Hey! Heard any news about the Cleveland Indians lately? As if headlines about their long-time team president bolting for The 6 or their owner seeking a minority partner were not enough Wahoo for you, we get word from the great folks at Cleveland Scene that MLB Rumors are swirling and the entire MLB world could be ascending upon Cleveland in July of 2019.
Here’s Vince Grzegorek in a piece titled “Is Cleveland Getting the 2019 MLB All Star Game?”:
Those were the rumblings back in July… that it was happening and all but an open secret in the organization, according to someone who dropped the tip on our doorstep.
It wasn’t much but it was enough to bring to the team and the league, both of which gave Scene non-answer answers.
The league has not announced the 2019 site, and does not plan on doing so until 2016 so the Indians not confirming these reports (in lieu of MLB’s leash on these types of news items) makes sense. Cleveland last hosted the All-Star weekend in 1997 where Sandy Alomar Jr. wore his famous star-spangled chest protector and Tino Martinez won the Home Run Derby with 16 total jacks—23 fewer than the 2015 winner, Cincinnati’s Todd Frazier.
As Grzegorek points out, 2019 would mark the 25th anniversary of Jacobs Field’s opening, providing some nostalgia and a nice celebratory number for the city and baseball alike. It will also give some time for the team to shake out the rest of their renovation plans as they continue to modify the current structure to bring it in to the modern age.
Dan Gilbert’s Cleveland Cavaliers have long been rumored to be in the running to be a host team, but recent reports state that The Q would also need a few upgrades before Cleveland could get the mid-winter nod.