Cleveland Indians: Corey Kluber Fends Off Coyote with Fastball
By Tim Haberin
Cleveland Indians pitcher Corey Kluber had an unexpected visitor on Christmas Eve, but what happened next wasn’t quite the tall tale that first circulated.
What were you doing a week ago on Christmas Eve? Spending time with friends and family? Cleveland Indians pitcher Corey Kluber was likely doing the same until an unwelcome guest walked into the backyard of his home in Winchester, Massachusetts.
WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford spun an interesting holiday tale that evening, tweeting that Kluber saw a coyote enter his yard and “got rid of it” by hitting it with a baseball. (The tweets in question have since been deleted.) Not quite “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” but a captivating story nonetheless. Naturally, internet denizens let their imaginations run away with them, and before long the popular account was that Kluber had in fact killed the animal with his fastball.
According to Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com, the Indians organization grew concerned enough by the online rumors that the team’s director of baseball information actually contacted the right-hander to learn the truth about whether the one popularly known as the “Klubot” had transformed into the Terminator.
Turns out, truth was not as strange as fiction in this case. Kluber told the Indians that the coyote was pacing near his house. He tossed a baseball at it to scare it away, hitting it near the tail. It proceeded to scamper off, and a joyous holiday was had by all.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Of course, this particular coyote should have known better than to challenge a former Cy Young Award winner. Kluber has become renowned for his impressive control on the mound, managing 2.1 BB/9 throughout his six-year major league career. Maybe next Christmas that coyote should try wandering into Ubaldo Jimenez‘s yard.
Kluber took home the top hardware for pitchers in 2014, but he could have just as easily won it this year as well. In fact, he finished third in AL Cy Young voting behind winner Rick Porcello and Justin Verlander. The 30-year-old won 18 games to the tune of a 3.14 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 3.98 K/BB ratio over 215 innings.
But the postseason was where Kluber really got a chance to shine. He worked a 1.83 ERA in 34.1 frames, posting a 4-1 record over six playoff starts. Often throwing on short rest, Kluber’s steady hand (especially in the absence of Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar) brought Cleveland within one game of winning its first World Series since 1948.
Next: Dick Vitale Pushing to Keep Rays in Town
He’ll be back at it in 2017. Hopefully no more wildlife bothers him between now and then.