On February 9th 2-time Cy Young award winner and former Cleveland pitcher Corey Kluber retired from baseball. Kluber has seen some jersey changes since his time in Cleveland. Last playing for Boston (I shuddered writing that), it wasn’t evident at first that he was near retirement. He began the 2023 season as the opening-day starter for the Sox. However, his ERA quickly ballooned to 6.26 and he was assigned to the bullpen. For Cleveland fans, the idea of Kluber coming out of the bullpen would be akin to a new Andrew Miller. His name immediately makes us think of one of the greatest pitchers ever seen. Yet that’s because we hadn’t seen Kluber pitch much since he left town. He spent most of his time pitching in the AL East. Gone from the central, we didn’t know he no longer was the guy who terrorized batters with a simple stare.
He was a commanding presence on the mound
For almost 9 solid seasons Kluber was a dominant force atop the Indians rotation (he was never a Guardian). From 2013 to 2018 Kluber was the leader of our rotation, putting up dominant outings repeatedly. Kluber also joined the list of Tribe Cy Young winners (with Sabathia, Lee, and Perry). Except, he won it twice, the only Cleveland pitcher to do so. From 2014-2018 he not only pitched over 200 innings each season but had over 200 strikeouts to boot. He led the league in complete games and seeing a shutout from him wasn’t a rare sight. For those baseball stat nerds (an oxymoron, I believe) Kluber put up incredible numbers during his time in Cleveland. Yet it’s not the stats that have cemented his place amongst Cleveland sports greats.
The Klubot
Kluber is known for his stoic demeanor on the mound, mimicking a robot with no emotion sent to retire batters. This earned him the nickname Klubot, one which he wasn’t too fond of, yet Cleveland fans utilized it regardless. A smile from Kluber on the mound was rare. His usual facial features consisting of nothing more than laser eyes locked on the catcher. Occasionally he moved his mouth, simply to breathe, proving he was actually human. The fear he gave batters and his penchant for strikeouts would be immortalized by local Cleveland clothing brand GV Artwork. Any sports fan from Cleveland owns at least a few items from GV Artwork. Kluber shirts should be seen aplenty this season at Progressive.
While 2014 and 2017 were Cy Young years for Kluber, 2016 is what really made Kluber a Cleveland baseball legend. 2016 was the year we came up just short of erasing almost 70 years of a championship drought and moving past 1995, 1997, and even 2007. Cleveland’s destiny was sadly snatched away thanks in part to a peculiarly called rain delay and an inability to hold a 3-1 lead. While many will remember Andrew Millers’ MVP performance in that postseason, or Rajai Davis bringing the entire city to their feet with one swing of the bat, Corey Kluber was our true workhorse.
2016 World Series Kluber Was Special
Kluber, our Cy Young Ace, would be our World Series game 1 starter. Then on 4 days’ rest he’d start game 4. He won both and gave up 1 run in 12 innings, so the logical choice to start game 7 was the Klubot. Unfortunately, he had run out of gas, starting again on short rest, and gave up 4 runs in 4 innings. Klubers work ethic and ability to start games multiple times with minimal rest is one of the biggest reasons we even made it to game 7. He never argued or complained, but instead took the mound when called upon and went to work. He finished the postseason with a 4-1 record, a 1.83 ERA and 35 strikeouts. Cleveland baseball fans will forever be grateful for that season and Kluber’s great performance, even if we didn’t win the whole damn thing.
The end of a Cleveland Legend
Kluber was traded away to Texas after the 2019 season, lasting just one inning for them before tearing a muscle and ending his season. He signed with the Yankees in 2021 (again, I shudder) and even had a no-hitter for them. I should note, he did show some enthusiasm after that game, deservedly so. He would pitch the next year for the Rays, with a modest 10-10 record and 4.34 ERA. Finally last year he finished his storied career in the Boston bullpen. The years of pitching complete games and on short rest caught up to him, leading to his retirement. While he may not have had a “C” or a Chief Wahoo on his hat in his last season, he will always be a Cleveland baseball legend. Thanks for the memories, Klubot. And if I ever meet you, I swear I won’t call you that.
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