What do you think?
Rate this book
The Curse of Rocky Colavito: A Loving Look at a Thirty-Year Slump
“The year’s funniest and most insightful baseball book.” — Chicago Tribune A classic look at those years of baseball futility and frustration that make the rare taste of success so much sweeter. Any team can have an off-decade. But three in a row? Only in Cleveland. No sports fans suffered more miserable teams for more seasons than Indians fans of the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s. Terry Pluto takes a fond and often humorous look at “the bad old days” of the Tribe and finds plenty of great stories for fans to commiserate with. Other teams lose players to injuries; the Indians lost them to alcoholism (Sam McDowell), a nervous breakdown (Tony Horton), and the pro golf tour (Ken Harrelson). They even had to trade young Dennis Eckersley (a future Hall-of-Famer) because his wife fell in love with his best friend and teammate. Pluto profiles the men who made the Indians what they were, for better or worse , including Gabe Paul, the underfunded and overmatched general manager; Herb Score, the much-loved master of malaprops in the broadcast booth; Andre Thornton, who weathered personal tragedies and stood as one of the few hitting stalwarts on some terrible teams; and Super Joe Charboneau, who blazed across the American League as a rookie but flamed out the following season. Long-suffering Indians fans finally got an exciting, star-studded, winning team in the second half of the 1990s. But this book still stands as the definitive story of that generation of Tribe fans—and a great piece of sports history writing .
322 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
6 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
About the author
Terry Pluto
48 books49 followersTerry Pluto is a sports columnist for the Plain Dealer. He has twice been honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the nations top sports columnist for medium-sized newspapers. He is a nine-time winner of the Ohio Sports Writer of the Year award and has received more than 50 state and local writing awards. In 2005 he was inducted into the Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame. He is the author of 23 books, including The Curse of Rocky Colavito (selected by the New York Times as one of the five notable sports books of 1989), and Loose Balls, which was ranked number 13 on Sports Illustrateds list of the top 100 sports books of all time. He was called Perhaps the best American writer of sports books, by the Chicago Tribune in 1997. He lives with his wife, Roberta, in Akron, Ohio."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
February 17, 2025
I’m aware of Pluto’s reputation as a great sports writer with an appreciation for a good sense of humor. I saw this in a used bookstore and couldn’t resist.
There’s a famous meme that shows the top song of the year that every Major League Baseball team won a World Series. Maybe your team has won in the era of Taylor Swift or Bad Bunny, or even Adele and One Direction. Maybe it’s 50 Cent or Nelly or if things are particularly tough for your team you can joke about New Kids on the Block, Garth Brooks, Whitney, Lionel Ritchie, Michael Jackson or gasp as far as back as ABBA.
Then there’s the Cleveland Guardians (nee Indians) whose last World Series win predates rock n roll. Is the Cleveland team cursed so bad that they have not won since the days Perry Como, Dinah Shore and Bing Crosby dominated the hit parade.
Perhaps. After being competitive in the 1940s and 1950s, their luck seemed to change in 1960 when they traded their most popular young All-Star player to Detroit for an aging Harvey Kuehnn. Was it a curse? Well, it certainly seemed like an unusual move. For the ensuing decades, it seemed like Cleveland had nothing but bad luck.
In truth, there is probably a straight correlation from the curse to the fact that the Indians were always owned by people who didn’t have the extra money to make the team worthwhile. Sure, there was bad luck, but without that cash infusion to offset it with any better luck.
It’s funny. I was a huge fan of 70s and 80s baseball and I don’t know a ton of Indians players. They were not a competitive team for so long. Sure there were team legends like Andre Thornton and Mike Hargrove but they were few and far between.
The Indians did reacquire Covalito in 1965 but it was the beginning of a series of trades where they sent prospects who became stars for players who didn’t pan out.
Through the years, when the team had great young players, they inevitably got hurt. Sam McDowell, Ray Fosse, Wayne Garland (almost the instant he signed a ten year contract) and most famously Joe Charboneau, the 1980 Rookie of the Year. He would only play 70 more games total in 1981 and 1982 before being forced to retire.
Then there’s hall of famer Dennis Eckersley who the team was forced to trade due to Rick Manning causing marital problems.
Offsetting good news is rare. The Indians did give Frank Robinson a managerial start- the first African American to do so- though they can hardly provide him with a winning team.
In 1986, the team has young stars and a winning team, but 1987 expectations come crushing down. The book ends in 1994. Tragedy has hit in 1993 when two pitchers die in a boating accident. But good things were on the horizon. The Cleveland Stadium- a hulking structure built for football and devoid of the intimate charm of modern day baseball parks; not to mention right off the chilly winds of Lake Erie- is replaced in 1994. Richard Jacobs has taken complete ownership in 1992. The days of partial ownership, lackluster finances and inept front offices may be gone.
Now 30 years after the book was published, we know things do get better. The team went on a run of success from 1995 to 2001, as if Pluto’s book may have exorcised some demons. The team reached the World Series in 1995 and 1997. Pluto suggested in the 94 book that longtime Indian player Hargrove (hired in 1991) was the right manager for the team and he was not wrong. The 41 year World Series appearance drought had ended.
But we also know that the team still hasn’t won the ring. The Indians come the closest in 2016 going to Game 7 against a team that had an even bigger gap in Championships, the Chicago Cubs. The fate of Cleveland has improved quite a bit since the Dolan Family bought them in 2000. No longer the joke Pluto wrote about, and yet that big prize is still elusive.
This is a fun book. If you are someone who loves baseball stories or perhaps you are taking on one of those 30 Teams 30 Books projects, then this is a good one to pick up.
There’s a famous meme that shows the top song of the year that every Major League Baseball team won a World Series. Maybe your team has won in the era of Taylor Swift or Bad Bunny, or even Adele and One Direction. Maybe it’s 50 Cent or Nelly or if things are particularly tough for your team you can joke about New Kids on the Block, Garth Brooks, Whitney, Lionel Ritchie, Michael Jackson or gasp as far as back as ABBA.
Then there’s the Cleveland Guardians (nee Indians) whose last World Series win predates rock n roll. Is the Cleveland team cursed so bad that they have not won since the days Perry Como, Dinah Shore and Bing Crosby dominated the hit parade.
Perhaps. After being competitive in the 1940s and 1950s, their luck seemed to change in 1960 when they traded their most popular young All-Star player to Detroit for an aging Harvey Kuehnn. Was it a curse? Well, it certainly seemed like an unusual move. For the ensuing decades, it seemed like Cleveland had nothing but bad luck.
In truth, there is probably a straight correlation from the curse to the fact that the Indians were always owned by people who didn’t have the extra money to make the team worthwhile. Sure, there was bad luck, but without that cash infusion to offset it with any better luck.
It’s funny. I was a huge fan of 70s and 80s baseball and I don’t know a ton of Indians players. They were not a competitive team for so long. Sure there were team legends like Andre Thornton and Mike Hargrove but they were few and far between.
The Indians did reacquire Covalito in 1965 but it was the beginning of a series of trades where they sent prospects who became stars for players who didn’t pan out.
Through the years, when the team had great young players, they inevitably got hurt. Sam McDowell, Ray Fosse, Wayne Garland (almost the instant he signed a ten year contract) and most famously Joe Charboneau, the 1980 Rookie of the Year. He would only play 70 more games total in 1981 and 1982 before being forced to retire.
Then there’s hall of famer Dennis Eckersley who the team was forced to trade due to Rick Manning causing marital problems.
Offsetting good news is rare. The Indians did give Frank Robinson a managerial start- the first African American to do so- though they can hardly provide him with a winning team.
In 1986, the team has young stars and a winning team, but 1987 expectations come crushing down. The book ends in 1994. Tragedy has hit in 1993 when two pitchers die in a boating accident. But good things were on the horizon. The Cleveland Stadium- a hulking structure built for football and devoid of the intimate charm of modern day baseball parks; not to mention right off the chilly winds of Lake Erie- is replaced in 1994. Richard Jacobs has taken complete ownership in 1992. The days of partial ownership, lackluster finances and inept front offices may be gone.
Now 30 years after the book was published, we know things do get better. The team went on a run of success from 1995 to 2001, as if Pluto’s book may have exorcised some demons. The team reached the World Series in 1995 and 1997. Pluto suggested in the 94 book that longtime Indian player Hargrove (hired in 1991) was the right manager for the team and he was not wrong. The 41 year World Series appearance drought had ended.
But we also know that the team still hasn’t won the ring. The Indians come the closest in 2016 going to Game 7 against a team that had an even bigger gap in Championships, the Chicago Cubs. The fate of Cleveland has improved quite a bit since the Dolan Family bought them in 2000. No longer the joke Pluto wrote about, and yet that big prize is still elusive.
This is a fun book. If you are someone who loves baseball stories or perhaps you are taking on one of those 30 Teams 30 Books projects, then this is a good one to pick up.
February 8, 2012
One of my favourite baseball books. Reading about decades of mediocrity is usually more interesting than writing about winners. This is how it was for the Cleveland Indians of the 1960's through to the 1980's. Matinee idols abound: Joe Charbonneau, Duane Kuiper, Rick Manning. Top players who left for greener pastures, Rocky Colavito, Luis Tiant, Dennis Eckersley. In the 1990's the Indians finally found success, making it to two World Series (losing both). This book tells the tale of the long hard climb back to respectability. As a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, I can appreciate the frustration.
May 21, 2018
Excellent book about how heartbreaking it used to be to be a Cleveland Indians fan. I moved to Cleveland well after the curse had been (mostly?) lifted, but I can appreciate this tale of years of stupidity, immaturity, and greed. Plus a whole lot of bad luck. Pluto's too good a writer to just poke fun at the ridiculous; he also shapes all of these "characters" into real people. There are great pictures of players who might be legends, if not for alcohol, prejudice, bad judgment, or injury. I especially liked reading about Mudcat Grant, Andre Thornton, "Super Joe" Charboneau and Sudden Sam McDowell. Pluto's also too good a writer not to include some cheap laughs and a little sentiment. But just a little.
And, yes, Pluto also thinks Chief Wahoo is stupid.
And, yes, Pluto also thinks Chief Wahoo is stupid.
October 3, 2018
I really enjoyed Terry Pluto's history of the Cleveland Indians in some wilderness years. The Indians
won a pennant in 1954 and and won their next one in 1995. They still haven't won a World Series since 1948, but as I write this they are the American League Central Division winners so who knows
if this is the year for them.
Terry Pluto grew up in Cleveland and writes this from both the point of view as a sportswriter and a
long suffering fan. He as was I was in his youth when in 1959 they last seriously contended for the
American League pennant. That year they had the home run king of the American League in Rocky
Colavito. On one magic night Colavito joined that select group of sluggers who have hit four home
runs in a game. He had matinee idol looks, batting power, and a cannon for an arm that was only
rivaled in his time by Roberto Clemente and Carl Furillo, both right fielders like the Rock. The Indians finished second that year behind the White Sox.
But the Indians had a general manager named Frank Lane who traded players for the hell of it. He
got the nickname Trader or in some mind's Traitor Lane. He decided on a blockbuster deal, the
home king for the batting champion. So a day or so before the 1960 season started Rocky Colavito
who was popular beyond belief in Cleveland was traded for batting champion Harvey Kuenn of
Detroit. Lane liked trading so much he traded his manager Joe Gordon to Detroit also for their
skipper Jimmy Dykes. A one and only deal like that in baseball history.
Colavito was the heart of that team and where the Boston Red Sox had the curse of the Bambino, the Indians had the curse of Colavito. They spent the next 35 years or so in the second division of
the American League both before and after it was split into east and west divisions in 1969. Players
came and went, promising stars blossomed with other teams.
There was tragedy too, the one I remember best was the death of Walt Bonds a potential outfield
star in the middle 60s of leukemia., I remember star catcher Ray Fosse who was never the same after his collision with Pete Rose in an All Star game left him with multiple injuries. He was never thesame after that. The strangest of all was Joe Charbonneau who had a Joe Hardy like season in 1981 and just lost it all after that. One thing after another with the Indians until the Mid 90s.
Curiously enough the film Major League was set in Cleveland where we see the futile Indians catch
fire and win a pennant. Sonovagun they did it in real life in 1995 after the film came out.
Baseball fans especially Cleveland Indian fans will laugh and cry with Terry Pluto, I know I did.
won a pennant in 1954 and and won their next one in 1995. They still haven't won a World Series since 1948, but as I write this they are the American League Central Division winners so who knows
if this is the year for them.
Terry Pluto grew up in Cleveland and writes this from both the point of view as a sportswriter and a
long suffering fan. He as was I was in his youth when in 1959 they last seriously contended for the
American League pennant. That year they had the home run king of the American League in Rocky
Colavito. On one magic night Colavito joined that select group of sluggers who have hit four home
runs in a game. He had matinee idol looks, batting power, and a cannon for an arm that was only
rivaled in his time by Roberto Clemente and Carl Furillo, both right fielders like the Rock. The Indians finished second that year behind the White Sox.
But the Indians had a general manager named Frank Lane who traded players for the hell of it. He
got the nickname Trader or in some mind's Traitor Lane. He decided on a blockbuster deal, the
home king for the batting champion. So a day or so before the 1960 season started Rocky Colavito
who was popular beyond belief in Cleveland was traded for batting champion Harvey Kuenn of
Detroit. Lane liked trading so much he traded his manager Joe Gordon to Detroit also for their
skipper Jimmy Dykes. A one and only deal like that in baseball history.
Colavito was the heart of that team and where the Boston Red Sox had the curse of the Bambino, the Indians had the curse of Colavito. They spent the next 35 years or so in the second division of
the American League both before and after it was split into east and west divisions in 1969. Players
came and went, promising stars blossomed with other teams.
There was tragedy too, the one I remember best was the death of Walt Bonds a potential outfield
star in the middle 60s of leukemia., I remember star catcher Ray Fosse who was never the same after his collision with Pete Rose in an All Star game left him with multiple injuries. He was never thesame after that. The strangest of all was Joe Charbonneau who had a Joe Hardy like season in 1981 and just lost it all after that. One thing after another with the Indians until the Mid 90s.
Curiously enough the film Major League was set in Cleveland where we see the futile Indians catch
fire and win a pennant. Sonovagun they did it in real life in 1995 after the film came out.
Baseball fans especially Cleveland Indian fans will laugh and cry with Terry Pluto, I know I did.
January 23, 2014
"The Indians didn't knock the Rock, they just traded him. The date was April 17, 1960."
That was the day my hero worship of Rocky Colavito began. He is still my favorite ball player. I am not alone.
"Many are aware of Rocky's limitations. But they love him because he is Rocky Colavito. No more than half a dozen players in the history of Cleveland baseball have been accorded the hero worship he enjoys."
I was hoping this book would have more information about The Rock, but I still enjoyed reading about all of the players from various teams that I remember from the late 50s and then the 60s. They were players who played for love of the game, not just the money. Many of the top players didn't make $100,000 a year in the early 60s.
Writing style was light-hearted and covered a variety of topics.
That was the day my hero worship of Rocky Colavito began. He is still my favorite ball player. I am not alone.
"Many are aware of Rocky's limitations. But they love him because he is Rocky Colavito. No more than half a dozen players in the history of Cleveland baseball have been accorded the hero worship he enjoys."
I was hoping this book would have more information about The Rock, but I still enjoyed reading about all of the players from various teams that I remember from the late 50s and then the 60s. They were players who played for love of the game, not just the money. Many of the top players didn't make $100,000 a year in the early 60s.
Writing style was light-hearted and covered a variety of topics.
February 3, 2014
I rarely give a book any stars at all, but mostly because I tend to start at 2.5 and figure the author has to push me one way or another. Seeing that many others give out 4s and 5s with wreckless abandon, I simply choose not to give out stars unless I REALLY like something.
Well, as a lifelong Cleveland fan, I loved this book. I'll likely ship it to my oldest brother sometime soon, because he and I were introduced to baseball via WWWE in the mid 70s, back in Bedford, Ohio.
If you grew up as an Indians fan, with the resulting "L" branded on your forehead, this book is for you.
Well, as a lifelong Cleveland fan, I loved this book. I'll likely ship it to my oldest brother sometime soon, because he and I were introduced to baseball via WWWE in the mid 70s, back in Bedford, Ohio.
If you grew up as an Indians fan, with the resulting "L" branded on your forehead, this book is for you.
September 11, 2017
Good book to accompany me into the stretch run of the Indians pennant race. Good writing from Mr. Pluto. He's pretty frank and brutally honest in it. I could see this book pissing off more than a few people who's names came up in it unfavorably.
Go Tribe!!
Go Tribe!!
January 13, 2025
4.5 stars.
This is an absolute gem of a book, but its target audience is pretty narrow. To wit: 1) people over 70 (me). 2) people who were eastern Midwest baseball fans beginning no later than the late 50s/early 60s (me), specifically/especially Detroit (me) and Cleveland. 3) Long suffering fans of the Guardians nee Indians, who want to know why bad things always happen to Cleveland. (Not me, but I’ll admit to curiosity)
Written by the long time beat writer for the team, Terry Pluto, “The Curse of Rocky Colavito” explores just that—the ill fortunes of the team after their best and most popular player was traded in 1960. (To Detroit, hence my interest, as I too was a Rocky fan). There is a timeline on the back cover of the book detailing the Bad Things. It’s truly staggering, but the detail in the book takes it up several notches. Absolutely mindboggling. I should note here that I remember almost every player named in the book. During the Paleolithic Era during which the story took place, I had a near-photographic memory for baseball information, and could accurately reel off stats on nearly every player in MLB. I read a passage of the book to my husband—also a Rocky fan—concerning a 1 for 4 (bad) trade the Tribe made. I commented that 3 of the guys never amounted to anything, but I thought the 4th one was pretty decent. He scoffed. I Googled. Nailed it. Bo Diaz was indeed an All Star, altho not for Cleveland (a recurring theme). If I couldnt remember the player, I could still hear the late, great Ernie Harwell saying his name. Those were the Glory Years. Today, of course, I am barely able to remember which team plays in which league…
But I digress. This was a wonderful trip down Long Term Memory Lane. It made me laugh out loud several times, snd tear up a little several others. It really has only 1 flaw: it ends in 1993. It needs a sequel, because things did change for Cleveland, and they did finally make it to a World Series, in 2016. Or maybe things didnt change after all. In ANY other WS, Cleveland would have been America’s Team, the darling of every American baseball fan. But no. They played the only team in baseball that was as sad-sack as they were, and who had gone even longer without winning a Series—the Chicago Cubs. And I’ll bet I dont have to give you a hint which team lost in 7 games.
This is an absolute gem of a book, but its target audience is pretty narrow. To wit: 1) people over 70 (me). 2) people who were eastern Midwest baseball fans beginning no later than the late 50s/early 60s (me), specifically/especially Detroit (me) and Cleveland. 3) Long suffering fans of the Guardians nee Indians, who want to know why bad things always happen to Cleveland. (Not me, but I’ll admit to curiosity)
Written by the long time beat writer for the team, Terry Pluto, “The Curse of Rocky Colavito” explores just that—the ill fortunes of the team after their best and most popular player was traded in 1960. (To Detroit, hence my interest, as I too was a Rocky fan). There is a timeline on the back cover of the book detailing the Bad Things. It’s truly staggering, but the detail in the book takes it up several notches. Absolutely mindboggling. I should note here that I remember almost every player named in the book. During the Paleolithic Era during which the story took place, I had a near-photographic memory for baseball information, and could accurately reel off stats on nearly every player in MLB. I read a passage of the book to my husband—also a Rocky fan—concerning a 1 for 4 (bad) trade the Tribe made. I commented that 3 of the guys never amounted to anything, but I thought the 4th one was pretty decent. He scoffed. I Googled. Nailed it. Bo Diaz was indeed an All Star, altho not for Cleveland (a recurring theme). If I couldnt remember the player, I could still hear the late, great Ernie Harwell saying his name. Those were the Glory Years. Today, of course, I am barely able to remember which team plays in which league…
But I digress. This was a wonderful trip down Long Term Memory Lane. It made me laugh out loud several times, snd tear up a little several others. It really has only 1 flaw: it ends in 1993. It needs a sequel, because things did change for Cleveland, and they did finally make it to a World Series, in 2016. Or maybe things didnt change after all. In ANY other WS, Cleveland would have been America’s Team, the darling of every American baseball fan. But no. They played the only team in baseball that was as sad-sack as they were, and who had gone even longer without winning a Series—the Chicago Cubs. And I’ll bet I dont have to give you a hint which team lost in 7 games.
July 24, 2009
Any baseball team can have a bad decade. All it takes is a few bad trades mixed with a few underperforming players and suddenly your team resides in the cellar of their respective division.
But three bad decades? That's quite an accomplishment (sort of). Terry Pluto does indeed take a lovingly look at his hapless Cleveland Indians from 1960-1993 and shows us not just the bad trades and inept managers, but also the really weird stuff that just happens to the Indians. Like a star pitcher discovering (while he's an Indian) alcohol for the first time and becoming an alcoholic. Or, because of a contract mistake, giving a player a $2.5 Million 5 year contract instead of a $75,000 one year contract. Or, and this is my favorite, a veteran player in the 80s sobbing at his locker after a loss because he wants to be traded.
What I really enjoyed about the book, was that Pluto is so obviously a fan of the Indians, not just a sports historian.
October 11, 2022
I enjoyed reading this very well-researched book of anecdotes about how bad the Cleveland Indians were from 1957 through 1994 (when the book was published). As a baseball card collector, a lot of names jogged my memory of cards I’ve collected for years and years, but I never really considered am that all these players have their own life stories that go beyond baseball. It’s hard to believe how much bad luck the Indians have had in the past. Recently, as the Indians have changed uniforms and are now the Cleveland Guardians, they have had greater success. The ghosts of the past are quiet, for now.
June 17, 2022
My only regret is not reading this book a few years ago when I could've discussed the events with my dad. My dad always talked about Rocky, Sudden Sam,, SuperJoe, and others from the glory years of ineptitude. I love the back stories and insight into the life of the Cleveland Indians. Great work by Pluto.
November 12, 2021
I read this book on a couple of 4-hour flights. I hate flying, but this book was so tragically comical that it made the skies fell almost inviting.
November 10, 2025
the author is a cleveland resident and he recounts the team's existence from when they began to collapse to when they finally recovered and actually won some games.
according to this colavito was wonder boy, but a loon of a general manager traded him and the team began its collapse. other players were brought in and struggled due to various tragic situations. fans of the team will love the names. gets to super joe and his brief shining moment. numerous managers, frank robinson, andre thorton, gabe paul, mike hargrove and the new players, carlos, kenny, manny, and some winnin'.
according to this colavito was wonder boy, but a loon of a general manager traded him and the team began its collapse. other players were brought in and struggled due to various tragic situations. fans of the team will love the names. gets to super joe and his brief shining moment. numerous managers, frank robinson, andre thorton, gabe paul, mike hargrove and the new players, carlos, kenny, manny, and some winnin'.
February 6, 2025
Note to self— stop taking reading recommendations from middle aged men
September 22, 2025
Great book - sorry to say that 31 years after it was published, the Indians/Guardians still haven't won a World Series. Maybe 2025 is the year.
June 25, 2013
Interesting time to read this book, since some of our Cleveland Indians were fighting their way through slumps! Terry Pluto, a great Cleveland sports writer, focuses on that long dark era between the 1960s and early 1990s. He ends just before the Tribe's exciting mid-90s resurgence. It was cool to get an inside glimpse of baseball ownership and management, their impact on teams, and some Tribe history.
April 16, 2011
An insightful, although sometimes dry, "loving look at a thirty year slump." Pluto has plenty of behind the scenes gossip and enough entertaining stories to tell to keep the book moving along. His ultimate conclusion: an amazing string of coincidences and bad trades had more to do with the slump than Colavito.
January 17, 2015
Cleveland based sportswriter Terry Pluto does a fantastic job describing how the Indians began and stayed in a long stretch finishing at the bottom or close to the bottom of the AL East standing. If you are a Cleveland sports fan or a MLB fanatic you should read this book. It is informative, interesting and fun.
January 2, 2008
Probably more for diehard sports fans. I found it somewhat interesting. Rocky Colavito, considered one of the best baseball players the Indians had ever seen, was traded abruptly by "Trader" Lane -- and hence Cleveland has been cursed since.
August 28, 2008
Any diehard Indians' baseball fan that grew up in the 50's and or 60's will relate to this book, tracking the Indians' streak of bad luck, poor ownership, etc... starting with the trade of Rocky Colavito just prior to the 1960 season.
January 3, 2022
An enjoyable look at Cleveland's 30 years of failure and mistakes. Pluto obviously writes with tremendous knowledge and intimacy with the local scene, which is mostly great but occasionally leads to what seems a bit like score settling with certain players.
April 4, 2024
This is the best history of a bad baseball team that I've read so far. Great character vignettes combined with analysis of all the different ways that things have gone wrong for Cleveland. 30 teams, 30 books #2
December 1, 2007
This book had me laughing out loud on more than a few occasions.
What a boring review!
What a boring review!
June 23, 2011
Ah, those lovable Cleveland Indians and their Mistake by the Lake.
June 7, 2013
Fun book to read. Very interesting stories. The
part about the Kuntz sisters with Mudcat Grant
was hilarious. Loved it!
part about the Kuntz sisters with Mudcat Grant
was hilarious. Loved it!
April 25, 2014
Nice history of a era (1960-1994) and a team that is largely forgotten. Lots of funny stories mixed in with the tragedies of Tony Horton, Max Alvis, Steve Olin, etc.
November 3, 2015
Hands down, the best sports book I've ever read. I am a tad biased being a life-long Tribe fan though so take what I say with a grain of salt.
Read
April 1, 2021A reread: 1995, 5/18/97
Read
March 6, 2018To a Cleveland Indians fan this book is a must-read. For me, dating a huge Cleveland Indians fan, reading this book was a labor of love. I got through it. Enough said.
July 1, 2018
Fun reading for all baseball fans of players from the 1960's through the 1980's. These were lean years for the Cleveland Indians organization and some believe it all began when they traded star player Rocky Colavito. Many unfortunate events occurred to the Indians players over the next 30 years. Hard-throwing pitcher Sam McDowell broke two ribs while pitching. Two players collided on the field causing broken bones and unconsciousness. Catcher Ray Fosse got steam rolled by Pete Rose in the 1970 all-star game. Ten-cent beer night causes a forfeit due to unruly fans pouring onto the field. Pitcher Wayne Garland signs a 10-year contract (after having a 20-win season for Baltimore) wins just 28 games over the 5 seasons until retirement. Dennis Eckersley is traded to the Red Sox where he has a 20 win season and later saves 320 games. One year wonder Joe Charboneau never pans out after his 1980 rookie season. And during spring training of 1993, two players die and another is seriously injured in a Florida boating accident. There are dozens more stories about bad luck and poor business decisions. Half the book was about too much extraneous details unrelated to the "bad luck" of the team which I felt watered down the book. Still enjoyed the many stories about dark and gloomy tiems that they endured. Oh, and they even traded for Rocky in 1965 to get him back on the team, but that didn’t reverse the curse.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews