess.
So, that’s the story, as best as I can tell ya. This Cleveland team, this Jake, it’s all mixed up together. Winning and losing, changing names, making folks happy, making folks mad. It’s just like life, ain’t it? Full of ups and downs, twists and turns. But one thing’s for sure, that Jake place, it left its mark. People won’t forget it, not for a long, long time.
Tags: [Cleveland Indians, The Jake, Jacobs Field, Cleveland baseball, Progressive Field, Cleveland Ohio, MLB, World Series, Cleveland Guardians]
