I think if I were to rate myself on a scale of 1-10 on “How much of an Indians fan are you?” I would probably settle on a 12. I think it was my dad and grandfather that pulled me in. After all, I did receive an autograph from one of the greatest Indians of all time (Kenny Lofton) on my little league glove when they took me to my first game, and  to top it all off the Indians won that day. Growing up, I can remember plastering my walls with posters of Indians like Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel, and Roberto Alomar. Although Robbie was not in Cleveland for long, he quickly became my favorite Indian. While he was with the Indians, I was playing second base in little league, wearing number 12, and telling my elementary school classmates that my name was “Brenden Roberto Lowery.” Oh, those were the days.

At the conclusion of the 2001 season, I began playing travel baseball and had to devote the majority of my time to practice, homework, and sleep. Luckily, my parents began getting season tickets in 2002, allowing me to attend some home games each season to take a break. Although the Indians never seemed to be any good during the years that my parents had season tickets (2002-2005), I always remember those times the most. Three memories stick out to me more than any:

1.) The Infamous “Gum in the Lemonade” Incident-

I really did not know what else to title this, so I went with that. Let me paint  you this picture; My parents decided to attend a game in July of 2003, basically because no one wanted to buy our tickets from us that day. Once arriving at the park, my mother decided to get a lemonade from a concession area as she always did; however, upon returning with her lemonade, she noticed a large, pink piece of ABC gum underneath the ice in her cup. Well, as you can probably assume, my mother was not happy. She decided to march back to the booth that sold her the lemonade, and chew out the workers for selling her the “surprise.” My parents ended up contacting the higher-up’s, and receiving some complimentary items. If anything came from this experience, it is the fact that I ALWAYS check my drink for any objects before drinking it!

2.) The “Kid! You Didn’t Deserve it!” Incident- 

Greatest life lesson I have ever learned here. One time my dad decided to arrive extra early to an Indians game with me because he wanted to see both teams take batting practice. My dad had always wanted to get me a baseball, and he assumed that he would have a shot if we showed up early enough. To this day I have no idea who hit the baseball, but while standing next to the left field foul pole, a player launched a home run way back over the fence. I had an eye on the ball the whole way, so I began chasing after it. Just as I grabbed the ball on the bounce, a middle aged man snatched the ball right from my paws. I screamed “Hey!” as any 12 year old boy would, only to hear the guy reply with “Kid! You Didn’t Deserve it!” Lesson: There will always be jerks EVERYWHERE you go.

3.) The “Excuse me sir, please stop” Incident- 

Eventually I will post a small piece on how my dad was almost removed from a park for heckling a young Big Papi, but since that happened at the Akron it does not apply here. One thing my father always enjoys doing before games is walking over to the opposing teams bullpen to watch the starting pitcher warm up. Well, one day my father was watching Tim Belcher warm up, when he begins yelling at him. I shall not go into what was said, but what I can tell you is that it got Belcher’s attention. Tim turned and looked at my dad, pointed, and shouted “Him there, in the white Indians shirt.” Within seconds, a cop had tapped my dad on the shoulder, warning him to stop shouting or he would be removed from the park. I promise my dad is a pretty even keel guy, but sometimes his wittyness gets him into trouble. My dad and I have fun with this story because Belcher was the Indians pitching coach for a short time. Small world.

So, what does any of this have to do with me being an Indians fan? Well, all of these stories, combined with my many POSITIVE experiences at Indians games pushed me into collecting Indians memorabilia and neat Tribe stuff. I would not say that I have a HUGE collection, but I think that I have a nice array of Indians autographs and other items. So, here it goes:

 Its July 4th: 

Happy July 4th Everyone!

 

 

Love Thy Prospects:

SS Savior down the road? I am banking on it.

 

So, I am kind of excited about this kid. Francisco was recently selected to the All-Star Futures game, and has been tearing it up at Lake County. I really am hoping to catch a game of his soon, but for now this autograph of him will have to do.

Although he has only played a few games for the Scrappers, I am already a fan.

 

So, I have to admit; At the conclusion of the draft, I was sort of scratching my head when it came to the Indians selection of Tyler; however, I feel as if I need to call the guy and personally apologize. Although he is just a few games in for the Scrappers, Naquin has already put up some great numbers and has seemed to solidify his first round pick status. I am heading over to Niles tomorrow to catch his next game, and let’s just say I am pretty excited to see his AB’s.

 

Remember The Greats:

The Heater from Van Meter

Well, how can you try and collect Indians stuff without having an autograph of Rapid Robert? Definitely a conversation piece, I don’t see this leaving my collection anytime soon.

He is not in an Indians jersey here, but it is still pretty neat.

Although Roberto is done playing, he lives on in my collection. I just love everything about this guy, all the way down to his signature.

 

The Carlos Zone: 

A 1/1 printing plate card, it is truly a unique piece.

This is what is known as a "rainbow" in card collecting. Each card is a variation, from base to 1/1.

Last but not least, the jersey!

 

I am pretty sure this is well documented, but I am the world’s biggest Carlos Santana fan. He has struggled mightily so far this season, but I am confident he will rebound for us in the second half. We need him to win this division. I hope you have enjoyed checking out some of my Indians stuff, and if you have anything of note, post it in the comments section!

 

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3 Comments

  • Mary Jo says:

    Nice stuff! And good stories. The jerk in #2 probably had to grab it from you because there was no way he could outrun you.

    I have just a couple items because, well, I’m a girl.* 😉 My prize is an autographed game ball signed by “Sudden Sam”.

    *And an old girl at that – I saw him pitch a number of times when I was in my very early teens.

  • Edward says:

    Went to the Scrappers game last night. Was a great game withe the Scrappers winning 11-4. One thing that surprised me the most was that Tyler Naquin seemed to look so small and skinny. He lists at 6’2 175lb but looks a lot smaller. After he bulks up some I think he will have decent power to go along with his good eye. He also made a great diving catch, very much like Grady used to make.

  • Brenden Lowery says:

    Mary Jo- Fact, the guy was in fact a “bigger” guy to say the least, and he had no shot of outrunning my blazing little league speed.

    Edward- I was also at that Scrappers game last night…interesting. Naquin was 0-4 with a walk as you know, but I felt like he looked comfortable in the box and you are correct, he did make quite the catch on that ball he broke in on. Ultimately, I think he does project as an everyday center fielder. I had never realized just how FAST this kid is. He can seriously motor. Stay tuned this morning Edward, I have quite the write up on that Scrappers game!

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