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Jacobs Field

Cleveland Indians 1994-


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Recent ballparks have reversed the general historical trend to ever-larger seating capacities, and Jacobs Field goes further in that direction than any park in the last quarter of the 20th century, seating fewer than 43,000 fans compared to about 78,000 at its predecessor on the lakefront. This is not to say that Cleveland's new ballpark is a small structure -- three levels of suites and a large tiered stadium club in the left-field corner help give it a bulk equal to its contemporaries and to the large structure that it replaced.

The stadium is part of the "Gateway" district, a downtown urban renewal effort bordering that also includes the Gund Arena, parking garages, and a landscaped plaza. This project, along with the opening of the roughly contemporary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the city's waterfront, is said to have led to a reversal of downtown decline.

Although The Jake's angular geometry is neotraditional, its architectural expression is not nostalgic. Its brickwork is pale yellow rather than red-brown, and its prominent, white-painted high tech steelwork was consciously intended to celebrate the city's many Cuyahoga River bridges. Translucent strips within its grandstand roof are another modern touch.

The stadium's general layout is similar to Camden Yards, except that the low seating sections are in left field rather than right, to permit a downtown skyline view. In 1997, the large scoreboard above the left field seats was dented by an electrifying homer by Mark McGwire of the Oakland A's. Had it not hit the scoreboard (located about 430 feet from home plate) the ball would have traveled about 485 feet -- a shot that was actually longer than his greatly overestimated "538-foot" blow in the Kingdome later in the same season.

In recent years, Jacobs Field has been something of a hitter's park, especially for lefties. Attendance has been exceptional, thanks to strong teams and its central location, and, between mid-1995 and April 4, 2001, the Indians set the major-league record of 455 consecutive sellouts -- more than twice the previous mark set in the 1990s by the Colorado Rockies. (JP)


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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
» June 30, 1993: The Indians finish their home stand with a 4–2 win over the White Sox. The Indians have now won 23 straight at Jacobs Field.

» April 4, 1994: Jacobs Field in Cleveland opens with the Indians defeating the Mariners, 4-3, in front of 41,259 fans. Seattle OF Eric Anthony hits the stadium's first home run, while Eric Plunk notches the first victory in relief.

» September 11, 1995: At Jacobs Field, the Yankees record a rarity in their 4–0 win over the Indians—no assists. Jack McDowell allows four hits, walks four and strikes out eight in the nine innings as the Yanks register the 3rd no-assist game in the American League this century. Black Jack retires the side in the 9th on three pitches. The outfield makes eight of the 27 putouts. It last happened in the ML in a Mets-Phils game on June 25, 1989, the only time in the National League.

» April 30, 1997: Mark McGwire hits two tape-measure blasts as the A's outslug the Indians, 11–9, in 10 innings. McGwire's first shot, off Orel Hershiser, is the first ever off the Jacobs Field scoreboard and dents the Budweiser sign. It travels an estimated 485 feet. His 2nd, in the 10th, is the tie-breaker.

» June 3, 1997: Greeting a raucous bell-ringing crowd in his return to Jacobs Field, Albert Belle clouts a 3-run homer and two doubles to lead the White Sox to a 9–5 win over the Tribe. Belle finishes the game with an obscene gesture to the crowd. The gesture will cost him a $5,000 fine from the league, payable in tickets to underprivileged kids.

» April 15, 1998: In a 5–3 loss to the visiting Mariners, the Indians David Bell hits the 1st inside-the-park home run in Jacobs Field history and the 1st for the Indians since July 18, 1989 (Joe Carter). Randy Johnson and Kenny Lofton are both ejected after the two argue about inside pitches.

» May 7, 1999: At Jacobs Field, the Indians overcome a 9-1 deficit by scoring four runs in the 6th, seven runs in the 7th, and seven more in the 8th, to defeat the Devil Rays, 20-11. Down eight and winning by nine is the biggest swing since July 8, 1990, according to historian Tom Ruane. Roberto Alomar and David Justice each drive home five runs for the Tribe, who have five players get three or more hits. Tampa Bay's Fred McGriff hits a 2-run shot off another Tampa native, Dwight Gooden. For McGriff, it is the 34th ML park he has homered in, a new ML record. He was tied with Gary Gaetti and Ellis Burks.

» September 1, 2000: The Baltimore Orioles turn the season's fifth triple play and the first triple-killing in Jacobs Field history in the second inning against the Cleveland Indians. On a pop up to short the infield fly rule is not called. With runners at first and second and no outs, O's SS Melvin Mora lets Sandy Alomar's pop fly drop, apparently intentionally, and throws to 2B Jerry Hairston who tags the runner at second as well as the runner coming from first. Alomar, believing the infield fly rule had been called, retreated to the dugout and was called out for leaving the basepath resulting in a 6-4-3 triple play. Charlie Manuel doesn't agree and gets tossed. Cleveland overcomes the TP to win, 5–2, behind Steve Finley.

» September 25, 2000: The Indians play the 2nd 3-team doubleheader since 1900 at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. The Tribe defeats the Chicago White Sox, 9-2, in the opener, then loses the 2nd game to the Minnesota Twins, 4-3. The last 3-team doubleheader was in 1951.

» April 4, 2001: The Indians double the White Sox, 8-4, before the first non-sellout in six years at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. It ends the longest consecutive game sellout streak in major league history at 455 games.

» April 30, 2002: The Angels hand the Indians their worst loss ever at Jacobs Field, defeating the Tribe by a score of 21–2. Anaheim scores in seven innings and plates 10 runs in the 8th inning to give them their highest total in 23 years. Troy Glaus has five RBIs and Jeff DaVanon four.