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Three weeks later on October 1st, there was an electricity inside a sold-out Jacobs Field. From 1995 to 2001, Cleveland was used to having sellout crowds, 455 of them to be exact. However, it had been a long time since “The Jake” had been at capacity during the subpar 2006 season.
Tonight, even though it was the final game of the regular season against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and there would be no postseason playoff games to look forward to, Tribe fans had a reason to be excited.
Cooper Madison was scheduled to make his first Major League start in over a year. After trading for his rights, the Indians had sent Coop down to get back into pitching shape with their AA affiliate, the Akron Aeros. After the first two weeks of throwing and getting back into shape, he made two relief appearances.
In the first game in front of a standing room only crowd at Akron’s Canal Park for one of their AA playoff games, Coop entered the game in the 7th inning with the Aeros clinging to a one-run lead with two outs.
As he walked to the mound that night, he thought for sure that it was going to feel a whole lot stranger than it actually did. Instead, he felt at peace as he toed the rubber to face his first batter. As he rocked back into his windup the sellout crowd went silent as they waited, hoping to see the Cooper Madison that had dominated professional baseball for the past decade.
They were not disappointed.
The first pitch was a 97 mile per hour fastball on the inside corner to the right-handed batter. The stadium erupted, and the young minor league batter who had drawn the unenviable task of facing Coop was as white as a ghost. He didn’t stand a chance and was set down on three straight pitches to end the inning as Coop walked off the field to the sound of more than 20,000 screaming fans.
The next night Coop made another relief appearance and stretched his arm out over two scoreless innings. His official stat line for his two AA appearances included zero hits allowed with only one walk and four strikeouts. His fastball topped out at 98 miles per hour and his slider was unhittable.
The only question at that time was whether or not to bring him up to the majors for an appearance. If they did, he’d be on a strict pitch count of no more than 50 pitches. Since he had two almost perfect outings in Akron, there was an argument to be made that maybe he should just take that into the offseason instead of risking a poor outing in the majors.
The Indians front office decided to leave the decision up to Coop, and for him, there was no hesitation. He wanted to throw, but on one condition: that he started on the mound instead of coming in for a relief appearance. He needed to experience the routine that comes with starting a game on the “bump” again, regardless of pitch count or the fact that he likely wouldn’t pitch the minimum five innings required to factor into the decision should they win.
Coop’s name was announced as he finished up his pregame warm-up throws in the bullpen and the stadium absolutely exploded. The fans seated in the upper levels of The Jake could feel the stadium concourse below them vibrating. It was a playoff atmosphere with over 42,000 people in attendance, and they all wanted to see Cooper Madison pitch in an Indians uniform.
Amongst the 42,000 plus fans was a small contingent occupying the owner’s box suite. Tim “T-Squared” Taylor stood in the middle of the interior part of the suite and encouraged its occupants to move to their seats outside so they could feel the excitement. He gave fist bumps to the guests who Coop had personally invited to witness him pitch as they made their way to their seats, each of whom had a different connection to the star of the evening.
The Westcott Hotel was well-represented by Henry Wilson and Simon Craig, who had never even been to an Indians game before.
Rahul Ansari, who had driven most of the contingent to the stadium in a limousine bus, was also there.
Cara’s family was in attendance, and Charlie Knox took in an Indians game with his wife for the first time since the accident. The Indians even made sure that the suite was wheelchair accessible.
Jason sat in between his wife, Erica, and his daughter. Gabby was still giddy with excitement since Coop had arranged for her to meet Slider, the Indians mascot, before the game.
Christopher was next to Lucy Eckert and was awkwardly trying to make small talk to the girl who was oblivious to the crush that he had secretly had on her since she was in high school.
Grace Brooks was seated next to Cara’s brother, Johnny, who was trying to convince her to start weight training with him to take her MMA career to the next level.
Stucky was even there. He was seated next to his old friend from his days at the plant, Ed Delaney, and had spent much of the evening catching up with Cara’s parents.
The only other two people Coop had insisted on attending were not in the owner’s suite, however. Instead, Clarence Walters was seated directly behind home plate. As Coop finished his last warm-up pitch on the mound before the game began he looked past the umpire and met Clarence’s gaze. Coop gave a nod and Clarence winked back. In his hand, he held up a shiny gold key pendant that was connected to an equally impressive gold necklace - a gift from Coop the day after their car ride when he first met with the Indians.
Cooper Madison took a deep breath and adjusted his gaze one seat to Clarence’s left where his eyes met those of a precocious delivery girl who had come into his life one month earlier. Tears were welled up in Cara Knox’s eyes as she blew a kiss to the starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians and mouthed the words that only they would appreciate.
“Nothing…”
