Cleveland Indians: A fitting end to the final home game before October

The Cleveland Indians ended the 2018 slate of home games in the best way possible as fans await the return of the team in just a few weeks.

The Cleveland Indians opened this year’s home slate of games back on April 6.

I was at that game and nearly froze as I double fisted Bud Lights like a fool. But hey, it was Opening Day.

The Indians quickly fell down 2-0 in that game, only to score three in the bottom of the first. There would be no more runs scored that day. It was probably due to the distraction provided by the drunk man in front of me who kept yelling “Duuuuuuuuuffffy” at Danny Duffy the entire game. What a hero.

Fast forward to Sunday night and it was the final home game of the season. The makeup of the roster isn’t drastically different to what it was on Opening Day, and the Indians once again pulled out a victory to make it two walk-off wins in a row.

The win capped a 49-32 record at home in 2018. The team now heads on the road with an away record of 38-36, looking to keep that above .500 heading into October.

When the season is looked at as a whole, it won’t matter much in the overall scheme of things that the team won both the home opener and the home finale. But when the team is trying to give fans reasons to spend money to attend games, even if the weather is brutal, providing some magic in big games never hurts.

Saturday was labeled as Fan Appreciation Night. How did the Indians reward the sellout crowd? With an exciting walk-off win, that’s how.

I’m a sucker for romanticizing baseball and the win last night was a great way to send the team off into the unknown world of October baseball. It was a fitting end to another division-winning season, even though there is still a week of baseball left to play.

Perhaps the best part of last night’s walk-off hit was seeing the excitement on Greg Allen‘s face when he saw the ball shoot past the infielders. Clinching the division early allows a young player like Allen to come up in big situations and gain confidence. His hit last night, against the top team in the American League, should have him thinking that he can do the same thing in a few weeks.

49 wins at home is impressive, but the one to open the year and the one last night stand out to me, which I’m sure is true for other fans as well.