by The error was costly as it allowed Bonilla to advance to third base with only one out. Hargrove had no choice but to call for an intentional walk to Eisenreich to load the bases and create a force out at any base. Tony Fernandez had the chance for redemption as he fielded the Devon White ground ball and threw out Bonilla at home for the second out. Bob Costas on the NBC broadcast accurately said, “And that ladies and gentlemen is what it means to be a professional.” Fernandez had redeemed himself for the moment and the Indians were one out away from extending the game.
That one out would never materialize as Edgar Renteria hit a soft line drive over the glove of Nagy and through the hole at shortstop to win the game. If things ended up differently in the inning, Hargrove would have had Nagy come out again for the next inning, but alas, that didn’t happen, “Nagy, he was our guy.” It was one of the most painful ways a team could lose a World Series. Mike Hargrove reveals what he said to the team when the game was over, “I told them that I was very proud of them and that we had gone a lot farther than anyone thought we would. The usual things you say to people in that situation, it was such a tough situation that nothing you say is going to make it any better. I let them know I was proud of them and that they played a great ballclub. The Marlins were loaded.”
However, Hargrove doesn’t dwell too much on this pivotal game, “I don’t think about it that often. I had a guy ask me about it about a month after the series was over. He asked me how long it took me to get over it and I told him as soon as I got over it I would let him know. Then about a month ago someone else asked me and I repeated it, “as soon as I get over it I will let you know.” It has been sixteen years. It is easier not to think about it because I’m like anyone else because I start playing “what if.” I ask myself, “What if Mesa had thrown the fastball in like we wanted to or thrown the slider down and away?” I have no clue why he was so scared of throwing his fastball, I really don’t. I know Omar came out and blasted him in his book but he had saved so many important games for us in the past including the ALCS clincher by striking out Roberto Alomar.”
John Hart, General Manager for the Indians, reveals his the disappointment of the game seven loss, “I had dinner with Mike the other night and we both mentioned how we have never went back and watched game seven. Time does heal it, I think it may have been more painful for Mike but it was still painful for me as well. When we lost game five in 97 it was a terrible game to lose because we wanted to go back to Florida up 3 -2 because we had Chad Ogea facing Kevin Brown. I remember after Ogea had a great game and we won, I walked onto the roof at the Fawn Blue hotel later that night and thought “this is game seven”. I remember 95 was a great experience and we had a great team but I had to come to grips with winning or losing.
We had done everything we could do and just had to go play the game. When you turn the ball over to Jose Mesa, who had saved so many games and we wouldn’t have gotten their without him, but it ended up tied. Before Mesa blew the save, they called us out of the stands because it was major league protocol for the wining team’s owner and GM to be in the locker room, so we watched the rest of the game in Grover’s office. It was painful to watch the rest of the game in the bowels of Joe Robbie stadium as our team eventually lost. I was devastated, but Dick said to me that we gave it our best, then he waited and greeted each player as they came in from the field. He told each player he was proud of them and that we would get them next year.”
Charles Nagy reflects on the devastating loss, “I can still picture the ball being hit, he didn’t hit it very well. I thought it was hit harder than it was. It was one of those balls that just kind of knuckled in and tipped off my glove. I still wish to this day that I would have caught that ball. It was game seven and going into the ninth inning everyone in the bullpen was getting ready to storm the field with celebration. The next thing you know, it was like grab your glove and get ready to go into the game. It just didn’t happen for us.”
Jim Thome also discusses the heartbreak of the loss, “It was very hard, to get that close in the last game, talk about the emotional high to the emotional low. There is nothing worse in sports than losing a game seven.”
It was clear to me after speaking with Nagy,Thome,Hart and Hargrove that the game seven loss will hurt for a long time to come. However, it wasn’t from any lack of strategy, hustle or hard work. It was a great group of ballplayers and a fine class of people. Sometimes in baseball and life the ball just doesn’t bounce the right way, maybe, just maybe, next time it will.
The Indians got about as close as you could come without actually winning the World Series in the fall of 1997. It made Cleveland fans hunger for a championship even more while believing that it truly was possible. The job of Hart was to obtain what seemingly was a missing piece without losing too much in return. They parted with veterans Orel Hershiser, Tony Fernandez and Bip Roberts. All three had high and low moments in the 1997 playoff run, but it was the lowest ones that stuck out.
Matt Williams who had a great 1997 season on the field, encountered some personal problems off the field and because of which asked for a trade out of town. The Indians found a trade partner with the Arizona Diamondbacks and were able to obtain veteran third baseman Travis Fryman in the deal for Williams. Fryman would become a fan favorite for many years, eventually landing a coaching job in the Indians organization when his playing days were over.
Kenny Lofton who had been dealt to the Atlanta Braves the previous season was now on his way back to Cleveland. It was an early Christmas present for Cleveland Indians fans everywhere on December 8, 1997 when Lofton agreed to a contract to return to the team. Kenny explains his decision to come back to Cleveland, “First of all, I didn’t want to leave, but I did get the chance to return. I was given the chance by assistant general manager Dan O’Dowd. We had the conversation in the offseason and he understood how I felt. We worked out a situation for me to come back to Cleveland, if it wasn’t for him, it wouldn’t have happened.”
The Indians got off to a hot start and won their first six games, all on the road to start the season. They remained hot and closed out the first two months with a 33 – 22 record. They seemed to have gotten past the heartbreak of the prior season and were cruising to their fourth straight division title.
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