Black Keys' Carney fills in as Tribe drummer

Is Progressive Field ready to rock?

April 2nd, 2021
Art by Tom Forget

As MLB.com's Mandy Bell reported, for the first time in nearly 50 seasons, Cleveland's in-stadium drummer John Adams will miss the team's home opener on Monday. He suffered some major heart issues this offseason. You've probably heard him if you've watched or listened to any Tribe broadcast since 1973. He's a lifelong fan who, one day, from his perch in the left-field bleachers, decided to bring and bang a drum in the hopes of sparking some rallies.

Fortunately, the home opener will not go drumless. Cleveland has a diehard fan who will probably make a pretty decent replacement on the old thunder bumpers: the Black Keys' Patrick Carney.

It's extremely cool that Carney is such a follower of the team that he knew about Adams' ailment and reached out to them to see if he could sub in. Who knows? Maybe the bleachers will erupt into a rendition of "Howlin' For You"? It's got a great pump-up, in-stadium drum beat and even some baseball lyrics. It kind of needs to happen.