The scoreboard at Cleveland's Progressive Field provides a dazzling video display as part of a 7 million dollar upgrade to the field completed in 2004. Its screen measuring 36 x 149 feet joins 5 smaller screens around the stadium in being a large part of the entertainment experience. My friend Gary Courtright (insert below) studies the game with the main scoreboard visible behind him.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame...
MAJOR LEAGUE ALL THE WAY--

Major league baseball, Cleveland Indians style, is a sport built around numbers. The Indians, who trace their history to 1901, opened their newest playing venue—then affectionately known as The “Jake”--in April 1994.

One of the American League’s eight charter franchises, the club actually began playing in 1900 when the AL was considered a minor league. They had played in the now-demolished Municipal Stadium since 1946.

This new stadium cost $175 million to build and seats 43,345 fans.

A recent game there was my first major league outing since childhood and I went via a package deal for $63 which included a bus ride, a picnic-style feed and seats in the center field bleachers.

Naming rights to this gem of a ballpark were peddled to a Cleveland based insurance outfit recently in a 16 year deal worth approximately 3.6 million bucks per year.

The top 21 players on their roster consume a whopping $78,970,000 in annual payroll which tallies to a yearly average for those folks of 3.8 million bucks. That list is topped by C. C. Sabathia (just recently traded) who banks $11 million smackers each year.

Of course, as the reigning Cy Young award winner in baseball last year, and a recent game’s MVP, this 6’ 7” hulk of a man at 270# showed why he earned those laurels with a recent 8 inning, 6-0 win which included tying his season high 11 strikeouts against the lackluster Cincinnati Reds.

The evening’s most electrifying defensive play came against the second Red’s batter who towered a shot against the wall in deep center field where Grady Sizemore seemed to run 10 feet up the wall to snare the blast.

Sizemore returned to mega-stardom for the evening when he rifled his own blast deep into the right field seats in the fifth inning for what turned out to be all the Tribe needed for their win.

He continued his batting practice against the Reds with a two run double in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach; thrilling the Tribe-supporting share of the evening’s 34,844 fans.

With the Sabathia-Sizemore show that evening and my first-ever chance to explore this dazzling ballpark, I began to consider my 63 bucks a bargain—especially when a major-league fireworks show capped the evening and our bleacher seats turned out to be the best in the park for that spectacular finale.

On the other hand, with concessionaires charging the felonious price of $6.75 for a draft beer it likely will be quite some time before I bother to go back.

This is the view from the nosebleed elevation down the right field foul line in Cleveland’s stadium as fans begin to arrive for a recent evening game. Binoculars are very handy for serious viewing of the game’s action from the outfield bleachers (middle) and, a big-league fireworks display dazzled the fans after a recent victory over the Cincinnati Reds.