Goodbye to a Cleveland Legend

I know I don't write much about baseball on this blog, but I thought I'd take a little study break in my busy finals week to pay tribute to a true Cleveland legend, "Rapid Robert" Bob Feller, who passed away Wednesday night at the age of 92.

Many people know that Feller was a wonderful pitcher for the Tribe in an era where many players in the league gave up everything that was comfortable to serve their country in World War II. Feller, of course, was one of those in baseball who left the game, successfully served in the Navy and then resumed his prolific career with the Indians.

In this day and age, I honestly cannot fathom anything like that ever happening again. Of course, back then professional athletes were not nearly as overpaid as they are now, and the vast majority of them had other jobs for the off-season so that they could actually "feed their family" (a phrase that has no business ever coming out of the mouth of today's professional athlete). You also had a time where the average able bodied young man was going to go to war, whether they wanted to or not. Still, could you see someone like Cliff Lee or CC Sabathia completely walking away from the sport they love to go serve their country in war? I know I sure can't.

To me, what makes Feller all the more impressive is that when he came back from WWII he resumed his career and was still the same great pitcher. It was like he never left as he led the majors in wins in both '46 and '47 with 26 and 20, respectively. He also pitched 36 - yes 36 - complete games, 10 of those being shutouts, in '46. I think it's amazing his arm didn't fall off as you just don't see those kind of numbers from a pitcher anymore. Then he was part of the rotation that led the Indians to their last World Series victory, going 19-15 with a 3.56 ERA in '48. His last truly amazing season came in '51 when he went 22-8 with a 3.50 ERA, leading the league with his 22 wins and a .733 win percentage.

His number 19 is rightly retired on the rafters of Jacobs Progressive Field, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962, and he still has the most wins in Indians history - he probably will be for a long time to come. He pitched three no hitters, including the only Opening Day no-no in major league history. He led the league in strikeouts 6 times. He was an All-Star 8 times. The list goes on and on, but it just goes to show the impact he had on the Indians.

And not only that, but he continued to be involved with the team, taking in many games from the press box. Anthony Castrovince, former indians.com beat writer, wrote this terrific blog about Feller, which does a much better job of paying tribute than I ever could. But I did want to point out exactly why we should celebrate the life of this Cleveland Legend for what he did on the field.

Rest in peace, Mr. Feller. You will be truly missed.
~MAS