Cleveland Indians: Carlos Carrasco gets the award and recognition he deserves

Cleveland Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco had a rollercoaster year and still found time to give back and be a top figure in the community.

Carlos Carrasco only made 23 appearances for the Cleveland Indians in 2019 due to his battle with leukemia.

In case anyone forgot, those appearances didn’t all come before the diagnosis. He returned only a few months later as a key piece in the bullpen. Once again, all while battling leukemia.

Carrasco didn’t let the disease stop his progress both on and off the field. His work off the field is what was most important in 2019 and is why he was honored before Friday night’s World Series Game 3.

Carrasco was announced as the 2019 Roberto Clemente Award winner on Friday. I would argue that having a true winner for the award is not as important as every team having a nominee who did so much in the community. Still, I was happy to see Carrasco win.

The list goes on and on when it comes to his accomplishments and this year he gave back while engaging in a battle with cancer. Former Indians pitcher Josh Tomlin summed it up well.

Carrasco is the third Indians player to win the award, following in the footsteps of Jim Thome (2002) and Andre Thornton (1979). Not bad company for the right-hander who won the hearts of Indians fans years ago.

I am personally excited to see Carrasco get back on the mound next season and hopefully return to his old ways. He was obviously dealing with health issues to start last season and him being back at full strength will be great for both him and the team.

The way things are going now Carrasco deserves to be the team’s nominee for this award for years to come. He continues to put others first and is the easiest guy to root for.

That is something that will never change.