Hey world, Cleveland has a baseball team and it's really fun and good
LeBron James shook the world to its core when he left the Cavs to sign with the Lakers this week. It's created a snowball effect of NBA moves that may, actually, never end. And, according to some notable media outlets and personalities, it's left Cleveland grasping for its place in the sporting world:
And so now, Cleveland’s hopes rest with the Browns.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 2, 2018
No offense to the Browns, but guys ...
Yes, there's the Cleveland Indians. The first-place-by-9-1/2 games Cleveland Indians. The 100-game-winning-in-2017 Cleveland Indians. The came-a-few-hits-from-winning-the-2016-World-Series Cleveland Indians. Allow us to remind you of them.
There's
He's having a career year this season -- slashing at a .298/.373/.581 clip with 23 dingers and 55 RBIs. He leads the league with 73 runs and his 5.1 WAR is the best (by far) of any shortstop. He hits dramatic home runs, he makes dazzling defensive plays and he does it all while sporting the best smile in the game.
There's Jose Ramirez -- the best third baseman in baseball
Coming off a near-MVP season, Ramirez has been even better in 2018. He already has 24 homers (he had 29 all of last year), he's the only third baseman with an OPS over 1.000 (1.014) and his 5.8 WAR is nearly two whole points ahead of
There's
One could make an argument that Kluber has been the best pitcher in the American League over the last five seasons. He's won two Cy Young Awards and finished in the top 10 two other times. Currently, Kluber is 12-4 with a 2.64 ERA, 120 strikeouts and a league-leading 9.23 K/BB ratio. Earlier this year, he went an unreal 46 1/3 innings without allowing a base on balls. He's probably not thrilled with his team being forgotten.
If that's not fun, I don't know what is.
So, it's OK to miss LeBron and it's fine to watch the Browns, but remember that there's a playoff-caliber team also playing in Believeland. Go watch it play some baseball this year. Terry Francona will appreciate it.