My love letter to Cleveland:

Dear Cleveland fans,

First, let us all take a collective moment to complain. I know it hurts and I know this isn’t the end we all wanted to the season. But, after we’re done complaining, let’s take a moment to be grateful for all the Indians have given us this year. They won our city an American League Division Championship and an American League Championship. That cannot be ignored  just because they didn’t win us a World Series title. The success of this team should not be forgotten just because of one game.

Let us also remember that the Cleveland Indians were not at full strength this post-season. With the injuries of pitchers Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar and outfielder Michael Brantley the Indians had holes in their starting and relief pitching as well as in their batting order. We should be proud of the way that Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Ryan Merritt, Josh Tomlin, Cody Allen and Bryan Shaw stepped up to the plate (pun intended) to fill the void left by these injuries. The outcome of the series is slightly reminiscent of the Cleveland Cavaliers without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving in the 2015 Championship Series. The Cavs came back this year at full strength earning Cleveland its first sports title in 52 years. I have full faith that the Indians can achieve a similar result next year.

It is also important that we not blame any player or team administrator for this result. Yes, there were decisions that were made and actions taken by certain individuals that swung the game in Chicago’s favor, but the outcome could have easily gone the other way. Do I wish we hadn’t loaded the Cubs’ bases in the 10th inning? Yes. Do I wish Terry Francona had put Trevor Bauer in sooner? Yes. Do I wish Lindor had scored in the bottom of the ninth inning and won us the game? Of course! What logical fan wouldn’t want those things? However, blaming the loss of the World Series on these individuals is not going to get us anywhere. The game was so close that it really could have gone either way. The Cubs’ decisions in the heat of the moment just happened to pay off better this time. They played the best when it mattered most, and there is no reason that we can’t pull something like that off in the future. We have an incredible team of young, talented players that have an amazing potential as they learn and improve.  

As Cleveland sports fans, we’ve had a pretty amazing year. Our Cavaliers won an NBA title, the Lake Erie Monsters won the Calder Cup and the Indians made it to the World Series. After 52 years of heartbreak and failure, 2016 was a tremendous season. Let us be grateful for what we did win this year and not focus on the losses.

I can’t end this letter without saying it. There’s always next year. This time, we have a fighting chance. For the first time, I have hope that we can make 2017 an even better season than 2016 was for Believeland.

From a forever Cleveland Girl,

Meredith Maiorana

Courtesy of Meredith Maiorana