What I’m Thankful For as an Indians Fan

There are plenty of important things in life that I’m thankful for that have nothing to do with sports, but since this is an Indians’ blog, I’ll stay on topic.

• I’m one of the few Wahoo’s on First writers who actually lives in Cleveland, so it might be a little hard for everyone else to appreciate this, but I’m grateful that so many of the minor league affiliates are nearby. The Indians have a lot of exciting prospects throughout their farm system. There are some well-known names, like Francisco Lindor and Clint Frazier, and there are also plenty of less-recognizable players who are very talented, too. It’s great to be able to watch the majority of the prospects in the organization without ever having to travel more than a couple of hours. It’s hard to tell everything about a player based on box scores and stat lines, and there’s no substitute for actually watching him play in person. I would really encourage everyone who lives nearby to check out one of the Lake County Captains’ or the Akron RubberDucks’ games next year, especially since they are so affordable.

• The Indians announced a few weeks ago that Carlos Santana is no longer the starting catcher, and the news was like an early Christmas present. Although he is a great hitter, he is a terrible defensive catcher. I can’t fathom how they plan to move him back to third base, but I truly believe the team is better off without him behind the plate.

• Regardless of their reasons for doing it, I’m thankful for all of the athletes and their families, who give up their holidays – not to mention entire months of their lives at a time – to keep us all entertained. Although sports are pretty trivial in the big picture, it’s hard to imagine a world without them. Even though they get paid for it (and some eventually get paid amounts of money that I can’t even imagine), I still appreciate it.

Sep 6, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians catcher Carlos Santana (41) hits an RBI sacrifice fly ball in the first inning against the New York Mets at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports