Filed under: Cleveland Indians, Lou Brown, Major League, Major League II | Tags: Cleveland Indians, Indians, James Gammon, Lou Brown, Major League, Major League movie
By Joe L. Brown
For www.youhitlikeshit.com
CLEVELAND — Lou Brown, the gravelly voiced manager who led the Cleveland Indians to their first pennant in more than 40 years in 1988 has died after an ongoing battle with cancer. He was 70.
Brown, whose belief in calisthenics, sound un-flashy glove work and downright loathing of contract squabbles, kept him at the helm of the Toledo Mud Hens for 30 years, was hired for the job by General Manager Charlie Donovan, who had been promoted after the death of owner Donald Phelps.
Un-beknownst to Brown and Donovan, owner Rachel Phelps had intended to produce a team worthy of re-locating to Miami, but it was Brown’s daring managerial style and an eclectic mix of veterans and unknown talent like Willie Mays Hayes, Pedro Cerrano and Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn that led the Indians to the AL East title for the first time since 1954.
Brown’s Tribe defeated the New York Yankees in a playoff game on a bunt by catcher Jake Taylor, which meant the team finished with a 93-70 record in his dream season. Brown told reporters that “there are two or three potential all-stars” on his roster, but it was his managing of that talent that was vital for the Tribe’s success. One example? Brown discovered that Vaughn’s wildness was a result of poor eyesight, propelling the former California Penal Leaguer into one of the game’s greatest success stories.
Brown often admitted that he wasn’t “one for inspirational addresses” and he was known for wasting sports writers’ time when they irked him. One of his great thrills in life was a simple one, grilling burgers.
Filed under: Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Indians groundscrew, Major League, Stephen Strasburg | Tags: baseball, Baseball movies, Cleveland Indians, Lou Brown, Major League, Major League movie, MLB, Stephen Strasburg, Strasburg, Washington Nationals
You all know about home-field advantage but I know how good these guys are.
They may not have liked my team, but after Stephen Strasburg‘s struggles on Sunday it’s readily apparent that they don’t like him, either.
— Lou Brown
Filed under: Pedro Cerrano, Uncategorized, Youhitlikeshit.com | Tags: Baseball cards, Jobu, Major League, Pedro Cerrano
Sweet, ain’t it?
I whipped it up on my printer and might send some out to a few lucky fans.
Filed under: Harry Doyle, Jobu, Major League, Major League II, Major League: Back to the Minors, Pedro Cerrano, Roger Dorn | Tags: Cleveland Indians, Corbin Bernsen, Dorn, Harry Doyle, Indians, Lou Brown, Major League, Major League II, Major League movie, Major League: Back to the Minors, Pedro Cerrano, Roger Dorn
Roger Dorn poses with Indians fans before the game. (Image courtesy of http://twitter.com/tribetalk)
Roger Dorn threw out the first pitch today in Cleveland, which also happens to be the 12th anniversary of Major League: Back To The Minors‘ theatrical release.
Harry Doyle said his pitch was juuuuuuust a bit outside, but personally I think his vision is getting bad.
It’s worth noting that Dorn is one of only four Major Leaguers to appear in all three films — him, coach Duke Temple, Pedro Cerrano and Doyle.
— Lou Brown
Filed under: Major League | Tags: 2010 Cleveland Indians Season Preview, baseball, Clevland Indians, Indians, Major League, MLB
Filed under: Jake Taylor, Major League | Tags: baseball, Cleveland Indians, Indians, indians major league movie, Jake Taylor, Lynn Westland, Lynn Westland-Taylor, Major League, MLB, Rene Russo, Tom Berenger
You might have seen these on the Major League “Wild Thing Edition” DVD’s photo gallery but not even realized what they were.
But thanks to Mrs. Taylor’s scrapbook, we’ve gotten a look at a couple of scenes that were cut from the documentary on my 1988 Cleveland Indians — footage lost forever to the cutting room floor.
Above is a snapshot from Jake and Lynn‘s wedding at All Saints on Euclid after the season. Our team saluted the happy couple on their way out of the church. (Interesting note for the game-used baseball bat collectors — my team only used Louisville Sluggers in the movie but you can see some Rawlings bats above.)
Filed under: Major League, Major League Movies | YouTube Clips | Tags: Cleveland Indians, indians major league movie, Jobu, Major League, Pedro Cerrano
Well, here’s something you don’t see everyday. It’s a brief behind-the-scenes clip promoting Major League before it came to VHS — remember that?
Check it out. I was surprised to find it, myself. Looks like my team still has quite a few fans out there.
Filed under: Gentry, Major League, Meet the team | Tags: baseball, Cleveland Indians, Gentry, indians major league movie, Major League, Major League baseball, Red-tag season
Sure. there’s a new season upon us. But there’s one thing I never really liked to see during spring training — red-tag season.
I always felt bad that Bobby Gentry was singled out in the documentary about my 1988 Indians team. We made several rounds of cuts, but only Gentry here was shown getting a legitimate red tag.
He was sent down to Colorado Springs, our brand-new Triple-A club that was managed by former big-leaguer Steve Swisher that season, and he did pretty well but it wasn’t enough to get back to the bigs.
He later became a long-time fielding coach for the San Diego Padres, and I hear his boy made his big-league debut last season.
— Lou Brown
Filed under: Duke Temple, Jake Taylor, Lou Brown, Major League, Pedro Cerrano, Pepper Leach, Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn, Roger Dorn, Willie Mays Hayes | Tags: Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Indians memorabilia, Duke Temple, indians major league movie, Jake Taylor, Jobu, Lou Brown, Major League, Pedro Cerrano, People Magazine, Pepper Leach, Ricky Vaughn, Roger Dorn, Sports Illustrated, Wild Thing, Willie Mays Hayes
For all of the things I saved through the years, I never did latch onto copies of People and Sports Illustrated where my guys appeared on the covers.
“Wild Thing” appeared on the Sept. 18, 1988, cover of People, while several of us appeared on a SI cover that fall, too.
Have one? E-mail me…
– Lou Brown
Filed under: Baseball cards, Donruss, Major League, Pedro Cerrano, Topps | Tags: Dennis Haysbert, Donruss, Eddie Murray, Hank Aaron, indians major league movie, Jackie Robinson, Jobu, Major League, Pedro Cerrano, Pedro Cerrano's baseball cards, Pedro Cerrano's locker, Roberto Clemente, Topps, Willie McCovey
UPDATE: The mystery card is definitely a San Francisco Giant and it’s definitely not a standard-sized card.
For a voodoo warrior who has problems getting along with his teammates, Pedro Cerrano sure does show a soft spot for baseball greats and their baseball cards showing in his locker doesn’t he?
From left just above Jobu, that’s a 1984 Donruss Eddie Murray Diamond Kings card, a 1968 Topps Game Roberto Clemente, a mystery card, a 1971 Topps Willie McCovey, a 1954 Topps Hank Aaron rookie card and a 1952 Topps Jackie Robinson.
Anyone have any ideas on the mystery card? My leading guess is that it might be a 1957 Topps Clemente. I’m admittedly not sure, though, as it also looks like it could be a Willie Mays or Monte Irvin mug. Plus, the card looks like it could be narrower like a 1968 Topps 3D card or a Kellogg’s card, but I can’t match it anywhere.
— Lou Brown
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