Tag / Progressive Field

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Guardians All Time Leaders – Through 2025

To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  As we head into 2026, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Cleveland Guardians.

Then known as the Bluebirds, the Guardians were one of the charter members of the American League in 1901.  After a few name changes, they settled on the Indians name in 1915 before transitioning to the Guardians in 2022.  I’ve seen 307 players wearing the various Cleveland uniforms in the 69 of their games that I’ve attended live, including Games 4 and 5 of the 2016 World Series and two games against the White Sox at Progressive Field in 2019.

Home Runs

Name Total
Victor Martinez 6
Jose Ramirez 6
Jason Kipnis 5

Hits

Name Total
Jose Ramirez 25
Victor Martinez 24
Carlos Santana 24

Runs

Name Total
Jose Ramirez 20
Grady Sizemore 14
Shin-Soo Choo 13
Jhonny Peralta 13

RBI

Name Total
Carlos Santana 19
Jose Ramirez 16
Victor Martinez 16

Doubles

Name Total
Jose Ramirez 7
Carlos Santana 5
Josh Naylor 5

Triples Continue reading →

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Ballpark Tour: Guardians

With the spring training camps opening early next month, we continue our tour of all of the different baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. This week, we look at the Cleveland Guardians, the last new stadium I added to my list prior to the lockdown in 2020. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my one game history with Progressive Field.

Stadium Name: Progressive Field

Years in Service: 1994 – Present

Visits: 2

Cleveland moved into Jacobs Field for the 1994 season after calling Cleveland Stadium home since 1932.  In 1997, the park became one of the few in MLB history to host both the All-Star Game and the World Series in the same season.  2008 saw the naming rights sold to a local insurance company and the stadium was renamed Progressive Field.  Since opening, the park has seen twelve Central Division titles and three trips to the World Series.  It hosted its second All Star Game in 2019.

I almost took my first trip to the park in 2016, for Game 7 of the World Series against the Cubs, but I just couldn’t quite pull the trigger.  A Southwest credit this summer led to me booking a 2-day September trip to Cleveland for $3, so there was no second guessing this time.  I arrived on a Wednesday afternoon, in plenty of time for that evening’s tilt between the White Sox and Cleveland.  A tremendous catch on a smash by Eloy Jimenez saved the game for the then-Tribe.  The matinee performance on Thursday afternoon entailed a nice one-hitter by Reynaldo Lopez, giving the White Sox a quick victory before I had to head back to the airport.

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It’s Over

The White Sox showed some mercy this morning, relieving manager Pedro Grifol of his job and relieving the fanbase of continuing to have to watch him poorly do his job.  He finishes his managerial career with a record of 89-190, easily the worst in franchise history and the third worst in Major League Baseball history. He shepherded the team through two franchise-record losing streaks in this season alone, tying the American League record for the longest losing streak just this week.

Personally, I was ready to turn the page on Grifol back on April 8th, when the White Sox found themselves in Cleveland the same day that path of totality of a solar eclipse would pass over Progressive Field.  “I’ll see videos of it, see what it looks like,” Grifol had said, “but there’s baseball. I probably shouldn’t say that, [but] family and baseball. People don’t believe it, but I live it. That’s all that matters.”  That lack of intellectual curiosity, to have any interests outside of your job and your family, makes you, in my opinion, a poor leader.  To look past a team building exercise that was handed to him on a silver platter was, to me, inexcusable and helps explain the two weeks-long losing streaks the team suffered.  When the baseball went south, he had nothing else to work with to try and pull the team out of their skids.

Bench coach Charlie Montoyo, third base coach Eddie Rodriguez, and assistant hitting coach Mike Tosar have also been relieved of their duties.  Grady Sizemore, who was on the staff with the ambiguous title of “major league coach” will be the interim manager for the remainder of 2024 and will be handing over the lineup card prior to tomorrow night’s game against the Cubs.  Doug Sisson will join the staff as bench coach, Triple A manager Justin Jirschele takes over as third base coach, and Mike Gellinger will finish out the year as the assistant hitting coach.

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Games Per Stadium By Year

With the 2023 season officially in the rearview mirror, let’s take a look at the number of games I’ve attended each year at one of the now-29 different stadiums I’ve visited over the years.

Games Per Stadium Per Year

GameYear StadiumName TotalGames
2008 US Cellular Field 46
2003 Wrigley Field 46
Surprise playoff runs for the White Sox in 2008 and the Cubs in 2003 led to what remains my highest single season totals ever, boosted by post-season play.
2021 Guaranteed Rate Field 44
My highest-post-pandemic total, helped in part by a division champion and the desire to get back to the ballpark following the lockdown of 2020.
2007 Wrigley Field 43
2004 Wrigley Field 41
My highest non-playoff total saw me attending over half of the home games for the Cubs in 2004.
2011 US Cellular Field 40
2009 US Cellular Field 40
2010 US Cellular Field 36
2005 Wrigley Field 34
2008 Wrigley Field 34
2017 Guaranteed Rate Field 33
2016 US Cellular Field 32
2006 US Cellular Field 32
2023 Guaranteed Rate Field 32
2015 US Cellular Field 31
2012 US Cellular Field 31
2007 US Cellular Field 29
2014 US Cellular Field 28 Continue reading →
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Tribe No More

On Friday, the franchise in Cleveland officially changed their name from Indians, which dates back to 1915, to Guardians, inspired by a pair of stone monuments a quarter of a mile away from Progressive Field, ending years of controversy and resistance.  I’ve seen the Indians 58 times over the years, first in 1987 at old Comiskey Park and last at Guaranteed Rate Field this past July.  In between, I saw them at two other ballparks, Games 4 & 5 of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field and the final two games of a September series against the White Sox at their home stadium of Progressive Field in 2019.

All-Time Team Records
Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Cleveland Indians 31 27 0.534
Chicago Cubs 1 1 0.500
Chicago White Sox 26 30 0.464

The Guardians are scheduled to make their first trip to Chicago in early May for a 3 game series against the White Sox, starting a new chapter of Cleveland baseball history.

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Games Per Stadium – All Time

It’s been 4 years (to the day!) since we’ve taken a look at the now 27 different stadiums I’ve been to and how often I’ve been to them.  With the World Series over and the off season upon us, it’s time to update that list.  I’ve added 5 additional stadiums in this time, three in 2019 and two this year.  As usual, different names for the same physical stadium are counted separately.

Games Per Stadium
Stadium Name Total Games
US Cellular Field 414
Wrigley Field 370
Guaranteed Rate Field 122
Comiskey Park II 38
Comiskey Park 13
Great American Ballpark 7
Miller Park 7
Ameriquest Field 4
PETCO Park 3
Ballpark in Arlington, The 3
Progressive Field 2
Target Field 2
Tropicana Field 2
Comerica Park 2
Cinergy Field Continue reading →
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Indians No More

After years of controversy and resistance, the Cleveland Indians announced today that they will officially be changing their name to the Cleveland Guardians starting with the 2022 season.  The Indians name dates back to 1915, when the team, then known as the Naps, was looking to rebrand following the departure of Nap Lajoie.  The Guardians name was inspired by a pair of stone monuments, the Guardians of Traffic, along the Hope Memorial Bridge a quarter of a mile away from Progressive Field.

The Indians name and its Chief Wahoo logo have long been criticized for perpetuating Native American stereotypes. In 2015, team owner Paul Dolan acknowledged that there were critics, the team had no plans to change either its name or its logo.  On January 29, 2018, however, Major League Baseball announced that Chief Wahoo would be removed from the Indians’ uniforms as of the 2019 season, stating that the logo was no longer appropriate for on-field use.  In completely unrelated news, Cleveland hosted the All Star game in 2019.  Last July, following a similar move by the Washington Football team, the Indians announced that they would “determine the best path forward” regarding the team’s name and, in December, the team announced they would drop the Indians name following the 2021 season.

 

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Ballpark Tour: Indians

As we prepare to close out 2019, we continue our tour of all of the different baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. This week, we head east to the so-called Mistake By The Lake for a look at the Cleveland Indians. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my history with Progressive Field.

 

Stadium Name: Progressive Field

Years in Service: 1994 – Present

Visits: 2

The Indians moved into Jacobs Field for the 1994 season after calling Cleveland Stadium home since 1932.  In 1997, the park became one of the few in MLB history to host both the All Star Game and the World Series in the same season.  2008 saw the naming rights sold to a local insurance company and the stadium was renamed Progressive Field.  Since opening, the park has seen 10 Central Division titles, 5 ALCS appearances, and 3 trips to the World Series.  It hosted its second All Star Game this past summer.

I almost took my first trip to the park in 2016, for Game 7 of the World Series against the Cubs, but I just couldn’t quite pull the trigger.  A Southwest credit this summer led to me booking a 2-day September trip to Cleveland for $3, so there was no second guessing this time.  I arrived on a Wednesday afternoon, in plenty of time for that evening’s tilt between the White Sox and the Indians.  A tremendous catch on a smash by Eloy Jimenez saved the game for the Tribe.  The matinee performance on Thursday afternoon entailed a nice one-hitter by Reynaldo Lopez, giving the White Sox a quick victory before I had to head back to the airport.

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Games Per Stadium By Year

With the 2019 season in the rear view mirror, let’s take a look at the number of games I’ve attended per year at one of the 25 different stadiums I’ve visited over the years.

 

Year Stadium Name Total Games
2008 US Cellular Field 46
2003 Wrigley Field 46
Surprise playoff runs for the White Sox in 2008 and the Cubs in 2003 led to my highest single season totals ever, boosted by post-season play.
2007 Wrigley Field 43
2004 Wrigley Field 41
My highest non-playoff total saw me attending over half of the home games for the Cubs in 2004.
2011 US Cellular Field 40
2009 US Cellular Field 40
2010 US Cellular Field 36
2005 Wrigley Field 34
2008 Wrigley Field 34
2017 Guaranteed Rate Field 33
2006 US Cellular Field 32
Post World Series championship started an attendance jump.
2016 US Cellular Field 32
2012 US Cellular Field 31
2015 US Cellular Field 31
2007 US Cellular Field 29
2014 US Cellular Field 28
Continue reading →
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Switching Sides

On Thursday, the White Sox pulled off the trade that many said couldn’t be done, sending Jose Quintana to the Cubs in exchange for Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Cease, Matt Rose, and Bryant Flete.  Jimenez, an outfielder, is the 8th ranked prospect in baseball and Cease, a pitcher, is the 63rd, giving the White Sox 9 out of the top 100 prospects.  Quintana, meanwhile, gives the Cubs starting rotation a boost as last year’s strength turned in to a question mark during the first half of the season.

Quintana originally signed with the White Sox as a minor league free agent on November 9, 2011.  He made his major league debut on May 7, 2012, throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings of relief against the Indians at Progressive Field.  He quickly moved in to the rotation and became a steady, if unlucky, presence on the mound.  At the time of the trade, he had a career mark of 50-54 with an unbelievable 65 no decisions.  Last year, he made his first All Star team and finished 10th in Cy Young Award voting.

Quintana’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

Continue reading →