Major League Baseball has seen its fair share of superstar pitchers with Hall of
Fame talent. The Spiders however, may have what many feel… was the pitcher upon which all others will be judged. In fact an award is given every year
to the best pitcher in baseball both in reverence and in comparison to the career
of the true pitching genius… Cy Young. Young (shown above) would be the ace
of staff for the Spiders' entire 9 year career at this ballpark which featured
3 seasons: 36-12, 1.93 in 1892; 34-16, 3.36 in 1893 and 35-10, 3.26 in 1895,
in which Cy Young would break the 30 win mark. This led to a "World Series" appearance
in 1892 (before it was called the World Series) and World Series appearances
(when it was called the "Temple Cup") in 1895 and 1896. Cy Young would lead
the way to a Temple Cup Championship during that 1895 series against Baltimore
with two wins of his own. Hall of Famer Jesse Burkett led the Spiders and the
National League with a .406 batting average on the season. While Cy Young was
the key to the future of pitching in the Major Leagues, there was perhaps no player
on the franchise who would influence the future of professional baseball
in the actual city of Cleveland more than a young 25 year old named Louis Sockalexis
who batted .338 in 1897. Don't know who he is exactly? You'll soon see that
the team that rules Cleveland is "who" they are today because of this young
man. |