Naquin had an excellent rookie season, punctuated by a walk-off inside-the-park home run and a third place finish in the Rookie of the Year voting. But while the offseason acquisitions of Rajai Davis and Marlon Byrd probably would have made Almonte the Indians’ fourth or fifth outfielder at best, Brantley’s injury had given him an opportunity for more playing time.īut Almonte was suspended for the first half of 2016 for PED use, which allowed Tyler Naquin to step in instead. After coming over from San Diego in 2015, he played a solid center field in the second half, earning the nickname of “Babe-raham”, even if it was somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Crisp was one of the league’s best hitters in the clutch last season (.392/.462/.582 with RISP).īut the player Crisp replaced, Abraham Almonte, wasn’t the Indians’ first choice in left field either. The Indians liked his bat and his availability, and were prepared to overlook his defensive shortcomings, figuring that they could use Crisp situationally. The Indians had acquired Coco Crisp after the trade deadline because Abraham Almonte’s PED suspension made him ineligible for the postseason. This took Coco Crisp – who is known for his throwing arm, but not in a good way – out of the lineup. With the go-ahead run at third and less than two outs, Indians manager Terry Francona wanted a stronger arm in left field, so he moved Brandon Guyer over to left field and put Michael Martinez in right. He stole second, moving to third on an errant throw by Indians catcher Yan Gomes. In the top of the ninth inning of Game 7, Cubs’ right fielder Jason Heyward had reached base with one out on a fielder’s choice. Finally, the Indians conceded that Brantley wouldn’t be back in 2016 if the Indians, who were neck deep in a pennant race by that point, were to win a World Series, they’d have to do it without him. For most of the summer, Brantley rehabbed his shoulder and tried to get back, but it always seemed like he would take two steps forward then three steps back. Then, after he had appeared in only 11 games, the injury resurfaced. Brantley was originally projected to be ready for Opening Day 2016, but his shoulder injury lingered and delayed his return until April 25.
Brantley was the Indians’ most consistent performer in 2015, and most Tribe fans would have agreed at the outset of 2016 that losing Brantley for an extended amount of time would be a problem, if not a disaster. Why was it Michael Martinez stepping to the plate as the Indians’ left fielder in Game 7? Why wasn’t it Michael Brantley, José Ramírez, Abraham Almonte or even Coco Crisp?Īll of this started because Michael Brantley hurt his shoulder near the end of 2015. Up to bat for the Indians… is Michael Martinez. One run is in, but there are two outs and a runner on first. So here’s the situation: it’s the bottom of the tenth, Game 7 of the World Series, Tribe down by a run. But after retiring the first two batters in the bottom half, Cubs reliever Carl Edwards surrendered a walk and a single, and now it’s back to a one-run game. Then out of nowhere it started raining, and while the delay only lasted seventeen minutes, it seemed to drag on forever as we were all forced to reflect on the game so far and wonder what else could possibly be in store.Īfter the delay, the Cubs managed to score two in the top of the tenth. After the Indians had held off a Cubs rally in the ninth, then failed to score in the bottom half, Game 7 was headed for extra innings. With a runner on second, Rajai Davis stepped to the plate. Then in the eighth, with the Tribe down by three, Brandon Guyer delivered with a clutch two-out double off of the venerable Aroldis Chapman to cut the deficit to two. But in the fifth inning, thanks to some aggressive baserunning on a wild pitch, the Indians scored twice. The Indians fell behind early (on the first pitch of the game, no less) and trailed by as many as four runs. But even as far as Game 7s go, this one’s been unforgettable. This game earned its place in history before the first pitch was even thrown, not only because of the teams involved and their baggage but because the way the Series had unfolded so far. The Indians and Cubs are the two most cursed franchises in baseball: the winner of this game sheds their curse forever the loser adds another painful chapter. Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs, is into its second calendar day.
It’s an unseasonably warm November night in Cleveland, Ohio.
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