I Will Miss Corey Kluber
The Purpose of This Post
The purpose of this post is to announce a meeting — in this case, at 5:00pm ET tonight (Monday) — of the Corey Kluber Society.About the Society
The Corey Kluber Society (or, frequently just "the Society"), founded before everyone was even born, is composed of individuals all bound by their singular enthusiasm for the works and days ofClevelandTexas right-hander Corey Kluber.
Corey Kluber is gone, and I will miss him sorely. Kluber was, without a doubt in my mind, the best pitcher to don a Cleveland uniform in my lifetime. I was fortunate enough to watch some of his best moments in Cleveland, and felt he was under appreciated despite his two Cy Young Awards. Consider:
- No Cleveland pitcher has ever won two Cy Young Awards. Gaylord Perry, C.C. Sabathia, and Cliff Lee all earned one: but only Kluber managed to win two
- Only Bob Feller & Sam McDowell have more strikeouts in a Tribe uniform. Both McDowell & Feller pitched far more innings in Cleveland than Kluber. McDowell pitched several hundred more, and Feller over 2,000
- Kluber ranks 8th all time in bWAR for pitchers in a Tribe uniform. Everyone ahead of him either: A) Is in the Hall of Fame, or B) pitched over 700 innings more than Kluber, or C) both.
Overall, I feel strongly Corey Kluber has a case for the best pitcher in a Tribe uniform since Bob Feller, which is saying something considering the Indians have a knack for developing great pitchers. Kluber also put together one of the best postseasons in Tribe history in 2016, it probably does not quite reach the top spot (Orel Hershiser was a beast in 1995), but its darn close.
At the end of the day: Corey Kluber's numbers are the numbers, and Klubot was more to the team than simply a great pitcher. He was present for some of the best moments in team history since 2013. A few of my favorites:
- Game 2 of the ALDS. I had zero expectations for the Indians in the 2016 postseason, but Kluber made me believe. After a hard fought victory in Game 1 with Trevor Bauer surrendering 3 runs in 4.2 innings (Andrew Miller & Cody Allen combined for 2.1 scoreless innings against a potent Boston lineup): Corey Kluber completely shut down the Boston offense, to give us a 2-0 advantage. This performance ranks up there with Fausto Carmona's Game 2 against New York as most exciting series in my life.
- Game 1 of the ALCS. Here Tribe fans started to get really excited, I think. Kluber pitched mildly worse, but blanked another good lineup in Toronto. He handed a 2 nothing lead to Miller, and the Miller-Allen combo brought home the game.
- Games 1 and 4 of the World Series. Neither game was particularly close, but Kluber blanked the Cubs in Game 1, and only surrendered 1 run in Game 4. Overall, you could argue the entire 2016 postseason was phenomenal for the stoic pitcher, who did not allow short rest to get to him, until the final game.
- Kluber's Maddux. This game will stick out for me; it was the last time I saw Kluber pitch live (and it was among his best games of his career). Kluber blanked the Royals using only 98 pitches, striking out only seven batters, but with only one walk. The game was part of the end of the road for this Cleveland team as they marched towards a third consecutive AL Central Title.
- Kluber's 18 strikeout game. Matching a club record, Kluber struck out 18 batters in 8 innings of work (at 113 pitches even Tito would not allow Kluber to finish). Kluber did not walk a batter, and only surrendered one hit. This set Kluber's record for Game Score at 98 (an explanation for Game Score can be found here). A 98 is pretty darn special: Bob Feller's 1940 Opening Day no-hitter was a 90, for example. In fact, Feller never had a game with a Game Score as high as Kluber's 18 strikeout day. Neither did Gaylord Perry (in a Tribe uniform), nor Sabathia, nor Cliff Lee. This game was freaking special for Corey Kluber.
At the end of the day, there are too many special days to count for Corey Kluber: he was (and I firmly believe is) a special pitcher. There is no replacing Corey Kluber emotionally for this team.
The Trade
There's almost nothing to say about the trade that has not already be said: if you believe Corey Kluber is done it was a good one. If you think Corey Kluber has a good season or two left in him: you think it was an awful deal. The projections indicate Kluber is likely to be solid in 2020, with the two projections on Fangraphs posting him at 3.6 fWAR. This would be his worst season since 2013, but still a great deal at $17.5M. If he outperforms the projections mildly (say something close to his 2016 season) he's a steal. The only way this trade works out for Cleveland is if Kluber is a toad, which is possible, but I do not believe likely.
At the end of the day all I can hope for is Emmanuel Clase turns into a right handed Billy Wagner; its the only way I can see him being worth what we surrendered.