CRUNCH. Crunch the numbers. As they say, the numbers don't lie. Corporate success is based on performance. It is based on stats. It is based on numbers. What have you done for me lately, young man?

In Mike Hargrove's eight-and-a-half year tenure as the Tribe skipper, he put up remarkable numbers. If I had to pick three men who guided the Cleveland Indians to fame and success, it would be Lou Boudreau, Al Lopez and Hargrove. Why Grover?

He took over part way through the 1991 season. He inherited a dismal team, but he entered with the energy of a young manager ready to make the most of his opportunity. In 1992 the "doormat" Indians only finished ten games under .500. They did it again in 1993. A marked improvement and signs that the Tribe and their new manager were "turning the corner." The Tribe finished second, one game out in the strike-shortened 1994 season. Yes, they had turned the corner.

From 1995 through 1999, Hargrove's numbers are astounding! The Tribe took a 100-44 record into the 1995 World Series but were defeated in six games by a solid Atlanta club. Although the Indians won 99 games in 1996, they didn't return to the World Series until 1997. In a heartbreaker they lost in seven games to the Florida Marlins in ‘97.

In 1998 and 1999, the Tribe won the American League Eastern Division but did not make it to the World Series. Exit Mike Hargrove. What have you done lately, son? Geez. Those were the glory days, my friend. At least in my lifetime. I've witnessed some of the worst Indian squads ever assembled with a smile on my face. Why? Because I loved baseball. Give me that $0.50 bleacher ticket or the $0.75 upper grandstand seat. I'll ride the sweaty Rapid Transit. I just wanna see a game! That's when I see today's Miller High Life commercials, I smile. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about!"

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